I’m a missionary spreading the good news that strength
training–lifting weights–pumping iron–is literally the
fountain of youth. Yes, couch potato, I’m speaking to you.
This news could change your life!
You can feel younger, stronger, and more
vigorous–perhaps better than you’ve ever felt in your entire
life. Advanced age is not a static, irreversible biological
condition. It’s a dynamic state that in most people can be
changed for the better no matter how many years they’ve
lived or how long they’ve neglected their bodies.
Perhaps you’ve been experiencing some of the signs of
aging. After maturation (about age 30), we lose one-half
pound of muscle each year.. If you are 60, this means you
have 15 pounds less muscle than you did 30 years
earlier–unless you have been doing exercises that help
retain or build muscle.
Do you feel older than you’d like to feel? Are you worn out at
the end of a busy day? Do you notice fat where you used to
have muscle? Are your favorite sports more difficult than
they used to be? Do you look at your older relatives and
think that you don’t want to ever look like that? Do you wish
you have the energy to exercise?
Strength exercise can help solve these problems. You can
have more energy, you can replace the fat now stored on
your body with muscles, no matter how old you are. You can
be brimming with vitality.
Let me share with you some of the benefits of resistance
training. The first reason is that it helps keep you from
aging–your body can be as much as 15 to 20 years
younger than your actual age. If you’re 60, wouldn’t you like
the body you live in to appear and function as if were 45
again? It’s truly possible.
Miriam E. Nelson’s book, Strong Women Stay Young
describes a study done at Tuft University in Boston in which
20 women 35 and older lifted weights in a structured
program for one year. At the end of that time their bodies
were fifteen to twenty years more youthful than members of
the control group who had not changed their lifestyles.
Instead of losing bone density, they showed significant
gains. They also traded fat for muscles so they looked
trimmer, even though they had not lost weight. Some
dropped a dress size or two.
And of course, women don’t have a monopoly on strength
training; men get similar results. A man I know who has
been in a senior strength exercise class says that now he
can easily lift a 50 pound bag of shelled corn from his car
and carry it to the storage area where he keeps food for the
wild ducks he feeds. Before beginning strength training, he
had to have someone help him.
A women class member states that now she doesn’t have
to have help with the 25 pound bags of kitty litter to lift them
out of her car trunk.
The second reason is that you will feel better. I cannot tell
you how many times I hear that each week as I work with
older adults. “I just feel so much better.” In addition, weight
lifting helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol,
decreases depression, improves sleep patterns, and helps
manage blood sugar in addition to offering a myriad of other
health benefits. It also assists in guarding against
osteoporosis by increasing bone strength.
The third reason to lift weights is to have more energy.
If you take my advice and begin pumping iron, the first
couple of workouts will leave you feeling very tired–pooped,
in fact! But gradually you’ll find that you’re energized by your
workouts and will feel much better afterward.
The fourth reason is that you will look better. Your body will
replace fat with muscle and muscle is less bulky than fat.
Many women in my classes tell me that after a few workout
sessions, they can now wear clothes that had been too
tight–without losing any weight. Men also say that they’ve
had to tighten their belts a notch or two.
The fifth reason is to boost your self-esteem. Recently I
worked out with a 27-year-old friend. I set the weights on the
leg extension machine so I could barely do eight repetitions.
When it was her turn, she slid onto the seat, hooked her
legs under the pads, and attempted to lift them. She couldn’t
manage it, turned to me and said, “Phyllis, how did you do
that?” as she decreased the amount of weight on the
stack.
I teach strength trainng classes for seniors each week.
When I finally convince new class members to leave their
three-pound weights behind and move up to fives–and they
do an exercise that would have been impossible just a
couple of weeks before–they feel so much better about
themselves. The next time they pick up a three-pound
weight, they say, “How did I ever think this was heavy?”
The last reason is that your friends and family will think
you’re cool. One of the ladies in my class for women over 40
told the rest of us that her son who’s been a weightlifter
since college, said “Wow, Mom, look at the muscles in your
arms.” For the first time in her life, you could see muscle
definition in her forearms. For me this means that I can
remain vital and strong even though I am well past 60.
Why don’t you join me on this journey? I promise you’ll feel
better, be healthier, have more energy and boost your
self-esteem a little in the process.
Phyllis Rogers is a senior citizen, a Certified Fitness Trainer and Specialist in Fitness for Older Adults. She is author of “Over 40 & Gettin’ Stronger” which contains an easy to learn strength workout using only dumbbells and can be done at home. It can be ordered at her web site [http://www.StrongOver40.com]. Phyllis has taught more than 1200 strength classes for older adults. She can be reached at fitness9@mindspring.com and is available for workshops and speeches.
