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Strength Train For Life

Do you feel tired? Do you feel worse as the years accumulate? Do you have a layer of fat around your waist? Never fear, strength training is here!

October 24, 2007
By Lynne Brick, RN, BSN

 
 

Strength training is the key to unlocking your physical potential. “Strength training” simply means making your muscles work harder than normal, which strengthens them. Strong muscles are not only beautiful, but they also help slow the aging process, prevent debilitating disease and change your metabolism — the greater your muscle mass, the more efficiently you burn fat, even when you sleep! For each pound of muscle gained, you burn an additional 35 to 50 calories a day. That adds up!

While this may seem like a dream, your dreams can become reality. You can be toned, energized and lean in just 6 to 12 weeks with the proper program. (The American Heart Association recommends that women strength train twice a week.)

Many women have “myth-conceptions” about strength training. Let me dispel a few:

Myth-Conception #1:

When a woman lifts weights, she becomes big and bulky and looks unfeminine.

Fact: You will not bulk up. The opposite is true! You will slim down and tone your entire body. Fat takes up five times more space than muscle. If you replace fat on your thighs with the same weight in muscle, your thighs will become much smaller. Women should be concerned about not having enough muscle, not about having too much. Besides, our bodies don’t have sufficient testosterone to make the big, bulky muscles that men get.

Myth-Conception #2:

Weight training is only for young, athletic girls.

Fact: Strength is especially important for women over 50. Starting at 30, women lose a half-pound of muscle a year. Strength training helps reverse this muscle loss. According to Dr. Miriam Nelson’s research at Tufts University, older women have been able to throw away their canes, walkers and wheelchairs simply by beginning a regular strength-training program. They improved their confidence and self-esteem and found that they could hike and even skate with their grandchildren. Strength training truly is the “fountain of youth”!

Myth-Conception #3:

Strength training only helps you to look good for the beach.

Fact: Strength training not only helps you look good on the outside, but it also improves your internal health and well-being. It will help you fight debilitating diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and osteoporosis. Strength training also improves your balance and prevents injuries.

Research has found that strength training can raise spinal bone mineral density by 13 percent in six months. It can increase glucose utilization in the body by 23 percent in four months, lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and increase HDL (“good”) cholesterol and lower blood pressure. Strength training also eases the pain of osteoarthritis while strengthening joints. In other words, strength training is good medicine!

Myth-Conception #4:

Strength training means you have to lift heavy iron or steel weights.

Fact: Lifting weights is only one way to strength train. Your muscles do not care if the type of resistance used is an oversized rubber band, a rubber tube, your own hand, a towel or even gravity. As long as the force is strong enough to make your muscles work harder than usual, you will gain the benefits of strength training.

Training TiPS

  • Use the H.I.T. principle: High Intensity Training. Whether you are working with dumbbells, free weights or pin-loaded equipment, you should “feel” each repetition (rep) through the full range of motion. It should not feel too easy or too hard. The resistance should be strong enough that you feel your muscles exerting energy. You may also be able to see your muscles contracting or shortening.
  • Train slowly. The slower the movement, the more effectively your muscle fibers will work together to lift the weight. This is essential for strength training. For the upper body, train 4 seconds in one direction and 4 seconds in the other direction. For the lower body, train 10 seconds in one direction and 5 seconds in the other direction.
  • Breathe. Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth as you open the joint and again as you close the joint. Deep breathing is essential to deliver oxygen to the working muscles and to energize your body.
  • One set. Time is no longer an obstacle for effective strength training. Research proves that one set of 8-12 reps will deliver fabulous results! Again, be sure to use enough resistance so that you feel your muscles working hard.
    In only 30 to 40 minutes, you can strength-train your entire body.
  • Use perfect posture. Whether you are standing, sitting or lying down, concentrate on connecting invisible dots between your belly button and your spine. Then align your entire spine in a line. Next, create a “plumb line” from your ear down to your ankle. Why? Perfect posture allows you to breathe more effectively, keeps your internal organs in their proper place and helps you stay balanced.
  • Isolate each muscle you are training. For example, when you do a bicep curl, your back should not move at all. Squeeze your abdominal muscles, roll your shoulders back, place your elbows close to your body — and then perform the bicep curl.
  • Shake and stretch after each set. Shaking keeps your muscles loose and relaxed. Stretching lengthens muscles after they have been contracting, helps blood circulate back to your heart and prevents muscle soreness.
  • Rest and recover. Allow your body to rest for 48 hours between strength-training sessions. Muscle soreness, caused by the lactic acid produced during strength training, causes the soreness. A hot bath or sauna, followed by a stretch, will help.
  • Mix it up. Your body will adapt to your strength-training program in only 30 days. It is essential to mix up your workout. Use pin-loaded equipment, try free weights, take a BodyPump™ class, use dumbbells, hire a personal trainer or train with a buddy.
  • Buddy up. Ask a friend or training partner to spot you as you lift, then return the favor. You will motivate each other and make sure that no one is injured if a weight slips.

The bottom line on improving your “bottom line”? You can’t afford not to strength train. Your life may depend on it!

LYNNE BRICK is the owner of Brick Bodies® and Lynne Brick’s Women’s Health & Fitness™, a chain of coed and women-only health clubs in the greater Baltimore area. An author, international fitness consultant and motivational speaker, she can be reached at Lynn...@Brickbodies.com.

 
 
Filed Under: Body Balance