Weight Lifting for Women - Guidance from the Experts

If you've followed my blog, you know that I recommend the New Rules of Lifting series by Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove.

I recommend these books because when you follow the exercise workouts, you get results - strength, definition, weight loss, and a major sense of accomplishment. And no - you will NOT get bulky. Ain't in the hormones!

The New Rules of Lifting books I've used are listed in the right column of this blog. I started with NRoL4Women, progressed to NROL4Life, and am now using NROLSupercharged, the latest book in the series.

You can also join the fitness forum that features the books - jpfitness.com. It will definitely help answer many of your questions about weight and strength training for Women.

Busting Common Fitness Myths - Forbes Article

I stumbled on a very important article from Forbes.com about fitness myths. I thought I would add my 2 cents based on my experience boosting my fitness levels.

See what you think about these myths:

Myth #1  Exercise Can Erase A Bad Diet
This is a no-brainer. A bad diet is just not conducive to personal fitness, just as smoking is the antithesis of good health. If you think you can erase the effects of those 3 morning doughnuts with some afternoon cardio, think again!

Myth #2  You Just Need To Tone
There is no such thing as toning. Challenge your muscles with strength training if you want to look better.

Myth #3  Men And Women Need To Exercise Differently
Why? Muscles are muscles regardless of whether you're male or female. Men can grow them much bigger than women because of the hormonal differences.

Myth #4  Women Should Do Low Weights, High Reps
Smell the Roses, Ladies! Barbie Weights accomplish absolutely nothing!

Myth #5  Always Stretch Before Exercising
According to the Forbes article, "While this is the traditional advice, (personal trainer) Wiedenbach says stretching before a workout weakens the muscles and may increase the risk of injury." Alwyn Cosgrove's workouts (New Rules of Lifting for Women and New Rules of Lifting for Life) start with warmups and finish with stretching and foam-rolling exercises.

Myth #6  You Can Spot Reduce Fat
Just as it is impossible to tone your body, spot reducing will not work.

Myth #7  You'll Burn Only Fat At Your Target Heart Rate
The best exercise to burn fat is interval training. For example, you maintain a high stationary bicycle speed for 20 seconds and slow down to a low speed to recover for 40 seconds to complete an interval. You can work up to 10 intervals for a solid fat-burning session.

Myth #8  You'll Burn More Fat On An Empty Stomach
Without energy, it makes sense that you'll burn fat. But Wiedenbach claims that you'll also burn muscle, something you do not want to lose.

Myth #9  Shakes Are Great For Weight Loss
Protein shakes are perfect for expediting muscle repair (building muscle) after a strength training workout, not losing weight.

Myth #10 Eat Only The Egg Whites
This only applies if you happen to be allergic to egg yolks!

Strength Training for Women Over 50 is Mandatory

Why is strength training for women over 50 a mandatory activity?

To quote Dr. Pamela Peeke, author of Fight Fat After Forty, writes that

Weight lifting in combination with aerobic exercise is a non-negotiable essential in every over-forty woman's life. It is the secret to removing weight as well as to keeping it off.

Here are several reasons WHY strength training is mandatory for women over 50:

1. After the age of 40, we start losing muscle mass at the rate of up to 10% per decade. That's why 70 and 80 year old women (and men) shuffle. That's why getting up from the couch or lounge chair requires a major effort the older you get.
2. If weight loss is your goal, dieting alone will expedite muscle loss. Dieters who hit the wall after a few months are experiencing the loss of muscle mass. They are losing the furnace (muscle) that burns fat.
3. Increasing muscle mass improves circulation and works your heart (a muscle).
4. Strength training reduces stress and helps alleviate the depression that sometimes accompanies menopause. It's a scientific fact that you will feel better after a workout (given that you do it correctly). The vast majority of people who hate exercise learn to appreciate the post workout good feelings.
5. Diabesity is becoming a raging epidemic. According to Dr. David Williams, a proponent of alternative medicine, "40% of your ability to control insulin levels and 80% of your ability to use blood sugar is directly controlled by muscle tissue."

Personal Improvements Driven by Strength Training
I have to confess that strength training after 50 (in my case, 60) can look like climbing Mt. Everest, at least at first. But I persisted through the the leaning curve to lose 10 pounds and get a whole lot stronger. The improvements in blood pressure, sugar levels and cholesterol levels will be calculated in the near future.

Recommendations for Starting Your Own Strength Training Program

1. Get a medical checkup before you start any program of exercise.
2. Hire a personal trainer, especially if you've never done weight lifting.
   Can't afford a personal trainer?
   Read New Rules of Lifting for Women and then New Rules of Lifting for Life to educate yourself and provide workouts.
3. Have fun with weight training. Challenge yourself to defy aging!

Additional Resources
http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-win-the-battle-with-diabesity
http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-be-your-own-personal-fitness-trainer

P.S. When you do strength training, your body needs more protein for muscle growth. Use this Protein Calculator to help you select the proper nutrition for your program aimed at increasing the muscle mass of your body.