Category Bodybuilding

Sometimes we may find ourselves easily swayed by impressive ads and glowing reviews. If you’re looking for the best pre workout supplement, you need to choose carefully. There are a lot of options available, and picking the right one can be just as challenging as picking the right workouts and exercise programs.

One of the best ways to help you choose the best pre workout supplement is to focus on the contents as they relate to what you want to personally accomplish.

The content labels of specialty pre workout supplements will generally have some, if not all, of these nutrients:

• Arginine. This is an amino acid that maintains hormone and immune function, helps the kidney extract waste products from the body, and even helps your wounds heal. As a workout supplement, it helps because it changes into nitric oxide that boosts your blood circulation and helps blood vessels to relax.
• Beta-Alanine. Working in partnership with creatine, beta-alanine can increase your strength and also enables you to work out longer. It also combines with histidine in your muscles to form carnosine. The carnosine is crucial for muscle recovery and gaining strength.
• Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs). These are the combinations of three amino acids (isoleucine, leucine, and valine) popular among workout fanatics. Taking BCAAs can boost your energy and hasten muscle recovery. It also improves your stamina.
• Caffeine. Just as a lot of people need caffeine to start their day, many people who work out take supplements that contain caffeine. Caffeine wakes up the nervous system and it helps to keep fatigue at bay. It can also help you maintain your focus but don’t overindulge. What’s important is not to use products with caffeine on the label because that is synthetic caffeine; use products that contain real plants that contain caffeine such as green tea for an example.
• Citrulline. This is the duo of the amino acid citrulline and malic acid. As a combo it increases the volume of your cells. It also gets rid of ammonia in your body, thereby improving your blood flow and boosting your energy. It’s also a precursor to arginine.
• Creatine. Depending on who you’re talking to, the best pre workout supplement will probably contain creatine, as many fitness buffs consider it a requirement for exercise workouts. It’s probably the most popular supplement of all time for bodybuilders. Creatine works by pulling water into your muscles cells. This gives a quick burst of energy in your body and makes it possible for you to do a few more reps.
• Glycerol. This is converted by your liver into glucose, which your body uses as fuel. A lot of endurance athletes also love glycerol because of its hydrating benefits. It helps you to retain greater levels of fluids in your system, for a longer period of time. Body builders like it too because it improves vascular function; it dilates blood vessels.
• Taurine. It pulls more water for better muscle pump. It also improves the strength and endurance of your muscles, and encourages the production of nitric oxide which then increases the blood flow to your muscles.

For the record, we’re not saying that testimonials are useless when you’re choosing the best pre workout supplement for you. But you shouldn’t just believe everything you read online (or offline for that matter). Read the product’s labels first, find out what it contains and then make a decision that fits your personal workout routine and health goals.

Determining the best ab exercises can elicit a lot of fiery opinions on the subject, from people who are naturally passionate about the very idea of fitness and exercise.

So, rather than getting caught in the crossfire, we’re going to refrain from choosing sides. Instead, we’ll just list down some of the ab exercises that fitness professionals propose to be the best and most effective.

As an added note, it’s always a good idea to have a professional fitness trainer to assist you in learning the proper way of doing these exercises so that you can get the most value out of your workouts.

The Top Four of the Best Ab Exercises

• Walkout. While you stand with your knees bent, put your hands flat on the ground and then “walk” your hands away from your body and past your shoulders as far as you can. Hold that position for a count, and then walk your hands back towards your feet and then slowly return to standing position. Now do that 10 times. This will work your lower back, obliques, and upper and lower abs.
• Swimming plank. You may find it strange that one of the best ab exercises resembles free style swimming, but you don’t need a pool to do it. This will challenge your abs as well as your back. Lie on your stomach, and prop yourself up by your elbows and toes, while there’s an upright dumbbell about six inches in front of you. Now use a freestyle motion with your right arm to reach over and past the dumbbell, then repeat with the left arm. Do 10 reps total while you alternate.
• Cross-Leg Reverse Crunch. This will work a lot of your muscles from your bottom pelvis region upward, and it won’t strain your neck. Just lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Bring your arms over your head, and hold onto a heavy medicine ball (or just the bottom of your couch). Now cross your right ankle to your left knee, and in that position lift your legs as close as possible to your chest. Slowly return to your original position. Do 15 of these, and then alternate your legs.
• Rotational Lift. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet hip-width apart while you interlace your hands behind your head. Now bring your head and shoulders off the floor as you try to get your chest close to your knees while your pelvis is neutral. Exhale and then rotate to your right side. Then let out another breath and rotate even further while you lift a little higher. Then inhale and lift as you return to the center, and repeat to your other side. Do about 8 to 10 reps of this. This exercise will focus on your abdominal walls and oblique muscles.

Choose any one or all of these abs exercises for your workout. You probably need it, since the average modern society person spends 56 hours a week sitting which weakens the core.

You can read more about how long will it take to see six-pack abs; but of course, not even the best ab exercises known to man can help if you don’t watch what you eat, so do take care of your diet too!

With the right nutrients, preferably from whole food such as the ones found in Zeal for Life can help with performance and recovery in a really big way. So focus on the best ab exercises outlined above, feed your body the important nutrition it craves and watch the results they have on your mid-section.

What Does Strength Training Have to do with Running?

On the face of it, strength training for runners doesn’t make sense. Running fast means lessening the weight you carry around, which is why you won’t find any “chubby” world-class runners. In fact, runners tend to be lean and mean machines, especially for those who specialize in long distance running where champions look like they’ve been starving for some time while languishing in a prison camp.

Recently, however, a growing number of the running population has come to the realization that strength training for runners has its benefits. Perhaps one of the most important benefits is that being physically strong helps prevent injuries while running. And not only does it make you stronger, but it also makes you run more efficiently. In fact, it makes you run faster!

It’s important to note however that runners have their own priorities, and these are not the same as those of bodybuilders. Runners need a different strength training program than a football player. So instead of exercises that involve pushing away weight from the body, the exercises runners should perform need to concentrate on working the target muscles that will improve balance.

According to the foremost experts of our time, here are the strengthening exercises runners need to do:

1. Planks. Do about 3 to 5 reps of these. This exercise will work the muscles in your shoulders, lower back, and core.
2. Lower Body Russian Twist. Lie with your back on the floor. Your knees, however, should be bent 90 degrees from your body, and your lower legs should be perpendicular to the floor. It’s like you’re sitting down, except that you’re lying on your back. Now keep your legs in this position while you lower them to one side. Return your legs to their original position, and then work on your other side. That’s a single rep, and you need to do 10 to 12 of these. If you find this too easy, keep your whole leg straight, 90 degrees from your body. This exercise will work your core muscles.
3. Scorpion. Go into the pushup position, but your feet should be resting on a low bench. Now try to raise your right knee to your left shoulder while you rotate your hips to the left to help you do so. Then reverse your hips to the right and try to reach behind your left shoulder with your right foot (which, by the way, is impossible so don’t be disappointed when your fail). Do as many as you can for 30 seconds, and then do it with your left leg. This exercise will work your core and shoulder muscles. If you find it too hard, just do step one. If it’s too easy, place your shins on a stability ball instead of your feet on a bench.
4. Rotational Shoulder Press. Stand straight while you carry a dumbbell in each hand just at your shoulders, with your palms facing each other. Now stretch your arms as you rotate to the left, and then go back to the original position. Then do the same as you go to the right. The entire sequence is one rep, and you should do 6 to 8 of these. This workout will work your core, triceps, and shoulders. If this is too hard, do just half the reps, or do it without the rotation.

Strength Training for Runners Offers Many Advantages

One of the many advantages of strength training for runners is that these exercises don’t take an inordinate amount of time, and you only need to do them twice or thrice a week.

Strength training offers so many advantages that everyone, no matter what age, and no matter the gender, should do them regularly. If you haven’t done any strength training before, now is the perfect time to do so.

A good place to put together your strength training workout routine is to subscribe to the MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter and then follow along with your choice of the yoga, Kettlebell or dumbbell workout series on video. With the individual videos that you’ll find there, you can put together a strength training workout for running alone or focus on general muscle building and endurance. Besides hiring a fitness coach, video is the next best way to learn from.

Traditionally, strength training for women has not been exactly a mainstream idea. Most people don’t really find muscled women all that appealing, and many women don’t engage in strength training because they’re afraid that they’ll look like a female version of the Incredible Hulk.

Strength Training for Women: End the Double-Standards

Even in the Olympics, this double standard has endured, and it was only in the 2000 Sydney Olympics that women’s weightlifting was included.

Like strength training for men, there isn’t a single program out there that’s perfect for every woman. But the best strength training programs for women will have the following features:

• Heavy weights. This is perhaps the most important aspect of them all. Regardless of what you hear about strength training for women, lifting heavy weights does not cause massive muscles. Most women who do get those large muscles consume a lot of calories for that very purpose, and they probably take a lot of protein supplements as well. Since strength training is about tearing muscle fiber, those puny 5 pound weights are virtually useless. Women really need to lift weights which feel heavy for them, so that the workout becomes effective.
• Variety. The body adapts to exercises, so you need to challenge it in different ways so that it doesn’t stop progressing. There’s also the extra benefit that having varied workouts may prevent you from getting bored.
• During the first few months, you may want to start with the basic exercises. These involve barbells dumbbells or Kettlebells, but don’t get intimidated. These exercises are the power clean, deadlift, squat, overhead press, and the bench press.
• Some of these may have different versions for women. Once you master these, you may want to look into several different versions of each of these exercises.

• Kettlebell One Arm Clean
• Kettlebell Deadlift
• Decline Bench Press
• Dumbbell Leg Exercises – Squat
• Kettlebell Push Press

• Compensate for your weakness. Everyone, men and women alike, has weaknesses. While it can be exhilarating to improve all your strengths, it’s imperative that you work on your weaknesses. You’re only as strong as your weakest point. For women, the most notable weaknesses are the inner and outer thighs (which pros call the hip adductors and abductors), the mid to upper back, the shoulders, and the triceps. You overcome these weaknesses by doing some exercises that target these specific areas.
• Motivation. A lot of women admit to quitting, since there’s a subliminal atmosphere of disapproval about women lifting weights. So work with people who want to see you succeed in order for you to always have the motivation to push forward.

Contrary to popular belief, strength training is important for women as well. It’s not just political correctness, but common sense.

A strength training program encompasses everything you do in order to boost your physical strength. It isn’t just about exercises and workouts. It touches on everything, from scheduling the workouts and figuring out the frequency of each one, and also includes a careful look at your diet as well.

It may even include motivational techniques, since there is a very good chance that you’ll eventually give up due to the sheer amount of effort required to succeed.

It is highly recommended that you don’t try to create an entire strength training program on your own, unless you yourself have been highly trained on the subject. It’s too complicated a process, and there’s a very good chance that your efforts will be in vain. You may do all that hard work and still get very little benefit for your trouble. It also puts you at risk of injury.

Here’s a video example of a Kettlebell strength training program that can give you some ideas for creating your own program:
 

If you can’t create your own program, what are your options?

In general, there are two:

1. Get a personal trainer. A personal trainer can help you with just about everything you need. This is especially true if your trainer is also trained as a nutritionist. Before you choose one, take a look at several practical considerations first. Can you afford to hire a PT? A personal trainer may not be exactly cheap. You should also verify their qualifications so that you can be assured that the trainer knows what they’re talking about. Then you have to make sure that you can work with this person, because even the most knowledgeable trainer is useless if your personalities don’t jive.

A trainer will listen to you as you explain your training goals (whether you just want to look good, or you’re training for a particular sport) and then he or she will come up with a schedule that outlines when you should do your workouts, and what exercises you need to include.

There may also be a list of all the equipment you’ll need, although often they can all be found in the gym where your personal trainer works. The trainer can also help you with the right diet plan, including the health supplements you will need to take before, during, and immediately after a workout. And last but not least, a trainer can motivate you not to quit, because there’s always the temptation to give up.

2. Do some research and get a training program online. A training program is like a DIY manual. It gives you all the pertinent information that a personal trainer can provide. The problem with this is that it’s more generic, so it won’t be precisely tailored to your particular needs. Your best bet is to find a program for your profile. For example, a program may be geared towards elderly men, rehabilitating heart patients, football players, overweight individuals, or runners.

A good training program always includes lots of instructional videos, so that you’ll be able to do the recommended exercises properly. If possible, it should also include recommended diet plans as well.

A workout is the combination of exercises that you do in a single session. And remember that you can’t (and shouldn’t) do the same workouts every day. Strength training involves tearing muscle fibers, so that means you need rest periods for each muscle group so that they can rebuild into bigger and stronger muscles.

So, you should exercise two or three times a week, but not on consecutive days. Your muscles will need at least 48 hours to rest and repair before they can grow. If you’re not doing a full body workout, you can focus on different muscle groups.

Before anything else, makes sure that it’s safe for you to work out. There are many possible reasons why you should refrain from strength training, but it boils down to one thing: if you don’t feel well, don’t force yourself. If you’re feeling tired or experiencing some pain, strength training workouts may do more harm than good.

Always listen to what your body is telling you.

Next, make sure you have your equipment handy. Strength training requires a few bits of equipment beyond a good pair of shoes and comfortable clothes. That may be good enough for jogging, but not for strength training workouts. To begin with, you’ll need ample space, perhaps a chair without arms and one that doesn’t rock, barbells and dumbbells, and maybe even some sort of special training balls.

Gauging the Intensity of Your Strength Training Workouts

Once you get into your exercises, you need to determine the right intensity for you. You need to progress to increase your strength, and at the same time you need to be careful that you don’t injure yourself by trying too hard. Go for light weights at first, and then increase as you become accustomed to each weight.

Watching others do a strength training workout session such as in the video below can be very helpful.

You also need to track your reps (repetitions of doing a certain exercise). For example, if you cannot complete two sets of 10 reps in good form, reduce the weight until you can lift it properly for 10 reps. Rest for a minute or two, and then do another set. When you can do 10 reps and you need to rest because the weight is too heavy after ten reps, then you’re working at the proper intensity. And if you can do twenty reps straight, this means you will need heavier weights next time.

Progression is essential if you want your strength training workouts to provide you with the maximum benefits. Continuously challenging your muscles is the key to strength training. To help you put your workout routine together, you can borrow our muscle building training series on video (no cost) when you subscribe to the MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter.

There may be hundreds of strength training exercises out there, so listing them all will be next to impossible. And every day, you’re also likely to read about how a professional trainer has developed a new variation of a particular workout that promises to be the most effective of them all. It just adds up to the confusion.

Use an Instructor to Learn Strength Training Exercises

If you are new to strength training, the first thing you need to learn is how to do strength training exercises properly. If you can afford it, get a qualified fitness instructor who can teach you all the necessary techniques. The instructor can take note of your fitness goals and also consider your limitations, so that you are properly aligned and you execute the exercise correctly.

Use a Video to Learn Strength Training Exercises

If you can’t get an instructor to help, don’t just rely on written descriptions of the exercise. “Google” each exercise you read about and watch the instructional videos of how they are done. Try to do each exercise slowly at first until you master the movement. Your focus should be on perfecting the technique first, rather than trying to be as fast as you can or lift as much as you can.

Example of a Video on Strength Training Exercises:

[video_youtube video_url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9FR3Tkoo0A” width=”480″ height=”300″]

Strength Training Exercises Using Equipment

You should also make sure that you know how to use various machines and weights properly. There are many kinds of weights used in strength training, such as barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, stability balls, medicine balls, and benches. And there are also other machines which replicate rowing. Again, your best bet here is to have an expert demonstrate the proper techniques for each type of equipment or follow along with a video.

Now we come to one of the more difficult aspects, which is choosing the strength training exercises that you will perform. Opinions on this matter are quite varied, so it all depends on what you can actually do and what you would prefer to do. It also depends on your skill level, and you also should note that each exercise targets specific muscles in your body.

For beginners, you need to do basic exercises first before you progress to the more advanced ones. Chest presses, bicep curls, triceps kickbacks or extensions, overhead presses for the shoulders, and reverse flies for the back are great for your arms and upper body.

Lunges and Squats are also common exercises for the lower body, but beginners with weak joints may not find them suitable. The better alternatives include side-lying or standing leg lifts which focus on the inner and outer thigh, hamstrings curl for the back of the thigh, and quadriceps extensions for the front of the thigh.

You should also remember to strengthen your core muscles as well, with exercises like the planks. Planks are very popular, as they work on the core as well as the shoulders and lower back. The core muscles are those muscles in your abs and lower back area. You absolutely need a stable core, especially if you engage in strength training. Even if you have extremely strong arms and legs, you can easily hurt yourself doing a bicep curl if you don’t have a stable core.

If you decide to hire a fitness instructor, follow their advice if it makes sense to you. If you decide to learn from videos in your home, a good start would be to sign up for the MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter and get three different workout programs that you can use to learn strength training exercises from.

The popularity of strength training really grew when it was realized that great strength was an advantage in many types of sports. Many coaches in the collegiate and high school levels began to systematically incorporate weightlifting and other resistance exercises in their training programs when the benefits of strength training became apparent. It became obvious that greater strength allowed athletes to perform better.

For example, one of the benefits of strength training is that it allows baseball hitters to strike the ball harder with their bats, and this made more home runs possible. Greater strength also lessens the possibility of injuries, which is a crucial consideration in contact sports such as football, hockey, and basketball.

And obviously, it is also important in a lot of martial sports; being stronger is a definite advantage in boxing, wrestling, and judo. You probably won’t find any athlete in Mixed Martial Arts who doesn’t do any strength training.

In the military, strengthening exercises are mandatory. Pushups aren’t just meant for punishment among servicemen; they also function to make them stronger. Among military personnel, police officers, and firefighters, strength is important because part of their duties is to carry others to safety during emergencies.

But strengthening exercises aren’t just for athletes and emergency personnel. The benefits of strength training are for everyone. They’re for both men and women of all ages, and this includes those who aren’t in the most perfect of health. Actually, those with serious ailments such as arthritis and heart disease get the most benefits from these types of workouts.

Strengthening exercises prevent, minimize, or alleviate these health conditions:

• Arthritis. A study by Tufts University revealed that these exercises, when performed by older people with arthritis, increased their strength and overall physical performance, lessened their disability, and improved the symptoms of the ailment. The exercises were even shown to be at least just as effective in easing the pain as medications.
• Poor balance and lack of flexibility. In older people, these issues lead to falls that cause broken bones. Strengthening exercises can help restore some balance and flexibility. A study in New Zealand revealed that simple forms strengthening exercises for women considerably lessened the frequency and severity of falls.
• Loss of bone density. Every year, post-menopausal women lose about a percentage or two of their bone mass. The Journal of the American Medical Association published a report in 1994 which showed that strengthening exercises boost bone density and lessened the risk of bone fractures for older women.
• Obesity. Strengthening exercises can help you lose weight. Developing greater muscle mass is a common side effect of strength training, and muscle is essentially a group of tissues that consumes calories. It’s been shown that these exercises can actually boost your metabolic rate by 15%.
• Heart diseases. The American Heart Association recommends strengthening workouts to reduce the risk of heart disease, and also as therapy for patients rehabilitating from certain heart ailments.
• Diabetes. One study showed that strengthening workouts result in improvements in glucose control that are similar to taking diabetes medication.
• Anxiety and insomnia. It is also widely known that strengthening workouts fight depression and induce healthier sleep.

Here’s a little bonus: Strength training also makes you look attractive!

You can start getting the benefits of strength training very quickly using a workout program such as the ones found in our Dumbbell section http://myfitnessnut.com/dumbbells/ and in our Kettlebell section at http://myfitnessnut.com/kettlebell. Go pickup one or both of these excellent methods for building muscle and get started enjoying the benefits of strength training today.

The Benefits of Strength Training and Why They Apply to Everyone

Physical fitness is generally divided into two categories. You have cardiovascular training and strength training. Many people falsely believe that you have to pick one or the other – that you either have a strength training personality and strength training goals, or you have to take a cardio approach.

The truth is that the best way to achieve lifelong health and vitality and the best way to lose weight and keep it off is to embrace both. You don’t have to be a lifter or a runner exclusively; you can – and probably should – be both.

There are several reasons why strength training is so beneficial to your health and well-being.

Stronger Bones

Strength training has been proven to help reduce the risk of osteoporosis. It’s important to know that while more women suffer from bone loss than men, men do get osteoporosis as they age. The gradual loss of bone density can cause serious issues, including fractures of the hip and spine. Strength training slows down bone mineral loss.

Strength training also improves your muscle strength and coordination, which in turn results in improved balance and overall coordination. This subsequently reduces the risk of injury and bone damage.

According to a study conducted by the Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, strength training does have a positive impact on bone density as well as soft tissue lean mass.

The study was designed to evaluate the effects of 18 months of resistance exercise on regional and total bone mineral density and soft tissue lean mass in premenopausal women aged 28-39, who were randomly assigned to an exercise or control group. The results for bone density showed “significant regional increases” for bone density in those women.

Weight Loss and a Kicked Up Metabolism

Obesity in adults is defined as someone who has a BMI of 30 or higher. It’s a weight that is higher than what is considered healthy, and is correlated with many diseases including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

Strength training increases lean muscle mass, which burns more calories and has a positive impact on weight loss. To put it simply, muscle burns more calories than fat. Strength training not only burns calories while you exercise, but it also burns calories as your muscles repair themselves.

Strength training accomplishes this by increasing your metabolism to manage the repair process. Additionally, muscles require energy to function – fat doesn’t. By including strength training into your workouts you’re helping burn more calories in the moment, all day, and well into your future. Let’s not forget that obesity is about more than appearances, it’s a health risk.

Obesity is a risk factor for:

• Cancer (including breast cancer)
• Diabetes
• Arthritis and joint pain
• Cardiovascular disease

According to the CDC, Center for Disease Control…

Strength training is crucial to weight control, because individuals who have more muscle mass have a higher metabolic rate. Muscle is active tissue that consumes calories. Stored fat uses very little energy. Strength training can provide up to a 15% increase in metabolic rate, which is enormously helpful for weight loss and long-term weight control.

Muscle burns an estimated three times more calories than a similar amount of fat tissue. Which means if you add a few pounds of muscle you can burn an extra 100 calories daily. That adds up quickly and facilitates weight loss.

A high-intensity strength routine has been shown to bump metabolism by 20 percent for several hours post-workout.

Stop the Middle Age Spread

In their mid-30’s women begin to lose 5 to 10% of muscle strength every ten years. This loss of lean muscle impacts strength, coordination, and mobility. As lean muscle decreases it becomes more difficult to maintain the same level of activity you might have enjoyed ten years ago. Walking, standing, and even rising from a sitting position can become difficult.

Strength training slows down the loss of lean muscle and can build new muscle, depending on your approach. Women don’t need to strive to become world class bodybuilders to benefit from strength training. A simple program can help ensure you’re able to stay active and healthy well into your golden years. No walker required!

Better Mood and Outlook

In a study published in 2005, researchers examined the effect of a three-month exercise program on mild to moderate depression. 80 participants were divided into five groups.

Two groups took on a rigorous program, one of them for three days a week and the other for five days a week. Two groups participated in lighter exercise either three or five days a week. A fifth group, the control group, only stretched.

The results were positive across the board; ratings of depressive symptoms on the standard Hamilton scale fell in all of the groups, including the stretching group. However, those that participated in the rigorous exercise program had the biggest drop – significant enough to equate rigorous exercise to antidepressant medications or cognitive behavior therapy.

Resistance training has shown to reduce anxiety and cause an overall improved sense of well-being. Studies comparing and evaluating resistance training have found that moderate intensity strength training has a stronger impact on anxiety than intense strength training, and this decrease in anxiety can impact sleep and brain function. Still, both intensity levels showed a marked improvement in anxiety levels.

Strength Training Makes You Smarter

Strength training is often used as part of a treatment plan when people suffer from neurological conditions. One of the reasons for this is to help a patient remain as functional as possible. Another reason is that strength training often requires a person to make new mind/body connections.

For example, if you’ve never performed a deadlift or a squat, you have to learn how to safely perform the movement. As you learn the various movements required, your brain begins to tell your body how to move and new connections are created.

As we age, circulation tends to decrease. The results can be uncomfortably cold hands and feet, and a blue tinge is also common in the elderly. Resistance training, which strengthens muscles, requires the heart to pump blood to said muscles and thus also strengthens the heart, improves blood flow to muscles, organs, and to the brain.

This increased blood flow not only helps decrease circulation problems, it also improves cognitive function as the brain receives more blood. Additionally, resistance and strength training require a person to make new connections and perform new movements. You have to think about “proper form” and learn the new exercise techniques.

Joint Pain

Tufts University recently completed a strength-training program with older men and women with moderate to severe knee osteoarthritis. The results of the 16-week program showed that strength training decreased pain by 43%.

The increased muscle strength and general physical performance also improved the side effects of the disease and decreased disability. The study showed that strength training is just as effective, if not more effective, than pain medications and other medications used to treat arthritis. Additionally, similar results have been shown for studies on strength training and rheumatoid arthritis.

Improved Coordination

Increased age often means a loss of balance and flexibility, which in turn results in falls and broken bones. Strength training can improve range of motion and flexibility, and as we discussed above it can improve bone density so any falls that may occur aren’t as damaging.

A New Zealand study looked at women 80 years of age and older, and found a 40% reduction in falls with simple strength and balance training.

A 12-month study conducted on postmenopausal women at Tufts University showed…

1% gains in hip and spine bone density, 75% increases in strength and 13% increases in dynamic balance with just two days per week of progressive strength training.

Sleep Better Too!

People who exercise regularly enjoy better quality sleep. They not only fall asleep more quickly but they wake less often and they sleep longer. This improves disposition and overall health and well-being.

When older adults engage in strength training programs, their self-confidence and self-esteem improve, which has a strong impact on their overall quality of life.

Better Cardiovascular Health

Your risk for heart disease is lower when you have a healthy BMI. Studies have found that cardiac patients gained not only strength and flexibility but also aerobic capacity when they did strength training three times a week as part of their rehabilitation program. The American Heart Association recommends strength training as a way to reduce risk of heart disease and as a therapy for patients in cardiac rehabilitation programs.

Many women not familiar with the benefits of weight lifting tend to stay on the cardio side of the gym and avoid the weight lifting part for fear of developing too muscular of a body frame. When done properly, weight lifting will give them a more defined and toned body, but without the worry of “bulking up”; it just won’t happen and here’s why.

Muscle development is largely due to the amount of testosterone in the body. Men naturally have significantly more than women, so they tend to develop bigger muscles. Women have a small amount of testosterone naturally, but not enough to create large muscles.

Even women that try to pack on the bulk have a very hard time doing it without resorting to testosterone supplementation. So put that fear aside and start hitting the gym to gain these benefits from weight lifting:

Lift Weights for a Faster Metabolic Rate

Women work out at weightlifting for a number of reasons, however, one common thread is to lose weight. We all know that to lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you take in and one way to burn more calories is to speed up your metabolism.

As you lift weights, you create tiny tears in the muscle fibers of the muscle group you are exercising. To repair these tears, the body must burn more calories than it would otherwise if you did not have the tears. And you are burning calories while working out.

Lift Weight for Greater Muscle Definition without Bulking Up

Another plus – it takes more calories to fuel muscles than it does body fat – 9 calories per pound of fat per day verses 2 calories per pound of fat (both at the resting metabolic rate) – so while you won’t bulk up, your muscles will become more defined or toned and your body fat will decrease. So you get the immediate benefit of your body burning calories to help repair itself and a long-term benefit of your body requiring more calories to fuel the extra muscle definition.

Lift Weight for More Functional Strength

As your muscles develop you get stronger. Everyday tasks that used to wear you out, such as vacuuming, laundry and carrying in groceries, are suddenly easier. Also stronger muscles reduce your risk of injury if you participate in sports or other physical activities.

So fear weights no longer! See http://myfitnessnut.com/building-muscles-for-men-and-women and start a weight lifting program so that you can begin enjoying the many benefits of an increased metabolism, greater muscle definition and easier everyday activities. Your body will thank you for it.