Wellness Wednesday: Lifting Weights during the Holiday Season

The holiday season is in full swing this week and I don’t know about you, but I tend to eat and drink more between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Let’s just call it what it is, a Festive Food Season!

Instead of waiting to start your New Year’s resolution, you should think about adding to your exercise routine some type of weight training to help you keep off the extra pounds that tend to creep on during the holidays.
You don’t have to be a bodybuilder to see the benefits of using weights as a woman over 50ish.
Weightlifting is a great way to lose weight, especially the calories we consume during the holidays. 
Studies have demonstrated that after a weight training workout, the metabolism can be boosted for up to 36 hours post-workout, which means during the holiday season our bodies are burning the calories after we are in a food coma.

Weight training also prevents us from losing muscle, bone density, and builds up our strength. I know my 80ish mother wishes she had done weight training when she was 50ish. She began when she was 70ish and does see improvement in her overall health.
I do not run anymore since my foot surgery, but I am improving my cardiovascular fitness by weight trainin
g.
In fact,  Michele Olson, Ph.D., exercise physiologist says, “At midlife, a woman’s risk of heart disease parallels that of men. Also, hormonal changes can rapidly incite the deterioration of bone density, an increase in belly fat, and the loss of calorie-burning muscle tissue.”
For one year after my surgery, I didn’t exercise at all and my blood pressure was 160/90!

Today I have a lower blood pressure and I take medicine to keep it low. I have noticed that when I don’t work out 3 times a week with weights my blood pressure rises. Sitting for long periods cause lots of health issues.

You do not have to be a bodybuilder like Ernestine Shepherd, just lift weights at your own comfort level. Start with light weights, then graduate to larger weights at your own pace.

Ernestine Shepherd

I stop at 10 pounds, I have never gone up in weight, I just do more repetitions. They say if you can do 15 repetitions comfortably at the beginning, you are using the correct weight for yourself. Do not strain yourself when using weights and if you hurt, STOP!

You can exercise at home, while on vacation, or at a fitness center.

I do exercise when I’m on vacation. I grab some handheld weights and try to find a spot where no one pays much attention to me because I am not trying to impress anyone with my 60ish wrinkled biceps. Or my wrinkled 60ish body for that matter.

Men watch me workout at the gym. Mainly old men. They literally stop to watch. Maybe I should be grateful that old men like to watch me as I workout but just like on Instagram with the creepy men why are they watching midlife women?
I don’t care what age we are, I find that creepy when I look up and see a man watching me.

I am lucky to have found an all woman’s fitness center near me in Atlanta. Most of the women in my BodyPump fitness class are over 50ish.
Healthy Lifestyle Over 50: Lifting Weights during the Holiday Season-Hello I'm 50ish
 As you can see we are not professional bodybuilders and we are not skinny models. We work out to stay healthy. We want to look and feel good as 50ish women.
 

Healthy Lifestyle Over 50: Lifting Weights during the Holiday Season-Hello I'm 50ish

If you’re new to weight training, I highly recommend you join a weight training class that has instructors watching you to make sure you’re lifting correctly. Or start with a personal trainer. Someone should be watching your technique so that you can avoid any unnecessary injuries. All these women select weights that they are comfortable with. This isn’t a competition and it doesn’t bother me if a woman next to me has more weight on her bar than I do.
Healthy Lifestyle Over 50: Lifting Weights during the Holiday Season-Hello I'm 50ish

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because BodyPump is a 60-minute workout, I workout every muscle group and only workout 3 times a week. You need to rest your muscles at least one day or more and allow them to recover.

However, if you want to train daily, spread out the muscle groups and body parts on different days. Last bit of advice, remember to stretch out before and after your workout with weights.

You may feel sore after the first time you use weights and I can tell you from experience, brushing my hair or lifting a cocktail was a challenge.

Healthy Lifestyle Over 50: Lifting Weights during the Holiday Season-Hello I'm 50ish

And we wouldn’t want that to happen now, would we? Thanks for stopping by!
I would love to hear from you!
Happy Holidays!

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8 Comments

  1. Hehe, laughing at the lady at the weight machine with her martini! I wrote about my routine when I am inside and workout at home. I love the message too, that weightligfting is important as we get older, I need it too to strengthen my muscles as weaker muscles develop trigger points on me, and this helps some.
    I love the workout tights too you are wearing!
    I always loved group classes at my gym.. they were motivating!
    thanks for linking!
    jess xx
    http://www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com

  2. closetplayimage says:

    Thank you, Robin, for the encouragement to keep at it! I love my yoga class, but need to get back into the weights… Even if I hate (not nearly a strong enough word) the muscle soreness that ensues! Now if I could just get them to serve cocktails at the Y!

  3. shelbeeontheedge1 says:

    Robin, you are such an inspiration! I am not much into exercising at all these days, but I am definitely making healthier choices when it comes to diet. And I do get close to 10,000 steps a day in just from working retail!

    Shelbee
    http://www.shelbeeontheedge.com

  4. overthehilda says:

    I use some light weights at home. But I have a problem knee and find that all kneeling exercises no longer suit me and I have to be careful of my back too….lots going on there.

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  6. no creepy guys at my gym, they are all into themselves ☺