>U Mom Knows Best: The Benefits of Weightlifting For Older Ladies

Tuesday, February 11, 2020

The Benefits of Weightlifting For Older Ladies

How would you like to slow down the aging process? Weightlifting has plenty of benefits for ladies and will help us age better.


Most ladies do not lift weights as they are misinformed about the process of lifting weights. Most ladies think that lifting weights will cause them to have big bulky muscles or they think that they have to lift massive amounts of weights to see any difference. These are all myths about weightlifting that I want you to forget. Lifting weights are very beneficial for older ladies and we ladies should start incorporating weights into our fitness routine.  
  
 I used to not like lifting weights and always thought that I had no need for it. My daily fast walks with the kids were plenty of exercises to keep my heart healthy. I always thought weightlifting was only for those who wanted big muscles on their arms. So I never made time for any upper body strength training as my arms looked just fine to me.



Research has shown that exercise can slow down the physiological aging clock. That’s right, working out can keep you young.

  So while the kids were young, I just made time for fast cardio walks to keep my body healthy and in shape. I mean as a stay-at-home mom of five who has time for exercise that includes lifting weights? Not me as I barely had time to sit down. Well, that thinking all changed when I hit the big 50! My arms started to get droopy. My in-shape arms started to sag and look like bingo arms( a term used by my middle son, who was a teenager at the time.) The sad truth was my son was right and my arms were losing muscle mass. So I decided that what my flabby arms needed was some more cardio. So I took up running again to see if it could help with my middle age arms. While running helped me feel better, it did nothing for the loose skin hanging from my arms.


 When I turned 50, I also notice my belly getting wiggly despite my weight staying the same.

According to the American Council on Exercise, “Between the ages of 30 and 80, sedentary adults can experience as much as 30 to 40 percent loss of muscular strength as a result of reduced levels of muscle mass.

The Best Workout Tips For Stay At Home Moms 


Forty minutes a day to feel amazing all-day

 So I thought that all my body needed was running. I like running as it allows me to get my exercise time in quickly. My motto is 40 minutes a day/ five days a week of cardio exercise is so worth having my body feel good all day- so I make the time. A year later, I realized that my arms needed more than cardio exercise. It was at a health conference that year during a yoga session that I decided to do something about my arms. My athletic body was struggling with the yoga moves and I could not support my body with my arms


The important benefits of strength training after 50 include:
 Builds muscle mass ~ Strength is good for picking yourself up after a fall
 Builds bone density ~  Bones take longer to heal as we age
 Decreases body fat ~ Too much body fat isn’t ideal for you at any age
 Lowers the risk of chronic diseases  ~ Like arthritis, osteoporosis, diabetes, obesity, back pain 
 Improves mental health ~ Strength training has been shown to improve your mood



A pull-up bar was the answer to stronger arms


  My middle son just bought a pull-up bar and the only place that he could use the bar was in the kitchen on the laundry room door. So I decided that I wanted stronger arms and I was going to use that pull-up bar daily while I was waiting for my coffee to heat up in the microwave. I watched my son use the pull-up bar with ease as he did 20 pull-ups. I could not even do one pullup, so I just grabbed the bars and hung from them. At first, I was only able to hang for 30 seconds but gradually I increased my time. 

  Pink five-pound kettlebells and a body scan


  I later bought some pink 5-pound kettlebells and used those for arm exercises a couple days a week. When my husband's work offered a health insurance plan with a free gym membership, I decided to start using weightlifting machines. I started to notice that my arms were looking better and they had more strength. When I attended another fitness conference later that year, I was able to do yoga as my arms were strong. Another fitness conference a year later after I had a body scan, and with the help of watching my son lift weights, I decided to challenge my body to 6 months of weight lifting with free weights. I wanted to see what my now 54-year-old body was capable of. Some people play video games but I love taking my body to the limits. After 6 months of lifting weights 3 days a week, I was amazed at how strong my body was. My arms had toned muscles and my stomach for the first time in my life had curves. Check out my before and after body photos here.

Lifting weights can benefit peri-menopause and menopause

 
People may think that I am addicted to exercise and weight lifting. Well, I am addicted to the amazing benefits that I get from lifting weights. I think that I am going through that so-called change of life called peri-menopause but I am not sure as I have had no symptoms other than having my period only three times in the last year. I am 54 years young and have not experienced any hot flashes. I did think that maybe last summer, I had a hot flash but it was just a hot day. I did start taking black maca for my hormones to be on the safe side but I was just fine on the days that I forgot to take my maca supplement.



Really hitting it hard in the gym helps prevent these symptoms of peri-menopause and menopause. Strength training decreases body fat, increases muscle mass, and optimizes hormones.- Read more here

Weight lifting allows you to eat more

 Another benefit of lifting weights is I have had no weight gain. I think that I look better than I did 30 years ago. Doing regular strength training exercises builds muscle and muscle burns more calories than fat. According to WebMD,  muscle tissue burns more calories -- even when you're at rest -- than body fat. 10 pounds of muscle would burn 50 calories in a day spent at rest, while 10 pounds of fat would burn 20 calories.


  Exercise, in general, helps with your digestive symptoms and keeps you regular along with a healthy diet. I keep my potty schedule regular with this amazing fiber supplement. Use my code
MOMKNOBEST10 to save money on my favorite pink supplement
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Strength training can be done at home

 There are so many ways to strengthen your muscles and you don't even need a gym membership. Nor do you need a whole lot of time. Exercise does not have to be complicated as it is about moving your body. Some people like to make excuses about not having time to work out or they see fitness as a chore. Once you start making fitness a priority in your life, just like brushing your teeth, you will discover how amazing it makes you feel. You plan other things into your week so plan fitness and weight training into your schedule. There are ways to sneak exercise into your day. You should aim for 2-3 days of lifting weights. You can do your weight lifting with machines or at home with some 5-pound weights. You can even strengthen your muscles without weights with exercises like push-ups. Some people love the strong muscles that they get from online yoga classesKeep reading to discover resources for muscle exercises that you can do at home.

Tip: Exercising three days a week for 30 minutes keeps your body healthy. For weight loss do five days for 45 minutes each time.


Combine cardio and strength training 


 If you are short on time, there are many fitness routines that combine cardio and strength training together. Cross fit is one example and my favorite way is through a HIIT workout. I like practicing my high-intensity interval training at the gym on a cardio machine like a piece of elliptical equipment. I will work out a fast speed for 1-2 minutes then I will slow down for 30 seconds while increasing the intensity on the machine. I keep alternating fast and slow for 40 minutes and my body gets a great muscle workout. On days that I go running and want to include muscle strengthening exercises for my legs, I find some hills to run up.

You should aim for 2-3 days of lifting weights for strong muscles and 3-5 days of cardio exercises for a healthy heart.

My weekly workout routine

 I am one of those crazy people who love to exercise. My husband, on the other hand, exercises for the benefit of a healthy heart. My weekly exercise routine is 5 days of cardio exercise like running, fast walking, or on the elliptical at the gym. Then I include 3 days of lifting weights for 30 minutes when I meet my husband at the gym. I usually do my cardio exercises in the morning as it leaves me feeling amazing for the rest of the day. Then my weight muscle training is at night as my husband likes to go to the gym after work.  There really isn't a better time to work out or an exercise that is better than another. You figure out what form of exercise that is the best for you. The important thing is to get your heart rate up and challenge those muscles.


Links to check out for muscle strength exercises

  I included some links that show some examples of weightlifting exercises that you can do at home or at the gym. These exercises are ones that will help your muscles get stronger. Just keep in mind that it is not about how heavy the weight is but rather lifting the weight that challenges your muscles. So if you can only lift 3 pounds then do your repetition at that weight. Start with 2 sets of repetitions of 10. Increase the weights and sets of repetitions as you get stronger. It took me 6 months to get to what works for me and I do 5 sets of reps of 10 for each arm exercise. I like to have variety in my strength training so some days I use 6 weightlifting machines at the gym and other days I lift the free weights. On days that I can't get to the gym, I will do some push-ups and arm exercises with my 5-pound pink kettlebells and 10-pound hand weights.

 https://www.verywellfit.com/must-do-strength-training-women-over-50-3498202

https://www.shape.com/fitness/tips/20-tips-get-toned-arms-faster


Increase your protein intake for strong muscles

 As we age our protein needs also increase and most ladies are not consuming enough protein grams. So increasing your protein grams will help your muscles tone up. According to this protein calculator, as an active older lady, I need 60 -105 grams of protein a day! That means I need to eat at least 20 grams of protein per meal, if not more.


As a person who follows a mostly plant-based diet, that can be tough. So to meet my daily protein requirements, I always drink a protein shake for breakfast that has 30 grams of protein. I get 10 grams of protein from a collagen powder and 20 grams of clean vegan protein from NUZEST protein.

 Nuzest is a premium pea protein option that’s ideal for those who experience common food allergies, such as dairy, soy, or gluten. And, unlike many other plant-based proteins, it’s complete with nine essential amino acids. Nuzest's plant-based pea protein has up to 21 grams of protein per 25-gram serving. Best of all, it’s a sustainable source of protein, with much lower carbon and water footprints than animal-based proteins.

37 comments:

Brianne said...

Resistant training is so important for anyone, but it's so much more important for women, especially as we age. It can help us keep our muscle and bones healthy. The bones are the biggest thing in my opinion.

AiringMyLaundry said...

You look great! I've been wanting to start this. My arms are starting to look flabby and I hate it.

Why Girls Are Weird said...

This is really cool information and helpful to those of us at ANY age. Thanks so much for sharing this with us!

Bill said...

I didn't realize that resistance training could help with menopause symptoms. That's reason enough alone to start training with weights, I think.

Mom Knows Best said...

I had the flabby arms when I turned 50 and weights has help my arms

Lisa Favre said...

This is information I should relay to my mother. She's been losing a lot of muscle mass and flexibility in the recent years and I need to remind her how important it is to maintain. I fear so much that she will fall on ice during winter!

Heather R said...

I love that you explain the benefits of weightlifting. Cardio is great but add a little weightlifting to tone up and build those muscles.

Fatima D Torres said...

I'm always looking for more ways to stay fit. Just started a workout regimen that will help tone and maintain my weight.

supermompicks said...

When I started working out about 3 years ago, I got so many comments about how young I looked. It is true. You really do reverse age!

Marie at Complete Literature said...

I never liked to lift weights--I always thought it was boring. But as I have gotten older I have realized the need to keep my muscles going now that I am not doing as much work around the house or carrying around babies. Now I will lift weights while watching a movie to make the time pass better. And I've come to not mind it at all.

Cris Olachea said...

That is an amazing exercise and you look great. In my experience this kinds of exercise doesn't fit to my body and metabolism. I have to have a very strict diet when I do weigh lifting i , otherwise I will buck up, look weird and fatter.

Dr. Shruti Bhattacharya said...

Weightlifting keeps the body in shape. One should definitely not give up weightlifting coz of age. It tons the muscles and keeps them stronger.

The summerwinediary said...

I 100% agree with you. Weight lifting for women is amazing and has so so many benefits. I am glad that you are spreading the word so that perhaps more and more women can start training.

Mayuri said...

I love doing yoga but now I have started some weightlifting exercises too. I enjoy weightlifting as it gives a sense of accomplishment. This is such a great and informative post!

Passion Piece said...

I didn't know that weightlifting may have so many benefits! I'll try to convince my mum to take up this activity for sure. :)

Ckrusch said...

You look amazing! I am definitely adding weight lifting to my routine! I had no idea of all the benefits!

Nyxie said...

I loved weight lifting. I started when i was 23 and worked at it until 25. Then I started to creep back into cardio and before you know it I was back obsessing over calories and the scale. Sadly that has deteriorated and I'm unsure if I'll ever be able to get back to that place. But it made me feel so, so powerful!

Ilovemesomuch said...

Definitely a great read I need to share this with my mom.

Simplyfood said...

I really need to motivate my self to get fit and join the gym . Your post is very encouraging .

Holly Hood said...

This is a great post and very informative for any age. My body could benefit from some weight training.

Monica said...

I've just started exercising, and plan to incorporate weight lifting into my routine. Thanks for the information!

Rhia said...

You look amazing! Thank you for sharing this with us, I absolutely love body building. It gives you such a feeling of empowerment!

Ruth I said...

These are all factual and should be taken seriously by people of all ages. It is so fun to do and will keep you super healthy. Must be more exciting to try with friends!

Melanie Edjourian said...

Loads of useful information there. I might need to fish out the husbands weights and start light training.

Beth said...

We have a friend who is a personal trainer and she always recommends weight training to everyone!

Forever My Little Moon said...

I have never considered lifting weights before but I can see how beneficial it is!

Tasheena said...

I have to look into adding this into my workout routine.

Richelle Milar said...

This is a really great and very informative post! I’m surely going to share this to my mom! We can do weight lifting as our bonding time

Monica Simpson said...

We've been struggling to get my elderly aunt to boost her appetite. She never wants to eat. She's in PT so maybe if we push the weights that will make her more hungry!

Gervin Khan said...

Wow! Such a tedious task to do for old people but has an amazing benefits. I need to start doing weigh lifting too, you look amazingly physically fit!

Beautiful Touches said...

Working out for forty minutes doesn't seem so bad and helping build up bone density should be incentive enough!!

Christy G said...

I wish that I had a Planet Fitness near by. I know that I should be weight lifting, even body weight exercises would be good too.

Anonymous said...

I am working on getting fit and lifting weights is amazing and so god for the muscles and body. I have to day... when I was 16 and about 90 pounds... I ran track and cross country and could squat around,440 pounds.

Gust si Aroma said...

I can confirm that workouts make me feel better , with more energy and maybe a little bit younger! I don't need to give up to it!

Renee said...

This is good information. I think I am going to need to start some weight training soon.

Marysa said...

I have heard that weight training is essential as you get older. This is a good reminder and now I know why!

Ckrusch said...

Awesome info! I have been working out at home and want to use some of your tips! Thanks for sharing them!

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