Women and Weightlifting
It’s a relationship you must pursue as you age, yet so many women find every reason under the sun to avoid it. We hide behind the false belief that we’ll stay as strong, mobile, healthy and mentally intact as we are today. How many times have you heard a friend say “I don’t want to get bulky”, “I’ll start next ______ “(insert timeframe here), or “I’m too out of shape to start”?
How do we get past these hurdles and get real with ourselves? How can we be sure we thrive as we age? And how do we cross over to a firm belief that WE ARE WORTH IT?
As we get older and approach menopause, it’s important to understand what’s happening to our bodies. Our hormones are changing, our strength and power are diminishing and, for many of us, our confidence begins to fade.
Sounds super fun for us gals, right? Don’t panic. We can make some basic changes TODAY that will reward us greatly tomorrow.
I recently sat down with Bonnie Schnautz, Digestive Health Specialist and Naturopathic Doctor at B Renewed Wellness Solutions to discuss these issues on her podcast. In this episode we discuss hurdles that keep us from taking the first step, myths about women building skeletal muscle, having the confidence to start making changes and how to go about it staying injury-free. As menopausal women, we lose muscle mass and strength at a rapid rate if we’re inactive. Due to hormonal changes, it’s more difficult for us to maintain muscle, let alone BUILD muscle. Sarcopenia (loss of muscle) can lead to problems with mobility, falls, and loss of independence.
In an upcoming episode we’ll discuss specific changes needed in the way we exercise. The old “ride or die” and “cardio til we drop” templates are thrown out the door and have morphed into progressive overload training with SIT and mobility work. Details to come!
Finally, women are being studied for who we are and how our bodies work. We’re excited to share this information with you and hear about your success in making the changes!
