Two Things the Middle Aged Woman Should Know About Exercise

                             
Don’t you just hate the middle-aged woman who is the same size she was in high school?  I know I do!  But this woman is an anomaly.  There are very, very few people who have not gained weight as they have aged, and I am no exception.  There have been tons of studies that discuss how much you should exercise and what types of exercise you should engage in to lose weight, but what if you just don’t want to gain any?  How much do you need to exercise to maintain your weight?

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health found that an hour of moderate activity a day — including such recreational activities as brisk walking, leisurely bicycling, ballroom dancing and playing with children — prevented women of normal weight from gaining more than five pounds over any three-year period. Half that amount of vigorous activity, like running, jogging or fast biking, will do the trick as well, they said.

I agree with the rearcher’s conclusion that it is so hard to lose weight and maintain the loss that whatever weight you are at, maintaining your current weight is a success. 

But if you want to burn fat and lose weight, you will need to incorporate strength training activities into your exercise routine.   I hear so many women shy away from strength training because they are afraid lifting weights will cause them to look like Rambo.  So that is the next topic:  Will lifting weights make your muscles big and bulky?

Not necessarily.   Conventional wisdom holds that lifting heavy weights makes you big and bulky, which is the reason many women (and some men) who want slim and “toned” physiques opt for lighter weights with more reps.

But the notion is not supported by science. Producing bulky muscles requires not just heavy weights but heavy calorie consumption as well, typically far above the 2,000 daily calories recommended for many adults. 

For people who lift weights to tone up and slim down, experts say, a regimen that includes a combination of challenging weights and fewer repetitions can help significantly. In a 2002 study, for example, scientists looked at what happened when women performed various resistance exercises at different weights and repetitions (85 percent of their maximum ability for 8 reps, versus 45 percent for 15). Subjects lifting more weight fewer times burned more energy and had a greater metabolic boost after exercise. 

In another study published last year, scientists followed 122 women for six years. They found that those who were assigned to do resistance exercises three times a week — sets of 8 reps at 70 to 80 percent of their ability — lost the most weight and body fat. A similar two-year study of women who did strength training with challenging weight twice weekly found similar effects on body and “intra-abdominal” fat.

That’s great news, because that is exactly the result we are looking for when it comes to burning fat, slimming down and toning our bodies.  Time to hit the gym or pick up the resistance bands in your living room and start strengthening and toning!

Posted by Laurie Puckett, Remmel Wellness Center, a full service chiropractic and wellness facility in St. Petersburg, Florida.  Information obtained from articles in the New York Times.