Senior Fitness for Women

“Senior” seems to be the politically correct term for those of us who are over 50.  OVER 50!  How did that happen?  Fact is, we are a fast growing group of healthy, successful, life-loving women who probably will outlive our parents by several years.  We want to do all that we can to live those years with a healthy mind and body.  Research continues to show us new evidence that weight training will play a major role in maintaining that health.                                                                                                                                                   Shelia Bowman

Now that you're a little older, you’re probably not so concerned about having a perfect body or running faster.  So why bother lifting weights? The truth is that muscles tend to weaken with age, and this decline can eventually rob seniors of their active, independent lifestyles.

The American College of Sports Medicine now recommends weight training for all women over 50. A group of nursing home residents ranging in age from 87 to 96 recently improved their muscle strength by almost 180 percent after just eight weeks of weight lifting.  Lifting weights also increases your metabolism, which helps you burn more calories.

Working out with weight bearing machines can offer relief from arthritis pain. By strengthening the muscles, tendons, and ligaments around your joints, weight lifting can dramatically improve your range of motion.  

Weight lifting can protect you from devastating fractures. The exercises boost your strength, balance, and agility, making it less likely that you'll suffer a nasty fall. Weight training can also build bone mass, so it's especially important for people with the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis.  It previously was thought that any type of exercise was helpful, but now we understand that resistance and weight-bearing exercise are essential.

Arthritis, overweight, memory loss, quality of life, physical self-esteem, balance, self-confidence, osteoporosis and many other challenges that seniors deal with seem to be directly effected by physical activity levels.  There are other studies that suggest weight training can help people sleep better and even ease mild to moderate depression.

A study published in October 2005 found that older people (65-79) who had participated in physical activity at least twice a week in middle age had a 60 percent lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The active group also had 50% lower risk of dementia compared to the sedentary group. This adds to the growing evidence that exercise is beneficial in preventing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. 

At Contours Express, we do not have a “one size fits all” approach to Senior Fitness.  Each of our members has a personalized workout designed to address their individual needs or limitations.  What is common for everyone is the fact that we need to start today and keep moving!  

Source for facts and quotes: SeniorFitness.com