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Women should lift weights
The global pandemic has led to a renewed interest in health and exercise. People have turned to various exercise programs within their homes, including lifting weights. Women are often reluctant to incorporate weight lifting into their exercise routines, which is unfortunate because lifting weights has many benefits
Jane Yardley, Physical Education, for men and women alike.
University of Alberta Historically, weight lift-
Augustana Campus ing (also known as resistance training) was seen as a pastime for elite athletes trying to improve their sport performance. However, research throughout the 1980s and 1990s gradually started showing the many benefits of resistance exercise for the general population.
Lifting weights is good for the heart, blood vessels, brain and immune system, in addition to providing strength and stability in the bones, muscles and joints. Yet the gender divide is often visible in any gym, where many women are still hesitant to lift weights.
Over the years, I have received similar responses when asking women why they won’t lift weights: “I don’t want to get big.” This concern is unfounded. For most people, it takes a lot of effort, combined with the right diet and a specific type of training program for muscle mass gains to make a change in size perceptible.
Rather, a well-designed program will improve most aspects of health and well-being, while also increasing aesthetic appeal by tightening and toning the body. With so many benefits, why put the emphasis on women?
The answer is twofold: muscle mass and bone density. Low muscle mass increases the risk of frailty. Frailty decreases quality of life, makes individuals more susceptible to illness and death, and increases the risk of needing long-term care at a younger age. It is estimated that one in four Canadians over the age of 65 can be classified as frail, with frailty being roughly 50 per cent more common among women than among men. On average, women have lower muscle mass than men, and its loss with age decreases the ability to live independently as activities of daily living become difficult. Resistance exercise at any age decreases the rate of muscle loss with aging.
Where bone density is concerned, women lose bone density faster than men, especially once they pass menopause. As a result, women are four times more likely to develop osteoporosis than men. As bone density decreases, the risk of bone fractures from any type of impact increases. What may initially seem like an innocuous fall (the risk of which is increased by lower strength and muscle mass) can become life-altering. Lifting weights helps build bone density in the early years (up until around age 30) and decreases the rate at which it is lost thereafter. Therefore, due to their increased risk of low muscle mass and bone density, women stand to gain greater long-term benefits than men with this type of training. The greatest benefits of lifting weights are obtained by starting early and continuing throughout life, but studies of older adults show that regular resistance training can still increase strength, stamina, and functional mobility. Even a handful of small weights and resistance bands used at home can be enough, and a few sessions with a personal trainer can start you out on this journey to improve your future health, mobility, and independence. So, women, it’s never too late to start. Whether you are staying home for your exercise or headed back to the gym (eventually), get lifting–your body is worth it.
By Lori Larsen
We are all given 24 hours every day to invest in whatever we can to make our lives healthier, happier and more fulfilled, but more often than not, by the time we get to the 24th hour, we have a difficult time accounting for the day.
Now, more than ever, it is vital that we take control over how we use those precious 24 hours and slice out time to take care of ourselves.
According to the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines (sponsored by CSEP [Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology/SCPE], Public Health Agency of Canada, Queen’s University and Participaction), adults age 18 years and over should participate in a range of physical activities (e.g. weight bearing/non-weight bearing, sport and recreation) in a variety of environments (e.g. home/work/ community; indoors/outdoors; land/water) and contexts (e.g. leisure, transportation, occupation, household) across all seasons.
As well as staying active, it is recommended that adults age 18 years and over should limit sedentary behaviours to eight hours or less per day, which includes no more than three hours of recreational screen time and breaking up long periods of sitting as often as possible.
In order to get the maximum benefit out of the 24 hours of a day, adults should get seven to nine hours of good-quality sleep on a regular basis, with consistent bed and wake-up times.
Recommended activity for adults aged 18-64 includes: • moderate to vigorous aerobic physical activities such that there is an accumulation of at least 150 minutes per week • muscle strengthening activities using major muscle groups at least twice a week, and • several hours of light physical activities, including standing.
Recommended activity for adults age 65 years and older includes: • Moderate to vigorous aerobic physical activities such that there is an accumulation of at least 150 minutes per week • Muscle strengthening activities using major muscle groups at least twice a week • Physical activities that challenge balance • Several hours of light physical activities, including standing.
The following health benefits can result from following the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines: • a lower risk of mortality, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, several cancers, anxiety, depression, dementia, weight gain, adverse blood lipid profile; and, • improved bone health, cognition, quality of life and physical function.
Camrose Primary Care Network exercise specialist Connie Harrison adds that the four key components of exercises should address are endurance, strength, flexibility and balance.
In terms of balance, Harrison said it is important for people of all ages to work on balance. “People start developing habits, usually in their 30s and 40s, where they are leaning on stuff and don’t even realize they are doing it.”
Harrison said the unfortunate consequence of people not working on balance earlier on in life can result in being unable to stand on one leg later in life.
“That balance piece is something we always need to think about. Balance is both static (standing) and dynamic (moving around). We need to challenge both sides of that whether that is just standing on one leg, bouncing a ball and responding to it, or walking on the edge of a curb.
“Every time you work your balance, you always work your strength and
bones as well, so you get two or three for one. I am always telling people don’t live in your house, apartment or duplex without a ball. You can bounce it on the floor or on a wall. When your body has to respond to something coming at it, that is going to require balance, coordination and strength all in one. That is an easy way to work your balance.”
Harrison recommends doing activities that work all four of the components for overall physical wellness.
Right now is as good of time as any to start your own 24-Hour Movement program. The return on investment is well worth the time.
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