Give Me Strength

Once I saw strength training as something only body builders would want to do. Now I know it’s as important to my health as brushing my teeth.  Just as I don’t want to develop rotten teeth and inflamed gums, I don’t want my bones to develop osteoporosis, my muscles to give way to flab and my ligaments to deteriorate. That hunched over senior with the brittle bones shuffling down the street with a walker once stood tall and likely would still if he/she had followed a strength regimen.

While most of us can get away with a hit or miss approach to exercise while we’re young and still stay relatively healthy, by middle age we’re faced with the ugly and painful reality of what lack of regular exercise will do to our bodies. Bloated bellies, strained backs and other signs of our mortality begin to accumulate. Meanwhile the more active among us seem to have drunk from the fountain of youth and maintain a youthful physique and general wellbeing.

Fortunately if we heed our wakeup call, whenever it comes, we can regain much of our youthful strength, flexibility and attractiveness. Getting our heart pumping with cardio workouts is important, but we’ve also got to build our strength.

Today I worked with a middle-age lady who did not know that we begin to lose muscle mass each year beginning as early as when we turn 25 to 30 years old. Our metabolism slows because of it. We also gradually lose our ability to lift as much. She also didn’t know that our bones become more brittle over time, especially for women after menopause, if we don’t strength train. While she takes calcium and other supplements she wasn’t aware that you need to work the bones for the calcium to be absorbed.

It did not surprise me that she did not know these things about strength training, because up until recent years I didn’t know them either. While fitness fans learn such fun facts early on Joe Six Pack and the rest of us typically are clueless. Fortunately I began learning the score after taking a “Healthy Lifestyle and Weight Loss” program several years ago.

After I showed my client how to use the weight machines and discussed the various benefits of strength training, she seemed determined to make weight training part of her regular fitness routine. Yeah!

When it comes to strength training, for best results work all your body’s major muscles and bones. Use the full range of weight machines vs. just a few and/or learn other ways of working your muscles including using your body weight, dumbbells and bands. The American Council of Exercise has a great exercise library that includes video and written break downs of exercises for the entire body. Of course if you have health issues or are highly deconditioned, please check with your physician before starting an exercise program.