When we think about exercise, we often think of cardiovascular exercise rather than strength training. There are a number of reasons why you should lift weights. For many, weight training conjures up images of huge muscle bound steroid-using body builders straining over huge barbells in a dingy basement gym. This image isn’t appealing to many women who aren’t interested in getting too muscular and bulky. Many parents also see weight training as too risky for their kids. The older population can also see weight training as unnecessary and too strenuous.
The truth of the matter is that nearly everyone regardless of their age or gender would benefit from weight training. Strength training can help you lose weight, shed body fat, strengthen your bones, and is your best defence from losing muscle if you’re over 30 years old. Maintaining muscle mass is a key factor if you’re looking at staying active and healthy into middle age and beyond.
Strength training can deliver many of the benefits of cardiovascular exercise and gives some additional bonuses. Building muscle is great for controlling blood sugars, as muscle is the active tissue that uses blood glucose. This reduces the risk of diabetes and heart disease by a whopping 30%.
While many younger women understand how effective weight training is for controlling their body weight and keeping lean, perimenopausal women can get these benefits and more from training. Weight training results in a small increase in the hormone testosterone. Testosterone is known as the male sex hormone. However, testosterone is also present in women in very small amounts. This small increase in testosterone in response to weight training seems to reduce perimenopausal symptoms such as mood swings, irregular periods, and weight gain. Don’t worry –you won’t bulk up or grow a beard with this small amount of testosterone.
If you’re looking at starting a weight training programme, we’d recommend getting a programme that involves using big muscle groups and exercises that have you standing on your feet. The more active muscle tissue you have, the more benefits you’ll get from your programme. Standing on your feet when training teaches you balance as well as making you stronger when you’re on your feet. The benefits of training are specific to the posture that we train in. While training on machines requires less technical skill, it doesn’t teach you how to move and also requires less muscle activity. In the long run you won’t get the benefits from machine training that you’ll get from training on your feet. You’ll notice that you’ll get stronger within weeks of starting a weight training programme. In the following months you’ll get more muscle and start to lose body fat. It’s glorious stuff!
Making the decision to start weight training is hard part. Hopefully we’ve given you some reasons to start. Hope to see you in the gym.
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