Chapter List

• Introduction to Age Erasers for Women
• Stop the Clock
• Age Spots
• Allergies
• Anger
• Arrhythmias
• Arthritis
• Back Pain
• Binge Eating
• Bladder Problems
• Burnout
• Bursitis and Tendinitis
• Cellulite
• Depression
• Dieting
• Double Chin
• Drinking Problems
• Drug Dependency
• Eating Disorders
• Endometriosis
• Fatigue
• Fibroids
• Foot Problems
• Hair Loss
• Heart Attack
• Heart Disease
• Hemochromatosis
• High Blood Pressure
• Hysterectomy
• Infertility
• Midlife Crisis
• The Pill
• Respiratory Diseases
• Sex Problems and Stds
• Smoking
• Snoring and Sleep Apnea
• Stress
• Stroke
• Television
• Thyroid Disorders
• Type A Personality
• Unwanted Hair
• Varicose Veins
• Vision Changes
• Worry
• Wrinkles
• Adventure
• Aerobics
• Affirmations
• Alcoholic Beverages
• Altruism
• Antioxidants
• Aspirin
• Breakfast
• Breast Care
• Calcium
• Career Change
• Change and Adaptability
• Confidence and Self-Esteem
• Cosmetic Dentistry
• Cosmetic Surgery
• Creativity
• Fiber
• Fluids
• Forgiveness
• Friendships
• Goals
• Honesty
• Hormone Replacement Therapy
• Humor
• Immunity
• Learning
• Leisure Time
• Low-Fat Foods
• A Litany of Low-Fat Foods
• Makeup
• Marriage
• Massage
• Medical Checkups
• Optimism
• Relaxation
• Religion and Spirituality
• Resistance Training
• Sex
• Skin Care
• Sleep
• Stretching
• Vegetarianism
• Vitamins and Minerals
• Yoga
• Credits
• Gray Hair Rethinking Your True Colors
• Biological Clock
• Body Image
• Caffeine
• Cancer
• Cholesterol
• Dental Problems
• Diabetes
• Digestive Problems
• Hearing Loss
• Injuries and Accidents
• Memory
• Menopausal Changes
• Metabolism Changes
• Migraines
• Osteoporosis
• Overweight
• Premenstrual Syndrome
• Reaction Time
• Skin Cancer
• Ulcers

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Resistance Training

Resistance Training

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Give Your Life a Lift

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You've watched your grandmother struggle through the simplest tasks. It takes all the energy she can muster just to get out of a chair. And a walk down the hallway takes forever. She's managing to get by on her own, but just barely.

You swear you're never going to let yourself get like that.

So you get plenty of aerobic exercise, eat right and try to get enough sleep. The prescription right off the Geritol ads.

But aren't you forgetting something?

It's called resistance training, otherwise known as weight lifting. And it can help you maintain, if not improve, your quality of life.

Resistance training improves muscle strength and endurance--qualities that will enable you to do the activities you love well into old age. It can also help improve your cholesterol level, enhance your bone strength, maintain or lose weight and improve your body image and self-esteem.

"If people stay with it, continue to be active and continue to do activities that stress the muscles, they can fight off some of the effects of aging," says Alan Mikesky, Ph.D., an exercise physiologist and professor at Indiana University School of Physical Education in Indianapolis. "People can continue to do things they enjoy in life longer. And not only that, but also maintain their performance in what they're doing," says Dr. Mikesky.

Good and Strong

One of the major--and most obvious--benefits of resistance training is its effect on muscle strength. Maintaining or increasing muscle strength is crucial to maintaining independence as we age, says Miriam E. Nelson, Ph.D., a research scientist and exercise physiologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston. Adequate muscle strength is what enables you to do things like carry your own luggage, climb stairs and get in and out of bed.

Resistance training increases muscle strength by putting more strain on a muscle than it's used to. This increased load stimulates the growth of small proteins inside each muscle cell that play a central role in the ability to generate force. "When you lift weights, you stress or challenge the muscle cells, and they adapt by making more force-generating proteins," says Dr. Mikesky.

Weight training also helps improve muscle endurance, says Dr. Mikesky. So in addition to giving you the strength you need to lift a suitcase, it will give you the endurance you need to carry that suitcase for a longer period of time.

It doesn't take long to improve muscle strength, says Dr. Mikesky. "You can increase strength very quickly, in as little as 2 to 3 weeks," he says. Noticeable increases in muscle size take longer--about 6 to 8 weeks. Some studies have shown strength increases of 100 percent or more in 12 weeks, he says. The bad news is that you can lose strength gains just as quickly. "If you miss a week of workouts and go back and put the same weight on, it's harder," explains Dr. Mikesky.

There are several different methods for resistance training, including free weights, weight machines, calisthenics and resistance tubing. Free weights involve the use of dumbbells and bars stacked with weight plates; the lifter is responsible for both lifting the weight and determining and controlling body position through the range of motion. Weight machines, on the other hand, allow you to lift plates, but the machine dictates the movement that you perform. Calisthenics, such as chin-ups, push-ups and sit-ups, utilize your own body weight as the resistance force. Resistance tubing involves the use of an elastic band that provides resistance to active muscles. In one study at Indiana University­Purdue University at Indianapolis, 62 older adults were put on a 12-week training program with elastic tubing. The participants showed an average increase in strength of 82 percent, as measured by the increase in the tubing's level of resistance.

"The difference between free weights and machines is that machines are more user-friendly," says Mark Taranta, a physical therapist and director of the Physical Therapy Practice in Philadelphia. Training with machines doesn't require a lot of skill or coordination. "With free weights, more balance is required and there are more learning techniques required," he says.

There are different theories on the best type of resistance training program to follow. A lot of it depends on your individual goals. In general, lifting a heavy weight in three sets of 8 to 12 repetitions is the best way to build strength. And lifting a lighter weight for more repetitions helps to build endurance and tone.

Heft for the Heart

Weight training can also give your cardiovascular health a lift, experts say. Studies on the effect of weight training on cholesterol profiles are controversial, says Dr. Mikesky, but some studies suggest an improvement in cholesterol levels that's similar to that of endurance training, he says.

In one study, six men and eight women used resistance training three days a week for 45 to 60 minutes each session. They showed significant changes in their cholesterol levels as a result. For the women, the ratio of total cholesterol to good, or HDL (high-density lipoprotein), cholesterol dropped 14.3 percent. This measurement is the best predictor of heart disease because it helps estimate how much bad, or LDL (low-density lipoprotein), cholesterol you have.

In the men, the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL was reduced by 21.6 percent. Ideally, you want your total cholesterol-to-HDL ratio to be low; a ratio of less than 3.5 is desirable. A ratio between 3.5 and 6.9 indicates moderate risk and a ratio over 7.0 indicates high risk.

In another study of 88 healthy, white pre-menopausal women, 46 women were put on a resistance training program that included weight-lifting exercises for the major muscle groups in the arms, legs, trunk and lower back, and the remaining women made up a control group. The resistance training group lifted 70 percent of their maximum weight in three sets of eight repetitions three days per week. Five months of resistance training led to significant decreases in total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. No significant effect on HDL or triglycerides was observed.

There's some indication that higher-volume weight training--the kind that involves lifting a lighter weight for more repetitions--may have more of an effect on cholesterol levels than weight training that involves lifting heavier weights for fewer repetitions, according to Janet Walberg-Rankin, Ph.D., associate professor in the Exercise Science Program in the Division of Health and Physical Education at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg.

While researchers don't fully understand how weight training lowers cholesterol, one means might be its effect on body composition and weight, says Dr. Walberg-Rankin. Weight training sometimes leads to weight loss and the reduction of body fat, and that can cause cholesterol to drop, she says.

A Good Way to Bone Up

Resistance training can certainly have an effect on your body composition. Muscles burn more calories than fat, so by increasing muscle mass, you increase your metabolic rate and can burn calories and reduce fat tissue.

One study of women whose calorie input was restricted modestly found that when women used weight training in addition to dieting, there was an increase in lean body mass even though they were losing weight.

Resistance training puts stress on bone as well as muscle and thereby helps increase bone mineral mass and prevent osteoporosis, experts say. While aerobic weight-bearing exercise like walking and running helps maintain bone strength in the legs and hips, it's less effective on the spine and upper body. Resistance training helps maintain bone strength in those areas, says Dr. Walberg-Rankin.

One study of 40 menstruating women ages 17 to 38 conducted at the University of Arizona in Tucson found that weight lifting provided greater stimulus for increasing bone density than endurance exercise did. Women who lifted weights had greater bone density in their wrists, spine and hips.

Boost Your Body Image

Resistance training is a good way to feel better about the way you look. One study of 60 sedentary women ages 35 to 49 conducted at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, found that women who resistance trained improved their body images 2.4 times that of women who participated in a walking program. Body image improved most in women who trained hard and consistently, the researchers found.

One reason weight training may be so effective in boosting self-esteem is that feedback is immediate. In addition to being able to see muscle growth and improved muscle tone, progress is easy to detect. "You know in two weeks when you can lift more weights on a machine," says Dr. Walberg-Rankin. That's a little easier to detect than an improvement in your aerobic fitness, she says.

How to Get to It

Why wait when you can be lifting weights? Here are some tips for getting started.

Check it out. Your physical health, that is. If you are going to start a resistance-training program, you should see your doctor for a physical first, says Dr. Walberg-Rankin. Your doctor will do a physical exam and take a health history. If you have a history of osteoporosis, heart disease or high blood pressure, be sure to mention it.

Don't go it alone. If you're going to start resistance training, you must get instruction from an experienced person, says Dr. Walberg-Rankin. If you belong to a health club, get a qualified instructor to help you. Look for certification from the American College of Sports Medicine or the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Your instructor can help you decide on the best resistance training method for you and get you started on a program. If you are doing a home program with a gym machine or dumbbell weights, consult a video on proper weight-lifting techniques, she says. If you're interested in using resistance tubing, consult a physical therapist or exercise physiologist.

Be sure to breathe. While you're lifting, do not hold your breath, says Dr. Walberg-Rankin. Breathe in or out while lifting, she says. It doesn't really matter when you breathe in or out, she says; just be sure to do it throughout the exercise. Holding your breath can cause your blood pressure to skyrocket, which can be very dangerous.

Start out light. "Start low and progress slowly," says Dr. Mikesky. That means start with a lighter weight that you can lift 10 to 15 times and then progress slowly over the weeks to lifting heavier weights.

Keep at it. If you're persistent and consistent about lifting, your strength should gradually increase over a number of months. You may reach a point where you plateau, says Taranta, but it's important to keep lifting even at that plateau level to maintain strength.

Do lifts you like. There are many different exercises for each muscle group. "If you don't like an exercise, don't stay with it. Find one you like," says Dr. Mikesky.

Lower slowly. Focus on lowering the weight slowly. That half of the movement, called a negative, or eccentric, contraction, actually stimulates more muscle growth, says Dr. Nelson. One method is to take a longer time lowering the weight than raising it. Try lifting the weight to the count of three and lowering it to the count of four.

Get started. It's never too late to start weight training, says Dr. Mikesky. Muscle can adapt and increase in strength well into your older years, he says. Research at Tufts University has shown strength gains between 100 and 200 percent in individuals well into their nineties.