Weight training has long been thought of as a way to gain physical beauty and self-esteem. Nevertheless, weight training can help with weight loss, toning up, protection of your bones, heart and believe it or not your brain.
Some feel that by training with weights, they will become bigger; and yes, this may be the case in the beginning. The reason for this is one tends to build muscle before they burn off fat. Now the treat comes in when you do start to burn off the fat, you will look tighter giving you that trim look that you are seeking.
It is suggested that women 40 years old and older should incorporate a weight-training program into their exercise routine. For the average woman, a 20-minute work out twice a week will be enough to add about three pounds of muscle within 10 weeks.
So just how many reps should you do anyway? The
American
College
of Sports medicine suggests doing one set of eight to 12 reps for each exercise. Some have the belief that when you do weight training, you should lift weights slowly; the experts contend that you should lift weights at an even, natural rate for you. When first choosing weights for your weight-training program you may want to start off using lighter weights and increase your reps to 12 to 15. By doing this you will condition your muscles to get use to this new training regime. Do these for about four weeks then gradually increase your weight amount and reduce the amount of reps.
Weight training can also help women over 40 that have weak knees and ankles. Because we use our muscles to brace our joints, strengthening them supports and stabilizes them, preventing injuries. Remember to start out light, if you find that your joints are sore afterwards, use even lighter weights or you may even have to try a whole different exercise altogether.
As we age as women, our body fat tends to lodge around our middle and then we have the dreaded pooch that will not go away. The good news is weight training can even help with our middles. It has been proven that women that did a full body strength weight-training program for one hour twice a week defeated the battle of the budge.
With most exercises, it is advised that we stretch before we begin exercise. With a weight-training program, stretching is not necessary, in fact stretching may even reduce the amount of strength you are working with when lifting. Do not confuse stretching with warming up. Warming up before lifting is recommended. It is a good idea to spend about 10 minutes working out on a rower or a bike to warm up your muscles before lifting.
Some women over 40 worry about their backs and lifting, women with bad backs can still lift but they do have to be careful. For instance, it would become necessary to work on strengthening the muscles in your torso area. When seated, remember to always sit with your back against a chair if lifting on your back, always bring both feet up onto the bench in order to support your spine.
By working the largest muscle groups in your body, you’ll burn off calories giving you the desired look and feel that you want. Who says we women over 40 have to settle, feel good and look good because these are truly the best years of our lives.
