It’s never too late to start strength training
Let’s face it, going to a gym for the first time can be daunting. If it’s your first time with strength training, even more so. You may be tempted to use your age as an excuse to forego the resistance part of your exercise routine. But a regular whole body workout that includes strength training is important for good health as we get older, for a variety of reasons.1
Whether you’re 32 or 102, it’s never too late to start strength training. In fact, you lose muscle as you gain in years, so strength training is more important than ever as you age.2
To help you get started, here’s a beginner’s guide:
Start slowly.
First, get the green light from your health care provider to start a strength training routine. This is particularly important if you’re older than 40, haven’t been active in a while, or you have a chronic health condition.2
On your first day at Curves, work at a moderate pace to feel the resistance, so you can get a sense of your baseline strength and stability. Under the guidance of a Curves Coach, slowly increase your pace until you reach the resistance that makes you comfortably “feel the burn.3
Work the Circuit.
The Curves Circuit and MyCurves On Demand are designed with resistance training in mind. You can move from machine to machine or use the resistance band to work all your major muscle groups and complete a full body workout. You will be prompted to let your muscles recover while doing moderate cardio activity in between each machine or band move for 30 seconds. Start with two days a week and work your way up to three or more. Working with your Curves Coach in-club or online can also help you stay motivated and on track with your weight loss, healthy eating plan, and fitness goals.3
Forget about what you look like.
The women working out around you are engaged in their full body workout; they’re not checking out what you look like in your workout attire. So explore the Curves circuit with confidence. You’re there to get healthy and fit, and you’ll get stronger with every strength training workout.3
Know the benefits of strength training.
There are so many. Here are some of the health benefits of strength training:
- Weight loss. In mid-life, women tend to start gaining about 10 pounds of body weight every 10 years. By trying to control weight with a healthy eating plan alone, you can lose precious muscle, too. Strength training combined with a weight loss eating plan is the best recipe for weight loss. Muscle tissue is more metabolically active than fat, so you’ll burn more calories long after you’ve left Curves ladies only gym.4
- A boost in bone density. In the five to seven years following menopause, estrogen levels drop, causing women to experience a decrease bone density of 20 percent or more. Strength training helps slow that bone loss.4
- More energy. Strength training gives you more endurance and power, which helps keep you energized throughout the day.5
- Better sleep. When you strength train, you tend to have deeper sleep, which helps your body recover and repair so you can work out harder the next day.5
- Improved mental health. Strength training releases endorphins, which help reduce stress, lower anxiety, and stave off depression.5
- Better balance. As we get older, core strength and balance are some of the first to go. Strength training can help you stay balanced, mentally and physically.5
- Fight disease. Strength training helps lower blood sugar and blood pressure, relieve pain from arthritis, and improve recovery from heart attack and stroke.6
One of the coolest parts of strength training is that you get measurable results. Not only will your muscles appear more toned, making you look and feel younger, you’ll be able to exercise with increasingly more resistance as you get stronger. This physical strength will translate to emotional strength, building your confidence along with your muscles. For all these reasons, the best time to start strength training is now!
The Curves women’s gym workout is convenient, combining strength training and cardio plus stretching – all in just 30 minutes – to strengthen your whole body. For more information about Curves and the full body workouts the Curves Circuit provides, visit ‘Why Curves’.
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