Weight training is not only for men, and lifting weights doesn’t mean you’re going to look big and boxy. Many people believe weight lifting is dangerous and can create stress on your joints and muscles, but sports medicine researchers have concluded that weight lifting has relatively low injury rates, and the key is to perform the movements correctly with proper training.

Cardio isn’t the only exercise that makes you lose weight, because lifting weights burns more calories throughout the day and while the body is at rest. Personal trainer and weightlifter Sara Carr says, “As soon as you stop doing cardio, you stop burning calories,” whereas weight training will allow you to burn calories all day long.

If you want to see progress, you should diversify the number of reps per weight, so to increase your strength, start with a weight that you can only lift six to eight reps in. Once you can do up to 12 reps, increase your weight until you can only do eight reps, because this kind of progression is crucial to getting stronger.

If you think weight training won’t help you with your flexibility, think again! When you lift weights, you are lengthening and extending your muscles, so through this repeated movement of engaging your muscles and encouraging their full range of motion, you’re improving your flexibility.