The Benefits of Powerlifting for Women

Strength

While this may sound obvious, it’s still one of the best benefits of powerlifting.

The big three lifts of powerlifting provide a full body workout, hitting your legs, arms, chest and core. They’ll make your body stronger and more powerful, which is extremely beneficial for your overall health [1].

Read on to find out how increased strength can benefit your mind and body.

Fat reduction

Powerlifting training will add more muscle to your frame. Simply maintaining muscle burns more calories than fat does.

One study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that those who performed resistance training increased their caloric expenditure by 15% during a 24-hour period [2].

Because powerlifting uses compound movements, it also increases your calorie burn during the workout [3].

Another study found that resistance training helps to conserve fat free mass and increase your overall energy expenditure when at rest [4].

What’s more, it’s been shown to keep fat off for around a year after weight is lost [5].

[Related Article: The Best Fat Burners for Women] 

Mental health benefits

A review of recent research found that exercise is strongly linked to improved mental health [6].

Strength training in particular has been shown to help combat depression by significant amount [7], along with quality of life and social functioning [6].

Another study found similar results and discovered it can play a part in maintaining healthy brain function [8].

Longer life

One key benefit of strength training is that it can help to improve your overall wellbeing, including your heart health.

It’s been proven to reduce your blood pressure [9] and, when studying older people, it reduced the symptoms of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and arthritis [10].

With a healthier heart and a lower risk of certain diseases, you should be able to lead a longer life, and even improve your quality of life too.

Stronger Skeleton

Aside from shoring up your body with additional muscle, the benefits of powerlifting include increased bone density [10].

This is not only better for your body overall, it can also help to reduce the risk of osteoporosis as you age by increasing strength and bone mass [10].

A stronger skeletal structure has a huge number of benefits. Not only will our body be more powerful, you’ll reduce your risk of injury and of breaks.

What’s more, stronger muscles around your joints will heighten the security of these weaker areas. Joints are often points where you body is prone to injury, however additional muscle can ensure they’re sturdy when under pressure.

Increased athleticism

Powerlifting creates a stronger, more powerful physique, that can translate into other exercises.

For example, the squat has been linked to higher speeds in both sprints and jumping [11].

With more explosive power under your belt, you can accelerate far more quickly and maintain higher speeds.

This lends itself to a number of different sports, like soccer, tennis and just straight forward sprints. So if you practise a particular sport or if you’re thinking about taking one up, the benefits of powerlifting can complement your chosen discipline.

More confidence

Although this one is harder to measure, all of these elements add up to one thing, increased confidence.

This is a very important factor for women. We’re not just talking about confidence in the weights room either, which has traditionally been a predominantly male area.

Think a better posture, more confidence in your clothes and out of them.

On top of all that, the positivity you feel from all those ‘feel good’ hormones coursing through your body will give you a much stronger sense of confidence and a better outlook.