Weight Training-What It Can Do for You!
TGIF Friday, August 21, 2009
The importance of weight/resistance training has been blogged about, talked about, written about in medical studies and more. Of course, weight training or weight bearing activities help strengthen the bones & that helps prevent osteoporosis later in life. In fact, many women in their 20's already have early signs of bone thinning. NOT A GOOD THING!
This "pre-osteoporosis" is a result of not eating right, eating too little, eating to little healthy fat & protein & just too little of all the needed vitamins & mineral in food. Food is always a better way to get your vitamins & minerals although if you are an elite athlete/competitor or work out very very hard, sometimes supplementation can help. Talk to your doctor about this. This "pre-osteoporosis" is also a result of not enough weight bearing activities which will strengthen the bones & contribute to bone health. Between too little food & no weight resistance exercises, it is a prescription for deteriorating bones & discs along with risk of bone fracture & breaks as we age if not sooner. AND, breaking bones later in life has lead to inability to recover, if you get my drift!!!!
For me, I have been lifting weights since my early 20's but it was that kind of haphazard type of lifting. No real goal in site but just doing something. Of course less was known & written about when I was in my 20's. AND doing something sure was better than doing nothing!!!
The importance of weight/resistance training has been blogged about, talked about, written about in medical studies and more. Of course, weight training or weight bearing activities help strengthen the bones & that helps prevent osteoporosis later in life. In fact, many women in their 20's already have early signs of bone thinning. NOT A GOOD THING! This "pre-osteoporosis" is a result of not eating right, eating too little, eating to little healthy fat & protein & just too little of all the needed vitamins & mineral in food. Food is always a better way to get your vitamins & minerals although if you are an elite athlete/competitor or work out very very hard, sometimes supplementation can help. Talk to your doctor about this. This "pre-osteoporosis" is also a result of not enough weight bearing activities which will strengthen the bones & contribute to bone health. Between too little food & no weight resistance exercises, it is a prescription for deteriorating bones & discs along with risk of bone fracture & breaks as we age if not sooner. AND, breaking bones later in life has lead to inability to recover, if you get my drift!!!!
For me, I have been lifting weights since my early 20's but it was that kind of haphazard type of lifting. No real goal in site but just doing something. Of course less was known & written about when I was in my 20's. AND doing something sure was better than doing nothing!!!
When I hit my mid 30's, I was approached by a guy in the gym about whether I was interested in competing in bodybuilding. It was not a pick up thing (well, that was what I said to myself) because most everyone knew I was happily married. Anyway, I thought, why not give it a try. I was scared BUT I thought, this might be something I could be good at. So, I started training with him & spent about a year putting on muscle before I decided to compete. I competed 2 years in VERY SMALL drug free competitions & won my age/height group both years.
BUT, I digress. What did weights do for me & what can they do for you. For me, I had to start eating to train like this SO this started me on my learning process to eat better. I ate more rather than hardly anything. I ate more protein since many women don't get enough protein & they eat way too many salads devoid of healthy ingredients. I ate more healthy fats (I had avoided most fat in general before this & that is not good!) AND it got me paying attention to how my body responds to exercise and food! My real "listening to the body" started then. It is not that I had not been paying attention before BUT this really made me focus on how healthy foods feed the body & how exercise can change how you look when you put the effort into it.
Weight resistance is such a great thing for women beyond the so important aspect of strengthening your bones.
- It teaches you to pay attention & hold your form. When you do that, you stand up straighter, your posture is better and you are working those core muscles at the same time.
- When you stand up straighter, if you are short like me, you look taller! If you are taller, you just look friggin awesome!
- When you stand up straighter, you appear more confident & people take you more seriously. Hey, even if you are not feeling great, you will be surprised at how different you feel & how people approach you differently when you stand up straight.
- Weight lifting can help you reshape your body. Yes, we all have a certain body types. Pear, apple, hourglass, ruler and more depending on the article you read. Here are a couple for you to check out: Body Shapes and Female Body Shapes. BUT, weight training can help you balance out those shapes by focusing more work on areas that need balancing & less on those that just need to be toned. Again, I have said in the past, many women are pear shaped. By lifting a bit heavier or more intensely in the shoulder & upper back area, you can widen that area to balance out the lower half. On the other end of the coin with pear shapes, you can do a bit higher rep & less heavy weight training in a circuit training type routine to work on slimming down the lower half. Of course, food is a big part & I always have to throw that in!!!
- Weight training can tighten you up, like in the under arm area we all hate to see "flap in the wind.. or flap when there is no wind", tighten & lift the butt, tighten those inner thighs & more. Who doesn't want to look leaner & toner! Now, if you were severely overweight or obese, many times the weight lost will be a lot of excess skin that may need to be removed by surgery BUT weight training still builds muscle which is good for health & burning more calories at rest.
- As you age, I can't emphasize enough from personal experience how important this is not only to body health but to fighting the aging hormones in terms of mood, weight gain, depression & more. It has been so crucial in not only my weight maintenance but keeping my body from "falling apart"!
I could go on & on about this since I am a weight lover BUT these are just a few points to hopefully get you thinking about how great weight/resistance training can be for you! Don't let my picture deter you if that is not your goal! It is my goal. You put together a program that works for you & makes you look the way you want to look!
Ugh. Tricep work is not a favorite of mine, but I don't want to flap away. I know this, but better do more triceps. Thanks for the reminder!
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I love tricep work! Although as I get older, harder to keep tight. When I was younger, it was one of my easiest body parts. Grew & tightened like crazy. Not so much anymore! :O
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I don't like weights at all, but I'm totally on the bandwagon because of all the health benefits. And, well, for vanity reasons too!
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Weight lifting has long been on my hate list. But after doing it for many years now and seeing the results, I'm convinced it's a good thing! And I've found ways to make it enjoyable
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Jody, once again this is wonderful. I especially like the part about appearing taller. At a bit over 5'9" I like the thought of being "awesome!"
I hope you have a great weekend!
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Diane, you are friggin awesome but not only due to your height. You are one amazing person!
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I love feeling strong when I lift weights. Even when it hurts it feels good.
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Kellie, I am so with you. I LOVE weights. I love the feel of them when I am doing them & I love the results! Yes, form is so important!
I had a young guy comment on how good my form was the other day. I responded thank you of course but also how it has kept me mostly injury free for all these years I have been working out & that is A LOT of years!
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Crabby & Charlotte. So funny that you both dislike the weights. I LOVE them & hate that dang cardio BUT I do it like you guys do the weights!
Crabby, yes, vanity is in there & Charlotte, I have yet to find a way to make cardio enjoyable but I do it!
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you look awesome...I need to add some weights so I can look as good as you...problem is I don't love them like you do...BUT I will force myself to do them anyway-thanks for sharing!
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Sian, thx for visiting! I love weights & hate the cardio BUT I do lots of cardio so it can be done. You can make it fun too.. well, I guess that is my thought process.
Find a weight resistance program that you like.. maybe a boot camp class. They are HARD but they tone you up big time! There are other weight classes out there too that might make it more enjoyable for you if you are doing it with other people.. if you are a class type of person... or if you have the money, a trainer can start you off & then you can go it alone after a few sessions.
Good luck. It is worth it though!
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