While weight training has traditionally been a male activity, over the last twenty years women have taken to the weight rooms of gyms and health clubs, and to their own spare rooms at home, with increasing enthusiasm. The benefits of strength training for women should not be underestimated. Although large muscles tend not to be one of the acquisitions women get from weight training, increased strength, tone, balance and bone density are.

Women Don't Get Huge Muscles From Weights

Strong Women Stay Slim was a best selling book for Miriam Nelson because she was one of the first authorities to make weight training a contemporary issue for women with promises of fat loss, strength and tone increases and bone density benefits as a buffer against the onset of osteoporosis and other age and lifestyle related afflictions.

For men, these issues are somewhat different because men are protected to some extent by the male sex hormone testosterone which tends to enhance muscle and bone growth. Yet even men suffer from age related osteoporosis and loss of muscle. Exercise, including strength training, is one solution.

Even though women produce testosterone,  its important for female sex drive,  they dont produce as much as men, and thats why women dont grow big muscles under weight training stimulation or at any other time. Yet strength improvements and the stimulation of bone growth through weight training is not necessarily a product of muscle size, one reason why weight training still works for women, and can work for you, even though huge muscles won't happen unless you take steroids. You can relax about that aspect.

Physical Activity, Weights, Protect Against Breast Cancer

One of the main risk factors for breast cancer is obesity. The American Cancer Society reported this in its January 2007 report. The report also found that physical activity protects against breast cancer and perhaps also the return of cancer after treatment. Its easy to see that slimming down with a diet and exercise program, including weights, could reduce your risk of breast cancer, not withstanding inherited family risk. In fact, if you do have breast cancer in the immediate family, an exercise program may be one thing you can do to reduce your risk.

In addition, women diagnosed with breast cancer and undergoing treatment are being advised to take up weight training. Some studies show an improved quality of life with no adverse effects. An allround exercise program may substantially reduce your risk of breast cancer reappearing. This is what the American Cancer Society had to say:

3,000 breast cancer survivors in the Nurses' Health Study showed that higher levels of post treatment physical activity were associated with a 26% to 40% reduction in the risk of breast cancer recurrence, breast cancer specific mortality, and all cause mortality. The risk reduction was seen with as little as 1 to 3 hours per week of moderate intensity activity with further reductions for those performing 3 to 5 hours per week.

The bottom line is: do what you can do, but just do it.