As women age, we must pay more attention to our physical health. Doing cardio is great, but we also need to lift weights so our muscles and bones help us maintain or improve our quality of life. Carrying groceries, moving suitcases, holding our children, grandchildren, or nephews in our arms... We can only achieve this by strength training.
Strength exercises, or resistance training, play a fundamental role in maintaining and improving health, functionality, and quality of life.
Why are strength exercises important?
- Preservation of muscle mass: As we age, we lose muscle mass, resulting in decreased strength and functional capacity. Strength exercises stimulate muscle growth and preserve existing musculature, counteracting the effects of aging.
- Improvement of bone density: These workouts also help bone health by stimulating the formation of new bone and increasing mineral bone density. This reduces the risk of osteoporosis and age-related fractures.
- Increased metabolism: Resting muscles consume more calories than fat in your body. So, more muscle and less fat mean a higher calorie consumption at rest (what we call basal metabolism). As you gain muscle, your basal metabolism will also increase, making it easier to control weight and body composition.
- Injury prevention: By strengthening your muscles and improving joint stability, you reduce the risk of falls and age-related injuries.
Types of Strength Exercises:
- Free weights: Include exercises with dumbbells, bars, and kettlebells, offering a wide variety of movements and allowing you to work specific muscle groups.
- Weight machines: Gym equipment designed to isolate and work specific muscle groups safely and effectively.
- Bodyweight training: Includes exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, squats, and lunges, using your body weight as resistance.
- Resistance bands: Offer a portable and versatile way to exercise muscles, allowing you to adjust resistance according to your fitness level.
In summary, strength exercises are essential for maintaining and improving our muscle, bone, and metabolic health, as well as for preventing injuries and enhancing quality of life as we age.
If you're not sure where to start, don't worry, we'll give you hints about the different types of strength exercises you can do, at home or in the gym. It only takes 3 minutes to tell us what type of strength exercise interests you the most or what kind of strength exercise examples you'd like us to explain in our upcoming posts.