Ladies!!! Are you afraid to begin a weight training strength building program?? You should be more afraid if you DON’T START weight training because the price to pay is TOO GREAT.
Beverly’s Pull-Up at 68 years old
I hear this a lot. Women want to begin a weight training strength program but they are nervous and apprehensive.
They are afraid they will get bulky.
Maybe afraid they will get hurt.
Or they are nervous they won’t know what to do and concerned that they will look silly.
There are so many reasons women will talk themselves out of weight training – never mind lifting heavy like I have ALL of my clients do (eventually!!)
When women begin to ask me about training some tell me about this fear that they have and my response to them is:
YOU SHOULD BE MORE AFRAID TO NOT START WEIGHT TRAINING.
See…..this is the thing. If you want to remain “intact” and youthful looking – you want to begin training TODAY.
I used to work at a local YMCA and I saw SO MANY PEOPLE on a daily basis. Whenever I saw very fit women (and men) who were in their 70’s + I got to know them and I asked them MANY questions about their life and their habits. I wanted to know what was working and what was not working for them. I wanted to know what their life had been like.
These individuals were LIVING LIFE – REALLY living life. Not just existing. Not just letting the days go by.
- They are going on vacations – and pretty big vacations!!
- They are playing with their grandchildren.
- They are skiing.
- They are doing marathons.
- They are PARTICIPATING IN LIFE!!!!
I don’t know about you – but I want that too. I want to REALLY live life until the day I die.
I DON’T WANT TO DETERIORATE and ROT.
Prevent Slow Detorioration!!
Begin a Weight Training Strength Program
Honestly……most people just deteriorate and rot.
The last years of their life is literally them rotting away.
Sounds morbid – doesn’t it?
But the truth is – many people think aging means you just begin to fall apart.
We are OK excusing ourselves because after all…… “Well, I am getting older.”
We are OK ACCEPTING that this is what happens.
After all – we watched this slow degeneration happen to our parents.
This happened to my mother.
WHAT WOULD I TELL MY MOTHER TODAY IF SHE WERE MY CLIENT?
I remember watching my mother slowly “lose herself”. I was in my late teens/early 20’s and I remember her getting frustrated with her body and the “flabbiness”. I remember her looking at her sagging skin and looking so sad and hopeless.
When she was in her 50’s she began getting sick often. She was run down and frequently tired. Finally the doctor diagnosed her with hypothyroid and she was placed on Synthroid but her thyroid never stabilized.
Today with all that I know – I now understand that she most likely had Hashimoto’s Autoimmune Thyroid Disease – and this is the reason why her thyroid never stabilized. The doctors probably did not diagnose her thyroid properly.
The issues with her thyroid made her tired, irritable and she gained more weight – which made her more miserable. Her body was so vulnerable at this state and she eventually contracted Lyme Disease.
You see…..my mother was a BEAUTIFUL woman (and I thought she was beautiful until the day she died) but she saw someone else’s reflection in the mirror. She did not see herself anymore – she did not recognize the woman looking back at her.
She had lost herself somewhere along the way and it began happening in her 40’s. Then she passed away suddenly at the age of 62.
I remember it vividly as it is a day I will never forget.
SO WHAT WOULD I TELL MY MOTHER TODAY IF SHE WERE MY CLIENT?
I would have told her to begin learning how to RESTORE all function in EVERY AREA of her body.
I would tell FIRST AND FOREMOST to find someone who TRULY understands thyroid disease and get QUALITY and FULL lab tests done. Make sure they test ALL 7 MARKERS – not just the typical 1 or 2 markers.
Then I would explain why she needs to start weight training IMMEDIATELY. (In her mind she thought she was active because she gardened, weeded her lawn, cut her shrubs, etc., but gardening and walking is not enough. It’s just not enough to MAINTAIN your body and your health the way you want to).
I would tell her to start a weight training strength program (and not just with 8lb. or 10lb. dumbbells) – I am talking about LIFTING HEAVY!!
The benefits are HUGE!!!
- Arthritis – strength training releases as hormone known as Cytokine 6 or IL-6 which helps to decrease inflammation.
- Diabetes – Strength Training helps improve glucose control due to increased muscle density
- Osteoporosis – Results from a study conducted at Tufts University, which were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1994 show that women can increase bone density and reduce risk of fractures.
- Obesity – it’s obvious that an increase in muscle mass helps to increase one’s metabolic rate.
- Back Pain – if you are muscularly weak how do expect to support your musculoskeletal system well? Strong, dense muscles helps to support our bodies.
- Depression – NOBODY EVER FEELS WORSE AFTER WORKING OUT. Strength training improves self esteem and self confidence plus it boosts all those endorphins. So why wouldn’t you want that?
Lastly……strength training – and I mean heavy, vigorous strength training sends an important signal to your body that you are not in hibernation!!!
You want to send a signal to your body that you are ALIVE and WELL and that is has a JOB TO DO.
You want your body to know it still has a PURPOSE and that all systems need to be working.
- I have seen women’s skin texture improve. Their skin has gone from saggy and thin to FIRM and THICK.
- I have seen butts lift and bra fat disappear.
- I have seen knee pain and back pain become a thing of the past.
- I have seen 68 and 70 year old women do their first pull up and deadlift 55-65lbs. AT LEAST!
- And women skiing black diamonds well in to their 50’s and BEYOND.
This is how it should be…….we have no reason to stop progressing out bodies and our life.
Granted we will age in YEARS but we DO NOT NEED TO ROT AND DETERIORATE.
This is a choice that is made. We make the choice to work hard AND IMPROVE our health.
………Or we make the choice to become passive and stagnate.
Unfortunately, the latter is what most people do and they pay the price.
The price is eventual diabetes, back pain, knee pain, arthritis, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc.
Like I was saying…….you should be MORE AFRAID TO NOT BEGIN A WEIGHT TRAINING STRENGTH PROGRAM.
The learning curve is short and easy. Trust me – you will catch on fast and you will be hooked.
All of my clients are LOVING the strength they develop.
They love being able to lift their King size bed off the floor and moving tables with ease.
They love playing with their kids on the playground like they were children themselves.
They love seeing themselves succeed – DAILY……. and I love watching them succeed.
Do yourself a favor and begin a weigh training strength program today.
Find someone you feel comfortable with……someone who will give you confidence but also someone who will push you just a bit further than you would on your own.
Your body will be so glad you did.
Oh…..and if you need a good book to motivate you on WHY you should start check out “Younger Next Year for Women.”