Strength training is a must for women when it comes to weight loss and maintenance. Especially as we’re aging. Yet most older women don’t even think about adding strength training to their exercise routines, if they even exercise at all! This is a big mistake because that “toned” look and higher metabolism we all want comes from having muscle.
So what is strength training anyway? It’s the same as weight lifting or resistance training and it can be done with or without equipment or accessories. So you don’t even need a gym! The idea is that you’re growing your muscles by overloading them either by using your own bodyweight or things like bands, dumbbells, or machines.
Many older women were taught years ago that they shouldn’t do strength training because they would start to look like men. And of course, women wanted to look feminine, not masculine. Although this was incorrect information, it still stuck. Because of this, many women ended up missing out on a great opportunity to help themselves in more ways than one.
And these days, too many women feel like they “don’t have time” for exercise so they opt for activities like walking more rather than worrying about building muscle. But there are many ways to get a workout into each day if you’re creative. If you’re someone that works all day then read my article: How to exercise at work (so you can do other things at home!).
These are just a few reasons why I want to review some of the benefits you’ll get from strength training in this article. I want to help you be stronger and look better. Each one will greatly improve your quality of life and health.
5 Benefits of strength training for women:
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- Strength training builds muscle to make your daily activities easier.
- Strong muscles help protect your joints from injury.
- The more muscle you have the more calories you burn, even at rest.
- Weight-bearing exercises help preserve your bone density.
- Muscles give your body “tone” which helps you look better.
1. Strength training builds muscle
First and foremost, working your muscles makes them stronger. Why does this matter? Because strong muscles help make all of our daily activities much easier to do. Daily functional movements include things like climbing stairs, getting out of a chair or off the floor, lifting and carrying groceries, or lifting our children or grandchildren.
If you can’t do these things then your independence is seriously challenged. It’s not fun to have to rely on other people to help us accomplish daily activities. We need strength to be able to live independently for as long as possible.
The only way to build more muscle is to work our bodies harder than our daily activities require. And that can be difficult to do with all of our modern conveniences. Strength isn’t much of a necessity these days!
I often tell women that household chores DO NOT count as strength training (or cardio for that matter!). Although those activities are good for you they just don’t build muscle. In fact, they barely maintain the muscles we have. But there are ways to make those chores more of a workout if you put in the effort.
If you have more muscle then your body can handle some of the out-of-the-ordinary activities that might come up. That might include things like catching yourself if you trip, picking up growing children, or helping someone else that has fallen to get back up again. These things do come up and we need to be prepared.
The CDC writes:
“Every second of every day, an older adult (age 65+) suffers a fall in the U.S.—making falls the leading cause of injury and injury death in this age group.”
We all trip sometimes. But part of the reason these older adults are falling is that they don’t have the strength to catch themselves after a trip. A simple strength training program can prevent this problem.
Related article: My 3 best strength exercises for a full-body workout.
2. Strong muscles help protect your joints
Half of Americans over 50 suffer from joint pain according to M Health Lab. Although it might seem like you should rest those joints to ease your pain, that would be the wrong choice. Strengthening the muscles around your joints will help keep them more stable and lubricated which makes them feel better.
Muscles, ligaments and tendons all surround our joints and help to brace them. So keeping all of them strong and flexible helps to protect your joints. Creakyjoints.org says “Muscle-building exercises are an important part of your arthritis management plan”. This holds true whether you have osteoarthritis or an autoimmune disease like rheumatoid or psoriatic arthritis.
3. Muscle burns calories
Muscle is active tissue and uses calories in order to function. Fat is just the storage of extra calories that you didn’t use during your daily activities. So when you have more muscle your body burns more calories even when at rest. And strength training is how you build more muscle.
Keep in mind that cardio sessions burn more fat and calories than strength training sessions. But having more muscle will help you to continue to burn calories even after you’re done working out. That’s a plus! So it’s best to combine the two for weight loss and long-term fat reduction.
Read my article “Can you lose weight with exercise alone?” to get a better idea of how exercise and nutrition work together for weight loss.
4. Weight-bearing exercises protect your bones
By the age of 30, our bodies have reached their peak bone density. After that, we quit building bone and start losing a little every year. This can lead to osteoporosis, which is a serious problem in our country, especially for women.
According to statistics, at least 1.5 million fractures every year are due to osteoporosis. Unfortunately, you won’t have any symptoms of osteoporosis. The first “symptom” is often a fracture.
So why not just get more calcium in our diets? Studies have shown that getting more calcium either from diet or supplements only slightly increases our bone density. However, that increase is NOT enough to decrease the risk of fractures.
What does help maintain bone density is weight-bearing exercises, or strength training. Harvard Health Publishing writes “Numerous studies have shown that strength training can play a role in slowing bone loss, and several show it can even build bone.” Physical activity is what we need to protect ourselves as we’re aging, not more calcium.
5. Strength training makes you look better
Finally, everyone’s real motivator! Most people want that toned body that’s firm and makes them look young and fit. And the way to achieve that is through strength training. Cardio is great for your heart but doesn’t help as much for building muscle.
That “tone” you want is the muscle that we can see without a layer of fat over it to hide it. In other words, everyone has some muscle it just can’t always be seen with the fat that’s stored on top of it. That’s why you have to combine both cardio (for burning fat) and strength training (to build muscle) so you can get the look you want.
Related article: Get beautiful, toned arms with this basic workout.
Low-intensity endurance activities burn fat, which is why cardio is a great way to help you lose weight. But you need muscle to help you to continue to burn calories even after you’re done working out.
My final thoughts
This is just a very brief overview of how strength training can help us as we’re aging. But I hope it helps to motivate you to start a strength training program. My point is that building muscle will benefit your health now and long into your senior years. Having strength makes life easier in every way.
A great book to read on this topic is “Younger Next Year for Women” by Crowley & Lodge. I recommend it often for a detailed look at how and why we age and how to slow down that process. It’s a good motivator to help you to keep up your workouts!
Aside from a healthy diet, the best way to slow down the aging process is by building and maintaining our strength. Strength is what keeps us independent and able to enjoy life more. Do you want to be sitting around in your senior years flipping channels for entertainment? Yuk! Or are you like me and want to be climbing mountains for as long as possible?! It’s your choice, you do NOT need to be a victim.
Related article: Don’t let age define you!