Weight Training for Women Over 50 - How to Start

I've written several blog posts and articles about weight training for women over 50 (see the reference list below). I especially like the New Rules of Lifting series by Lou Schuler.

But recently I'm thinking these workouts may be too taxing for women starting out in stength training. First, some women are intimidated in the fitness club environment. And there is a definite learning curve associated with weight training to ensure good form.

So, I started investigating other alternatives like bodyweight training and came up with DVDs that focus on at-home cardio and strength using (mostly) body weight. The two most popular are Insanity and P90X. Both are brutally intense. P90X is more strength training than cardio.

An Alternative DVD Set

I took one more step back to the program BEFORE P90X called Power 90 In-Home Boot Camp. It's the pre P90X program that's scaled back for beginners.

Check out the online reviews and the testimonials - people have dropped serious weight and trimmed up nicely.

Buy Power 90 directly from Beachbody.com. People who have purchased from Amazon seem to have problems with the DVDs.

I'm going to use Power 90 as adjunct training to the NROL Supercharged workouts I'm doing now. But if you are just starting out, don't want to work out in the gym, and are committed to being a fit female over 50, the Power 90 In-Home Boot Camp is an alternative.

References:

Weight Training for Women Over 50

http://agedefiance.blogspot.com/2013/01/mid-life-body-makeover-for-women-over-50.html

http://www.squidoo.com/5-outstanding-books-to-defy-aging-and-improve-your-health-and-fitness

Mid-Life Body Makeover for Women over 50

Are you a female over 50 looking for a proven method to get fit, improve your numbers (weight, BP, cholesterol, glucose), and makeover your aging body?

According to a naturopath I've been seeing for the last 6 months, there are 3 specific areas of focus to achieve this goal:
1. Stress Management
2. Nutrition (surprise!)
3. Exercise - including strength training (another big surprise!!) Refer to http://vmills.hubpages.com/hub/Best-Way-To-Lose-Body-Fat-For-Women-Over-50 for details.

Start HERE . . . 

It takes 30 days to build new habits. And it's difficult to incorporate several different activities simultaneously into a busy schedule.

Here's a way to make it work - Start with one new activity per week for 3 weeks, picking one activity from each of the three areas mentioned above. Give each activity 30 days before you decide if it's a keeper. By then, you will have developed a habit AND it should be returning a benefit, however imperceptible.

Rinse and repeat.

Here's a round of suggestions:

Week One
Learn a simple stress management technique like belly breathing and practice it when you wake up in the morning.

Preparation for week 2: Find out how to cut back on the sugar and carbs by reading Jorge Cruise's The Belly Fat Cure: Discover the New Carb Swap System and Lose 4 to 9 lbs. Every Week. The plan is a daily 15 grams of sugar / 6 servings of carbs. This will help you reduce the sugar in your diet and reduce body fat at the same time.

Week Two
Practice belly breathing.
Start reducing your belly fat using Jorge Cruise's plan.

Prep for Week 3: Find a gym membership with personal trainers
OR
if you're strapped for cash, get a copy of the best DIY personal training book on the market: The New Rules of Lifting for Life: An All-New Muscle-Building, Fat-Blasting Plan for Men and Women Who Want to Ace Their Midlife Exams.

Week Three
Practice belly breathing.
Practice Jorge Cruz's plan.
Begin personal trainer workouts
OR
if you're confident with DIY, start the first workout series (A and B) from the New Rules of Lifting for Life. Be prepared to spend about an hour doing one of these workouts. You can start with just the warmups this week if you need time to get acclimated. Add in the core and strength training in week four, and then the metabolic and recovery training in week 5.

And now you've got an excellent start on a midlife body makeover.

Please use the comments to ask questions.

And FYI - these techniques are getting results for me - I dropped 15 pounds, added muscle, and lowered blood sugar and BP. I don't groan getting up from the couch (except after a heavy workout), and my energy levels have skyrocketed.

What If Weight Training Is Not Your Thing?
I'm realizing that many older women will not do weight training. No problem. There are strength training alternatives. See this article: Get On the Fast Track to Weight Loss in 30 Minutes a Day (Without Hitting the Fitness Club)

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.