As someone who's grown up around watching and partaking in various sports, it seemed obvious to me that strength training should just come alongside my interests to ensure that I'm working to being the healthiest version of myself that I can possibly be. Furthermore to my training as a PT and Strength-Conditioning Coach I've seen the positive benefits of strength training for anyone of any age - so this is my plea for you to add "lifting" to your weekly routine as I know this thought process doesn't come naturally to everyone...
For our young athletes, including strength training in day to day life can bring about improvements in coordination, balance, healthy muscle growth, flexibility and quite obviously, strength. Think back to being a kid again, climbing the play frames at the park and completing the monkey bars over and over and over (and over!) again. The only thing that stopped most of us from being able to do all of these things later in life is simply growing up to be adults, right? The fear of looking stupid and a mindset of "I can't do that". Yet, if we'd have been encouraged to continue to keep this movement going, our upper body muscle memory would have continued to grow proportionally to the rest of our bodies and likelihood being that we wouldn't have lost the ability to lift ourselves. Additionally, encouraging children to work across multiple sports will further widen their abilities as they learn to push, pull, squat, sprint and jump among other things. The more they do, the stronger their bones and joints will become; the more they'll be able to deal with the impacts of every day life as they grow, and the more likely they are to continue to stay active into adulthood.
As teenagers, it's common - especially for girls - to drop sport. This poses as a risk for ever growing levels of obesity, especially with more and more teens living sedentary lifestyles, glued to their screens for long periods of time. Strength training not only encourages a sense of structure and adherence to healthy habits for both teen boys and girls, it can also help to improve mood through the release of endorphins (the happy hormones as they're often nicknamed) but may also help to reduce the symptoms of menstruation that girls may feel, especially at the early stages of starting puberty. It can help teach them to listen to their body and the symptoms that they feel - becoming confident young adults where periods don't stop us from enjoying life.
The endorphins released through exercise isn't limited to just teenagers and young people; this is one benefit that carries through for quite literally everyone who exercises. Likewise, using various weights will increase the lean muscle that we have on our bodies which in turn will help us to metabolise fat and essentially help us to become lean and to feel better in our own bodies. Work stress? Learn to lift weights. Want to lose weight? Start a progressive training programme. Fed up of dark days and winter blues? Guess what... GO AND MOVE YOUR BODY!!!
So, what about the older adult? No matter what age you start your strength training journey, it'll bring great benefits in addition to those already discussed above. We often hear of osteoporosis affecting peri and post-menopausal women, but in fact, osteoporosis will affect men too as they get older. Of course, there are many things that might contribute to an increased risk of osteoporosis (certain medications, dietary choices, smoking or drinking alcohol), but there are some things that we can't control - such as getting older - which shows a decrease in bone density and therefore a risk of osteoporosis. One of the best ways to delay the onset of this condition is through strength training and resistance training - again, coming back to that idea of pushing, pulling, squatting and lifting to name just a few.
It's a common misconception that lifting weights "will make you bulky", when in fact, the truth is far from this. Strength training - dumbbells, kettlebells, barbells, resistance bands etc - won't make you bulk at all because as women, we simply don't have enough testosterone. As men, you'd have to be on a strict lifting programme and diet plan to really notice the "bulk", so simply put, weight training a couple of times per week will just improve bone density, muscle tone, joint mobility and more often than not, your mood. You've got nothing to lose right?
If you're not sure where to start, there's plenty of help for that. A personal trainer such as myself can help to talk you through appropriate movement patterns, and to progress the weights that you use in a safe manner. Or perhaps you fancy giving exercise a go in lots of short bursts throughout the week around your work and childcare hours? My app includes a huge variety of short workout videos and gym plans to follow that you can use over and over again - https://ajrpersonaltrainer.mvt.so/ - use code "AJRhalfprice" to try your first month's subscription at only £10*.
Whatever you decide, you really can't lose out once you start your strength journey. Encourage your kids to move more, find some time for yourself to exercise and push your parents to just keep going - after all, you've gotta move it, or you'll lose it.
AJR x
*£20 per month thereafter, cancel anytime.
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