Lifting Weights is Not Just for Muscle Heads

When most people think of lifting weights, images of muscular body builders come to mind. That’s why lots of clients, especially females and seniors, are ambivalent, at first, when I introduce weights into their fitness routines. They just don’t want “all those muscles”! Truth be told, bodybuilding is quite different from resistance training. While the first is greatly concerned with muscle hyper-trophy (building mass and size, using consecutively heavier weights), the latter has a much broader connotation.

Besides building and preserving lean muscle, resistance training using lighter weights, dumbbells, rubber bands, cables, etc., can benefit your heart, help you lose fat, improve balance and flexibility, strengthen bones and joints, as well as make you look and feel better overall.

Lifting weights can help you lose weight and keep it off. Yes, strength training with weights burns calories, but it also helps to preserve and build   muscle. The more muscle you carry the more efficiently your body will burn fat and calories all day long – even when you’re asleep.

Pumping iron is a great way to promote bone health and prevent such degenerative conditions as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and osteopenia. Around the age of 25, men and women begin to lose about one percent of their bone density each year. According to most doctors, one of the best ways to prevent and even reverse bone loss is to add regular strength training to your workouts. For younger people, moderate but challenging weight training 2 – 4 times per week for half an hour is excellent. For seniors, over 55, shorter spurts, say 15 to 20 minutes 3 – 5 times a week is recommended.

Whether you’re a weekend athlete or an active senior citizen, strength training is a sure way to improve coordination, balance and even posture. Combine stretching with various weight training exercises and you’ll notice greater strength and flexibility in no time. Strength training can also help build and strengthen any muscle groups that may lag behind such as calves, triceps, etc. So, whether you’re playing sports, enjoying an active vacation, or just running errands, you’ll become stronger and more injury free.  Having better balance has been shown to reduce the risk of serious falls in seniors by up to 40 percent.

Lifting weights is a super way to improve muscle tone and boost self- esteem. Lunges, presses and flies, etc. with free weights can tighten and reshape problem areas like sagging arms, a droopy butt, and jiggly tummy. And face it, when you look better, you just plain feel better about yourself and life in general. Many people who struggle with depression, anxiety, and poor self -image report that working out regularly with weights has improved both their mood and outlook on life.

Before launching into a new fitness program always be sure and check with your doctor. Working with a fitness professional, at least initially, will insure that you learn proper form and technique.

source https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2019/04/16/lifting-weights-is-not-just-for-muscle-heads/