You don’t have to live in Louisiana to know that strength training is beneficial for both men and women. In the past, women often omitted it from their workout, fearing they’d end up looking like the Hulk. Hormones make that difficult to do. Unless you workout daily for hours with a specialized workout, take specific supplements, and follow strict dietary rules, you won’t end up looking like a female bodybuilder. What strength-building exercises can do for you is ease menopause, build stronger bones, give you a curvy look with toned muscles, and slow the aging process.
Strength training helps ease menopause symptoms.
One of the side effects of menopause is hot flashes. Approximately 2/3rds of menopausal women experience them. One study found that women who performed 15 weeks of strength-building exercises three times weekly for 45 minutes had half the number of hot flashes as women who didn’t. The theory was that the body releases neurotransmitters during weightlifting that also help the brain maintain body temperature, controlling the number of hot flashes.
Strength-building workouts make weight loss easier and aid in keeping bones strong.
Strength training burns calories and builds muscle tissue. Muscle tissue requires more calories to maintain than fat tissue does. The more muscle tissue you have, the more calories you burn. As people age, the body naturally loses muscle mass. Muscles tug on the bone. It stimulates recalcification that strengthens the bone. Loss of muscle mass causes bone weakness. It’s worse for women during menopause since estrogen helps maintain bone strength, adding that factor to the loss of muscle mass. It’s estimated that active women lose 10% of bone mass during menopause, while inactive women lose 20 %.
Exercising reduces the chance of complications during childbirth.
You can prepare your body for easier delivery and eliminate many of the issues faced during pregnancy, such as back pain, an achy body, and pelvic discomfort if you exercise before and during pregnancy. Building core and lower body strength with squats, lunges, windmills, and other muscle-toning workouts reduces the risk of some complications when giving birth. Exercising before pregnancy prepares the body for a healthier baby and safer delivery. It reduces stress and makes it easier to get pregnant, too.
- You can prevent or improve chronic conditions with strength-building exercises. It helps diminish obesity, which lowers the risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Strength-building relieves back pain, arthritis pain, and chronic depression.
- Strength training lengthens telomeres. Telomeres protect the chromosomes, preventing them from unraveling. That can cause cells to be damaged or die. The more cells that die, the more you age. Exercise keeps you looking and feeling younger.
- Strength training can improve cognition. It also burns off stress hormones that can lead to depression and anger. You’ll not only live longer when you exercise, you’ll feel happier.
- Regular exercise helps you improve balance and prevent falls as you age. The stronger you are, the longer you can live unassisted.
For more information, contact us today at Wellness On A Dime Coaching