Ladies, if you’re thinking about taking up exercise for the new year,
what exercise do you think is best for you?
Walking? Yoga? Dancing?
No, it’s weight training, according to new research and if you’re not
convinced that it is the best, here are some reasons to change your
mind.

a) Say No To-
Middle-Age Spread. Lean muscle helps you burn up to 25% more calories
every day. Women who lifted light weights added about 5 to 6 pounds of
metabolism-revving muscle and lost 21 pounds of fat. And by contrast,
cardio-only exercisers lost six pounds of muscle, making their metabolisms
more sluggish.

b) Mood Boosters-
Feeling down? Need something other than a doctor-prescribed anti-depressant?
Take up weightlifting. The risk of depression goes up for women after age 50.
The good news: strength training prompts your brain to release a low, steady
stream of mood-boosting brain chemicals, staving off that risk.

c) More Amorous-
Feeling less passionate as the years go by? Well, perhaps a 30 to 40 min.
session of weight training (a few times a week) can change that.
Doctors aren’t sure why, but they think being in shape and a boost in
moods may be the reasons for the renewed interest in passion.

d) Bone Protection-
Concerned about bone loss (osteoporosis)?
Strength training boosts bone mass in the spine almost 15%. Doing repetitive
pressure movements actually feeds the spine by drawing nutrients to the area.

e) Fall No More-
A major concern for those 55 and older: Falling down and breaking something.
Put those fears aside, strength training makes muscle fibers more reactive,
which improves balance.

f) Confidence Builder-
Live alone? Need someone to help you lift a piece of furniture or bring
in a 5 or 10 lb. bag of cat (dog) food? Strength train for 6 months or more
and you won’t have to rely on anyone. Carrying your own bags, moving
furniture, climbing stairs easily is a tremendous confidence booster.

g) Become Smarter-
Women who lift weights for an hour each week do significantly better
on cognitive tests after a year. It might have to do with better flow
to all organs, including the brain.

h) Headaches-
Again, blood flow may be the reason, but if headache pain is getting to you
and you don’t have (or don’t want to take) an aspirin, try lifting weights
for 10 to 20 mins.

i) An Inspiring Story-
You may have heard about the elderly lady from Canada named Joan McDonald,
who was gently pushed into taking up weightlifting from her daughter-a physical
trainer.
Ms. McDonald was rapidly declining and in terrible shape until her loving
daughter stepped in and started training her at age 70.
To see Joan’s story, go to youtube.com and type Joan McDonald in the search bar.
Or look for trainwithjoanofficial.com for more inspiration.

j) Use Your Own Body Weight-
Before investing in a set of weights, you may want to go online and
look for videos on easy push-ups and squats. Starting out using your
own bodyweight is a great way to start weight training. After that,
you can move up to soup cans, bottles of detergent and then light weights.
Need help in how to go about starting a weightlifting program?
Go to youtube.com and type beginner’s weightlifting or easy push-ups and
squats in the search bar.

Sources:
* Joan McDonald, Canadian Weightlifter
* Archives of Internal Medicine
* Boston University, School of Medicine
* Eric Robertson, Physical Therapist, DPT

Two requests:
If you enjoyed this post please make sure to share it with family,
friends, neighbors and coworkers via Facebook, TikTok, Instagram,
SnapChat, Pinterest and Twitter.
And if you really enjoyed and want to see more of it, please
tap on the donate button (at the top and side of this blog)
and leave us a tip (or donation) of $1, $2, or $5, so that we
can continue to research and write and then give out that
information to you.
Thank-You!