Weight Training Builds Muscle Faster Than You Think

AORN Journal, March, 1999

According to an article in the November/December 1998 issue of Health, important changes take place in women's muscles within the first few weight training sessions. Researchers studied eight women and 13 men, who previously were sedentary, by engaging them in an eight-week weight training program. The researchers collected blood and tissue samples periodically during the program.

After only two weeks, the women's muscles were producing strength-building proteins. The men experienced these changes after four weeks. Also, in the first six weeks, testosterone levels in the blood rose in both women and men. Testosterone helps the body build new muscle fibers and recover from injury more quickly and keeps muscles in good repair.

"Weight training pays off--and fast," Health 12 (November/December 1998) 22.