STRENGTH TRAINING BENEFITS EVERY AGE!

I attended a fitness convention recently.  It was a great experience with many classes, activities, and lectures on just about any fitness or health topic.  Once again there is so much evidence regarding the benefits of exercise as a lifelong habit.  Here are some of the interesting facts I learned about Strength Training especially for the mature adult.

*When women diet, at least 25 - 30% of the weight they lose isn't fat but lean tissue, muscle, bone and water.  A study by the University of Michigan has proven that women can preserve muscle mass while they lose weight.  Strengthening exercises prevent the loss of bone and muscle that can harm many women in later life.  Women have less muscle and bone than men do.  Women lose muscle and bone as they age and thus have a narrower margin of safety.  Women generally live longer than men, so women are much more likely to reach an age where their lives are severely limited by muscular weakness and fragile bones.

*The Center for Disease Control and Prevention report that more than 75% of American women are sedentary!  Over one third of women age 30 - 49 weigh too much.  52% of women in their 50's are overweight and after menopause the numbers really soar.  Excess weight endangers health.  Being overweight triples the normal risk for heart disease and stroke.  Excess weight contributes to diabetes and has been linked to cancer.

*Starting around the age of 40, most women lose one-half to one-third of pound of muscle each year and gain at least that much in body fat.  Women also lose a similar amount of bone.  That means by the age of 80 women will have only about 1/3 the muscle they had at the age of 40.  These changes accelerate at peri-menopause and during early menopause.  During this time a woman can lose 5 lbs. of muscle in just five years unless she compensates with strength training exercises.

*A study at the University of Colorado compared sedentary and active post-menopausal women ages 50 - 72 with women ages 21 - 35.  The older women who where not exercising showed the expected decrease in BMR (basal metabolic rate - the energy it takes for our bodies to exist) compared to the younger participants.  However, the older women who were physically active had the same BMR on average as active women half their age.  That is significant!  At this point let me inform you that a very low calorie diet can cause your BMR to plummet by as much as 30%.  This is why its so important to eat while you are trying to lose weight.  Individuals gain weight when they are burning too few calories.

*It has been proven that a person will become more energized and more active as the result of strength training.  The non-exercising group became 25% less active over a period of a year.  The women in the strength training program were 27% more active.

*Exercise lifts depression, combats lethargy and makes weight loss easier.  There is evidence that physical activity enhances mood, improves coping skills and boosts self-esteem and self-confidence.  Active people suffer less from bouts of anxiety and depression that plague nearly 3 out of every 10 Americans.  Nalin Singh, MD and colleagues of Tufts University looked at 32 men and women who suffered from chronic depression.  Half of these individuals did strength training.  The other half simply received health education.  Twelve weeks later, 14 of the 16 members who strength trained felt better and no longer met the clinical criteria for depression.  But only 6 members of the education only group enjoyed similar relief.  This impressive success rate is comparable to that produced by highly effective anti-depressants.  In Dr. Singh's study of depression, ten people in the strength training group and seven in the health education group reported sleep problems when they joined the project.  After twelve weeks, 6 of the 10 strength training volunteers reported they no longer had difficulty sleeping while in contrast, no one in the health education group improved.  People who exercise fall asleep more quickly, sleep more deeply, awaken less often in the meddle of the night and sleep longer.  These benefits are comparable to those of medication but with absolutely none of the side effects.

This is just a portion of the information I want to share with you.  Check in again soon for more Strength Training benefits for every age.