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Top 10 Reasons Women Should Hit the Weights

Shana Verstegen is an ACE-certified personal trainer and an American Council on Exercise National Fitness Expert.

Strength training is an important part of improving your overall fitness, and for women, it can mean much more. In addition to numerous health benefits, adding weights to your routine can become a form of personal development that builds strength in all areas of life.

When I was a teenager, my grandmother used to tell me to stop lifting weights—it wasn’t lady-like, and the weight room should be a place for men. Several years later, she developed serious osteoporosis that put her in a wheelchair. Although most of the lessons she taught me were valuable, we eventually came to the mutual agreement that lifting weights is a wonderful thing for women to do. Today, more and more women are recognizing the benefits of spending time in the weight room.

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