I was reading an article posted by Anna Magee the Daily Telegraph, a well known UK newspaper, extolling the virtue of weight lifting for the Over 40's age bracket. (For a link to the full article, see the bottom of this blogpost.)
Exactly the kind of article that we need in the mainstream media, it validates what the professionals in the know (e.g me and my trainers) have been saying for years, to both male and female trainees.
Men - lifting weights will improve both how your body operates and runs on the inside, and you will look better on the outside. It's really as simple as that.
Women - lifting weights will not make you bulky, you will not turn into Arnold Schwarzenegger, and your body will perform better on the inside, and look better on the outside.
"Over the past 10 years, nearly two dozen cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have shown a direct and positive relationship between the effects of resistance training and bone density."
To achieve these positive results - you MUST lift weights or do resistance based training. All the running in the world will not help you, because the consistent cardio you help you eat away at what little muscle you have. As we age, this becomes even more important:
"The decline in bone mass and structural integrity results in increased risk of fractures, particularly in post-menopausal women. Athletes competing in strength and power events, such as weight-lifting and jumping, have superior bone mass and structure compared with their untrained counterparts in all age groups."
The research has shown us that the best way of increasing your bone strength and diminishing the risk of future fractures is by weight training.
"High-intensity resistance training, in contrast to traditional pharmacological and nutritional approaches for improving bone health in older adults, has the added benefit of influencing multiple risk factors for osteoporosis including improved strength and balance and increased muscle mass."
Plaudits to Anna Magee for going against the fitness grain and writing an article that will genuinely help the over 40's. There is far too much emphasis placed on various 'quick fixes' in the media that are clearly written just to sell product or sell magazines. Weight training has been around forever (for good reason), and the rules of hard work and healthy eating are the only ones to adhere to when it comes to future-proofing your body and living a healthy, injury free life.
At The Active Lifestyle in Auckland, New Zealand, we take the worry and guesswork out of weight training. We know what you need to maximally improve your health, and it's backed up by science. Read more about Private 1-1 Personal Training or Semi-Private Personal Training.
Give us a call now on 0212689271 and re-invent yourself today!
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References:
Original article published 14/03/2016 in the Daily Telegraph Uk. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/wellbeing/fitness/why-lifting-is-the-new-running-for-the-over-40s/
Aging Clin Exp Res. 2006 Apr;18(2):85-93. Muscle training for bone strength. Suominen H1. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16702776)
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1999 Jan;31(1):25-30. The effects of progressive resistance training on bone density: a review. Layne JE1, Nelson ME. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9927006)
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