by, Dale Kelley
Capital Region Fitness

Strength training, weight lifting, resistance training - whatever label you choose to put on it - has been proven benefits for all populations - from adolescents to athletes to seniors. Women, in particular, see tremendous benefits from resistance training - for a myriad of reasons.

Unfortunately, most women rely on cardiovascular activity and a low calorie diets to change their physical appearance - whether it be to lose weight, or just "get toned". (There's no such thing as "toned" by the way! You can build muscle, maintain muscle or lose muscle. That's it!) The look you probably consider "toned" is low body fat and some level of increased muscle mass (as compared to an untoned look).

Fat sags. Muscle doesn't. If you've got jiggly stuff - it's fat.

Unfortunately, the strategy most women employ to change their body shape - crash diets and excessive cardio - does little more than cause fatigue, moodiness, hunger, and a decline in the metabolic rate. In the end, many women are worse off then when they started.
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