Baby Boomers also known for their dedicated work ethics and high standards are very interested in health and fitness and are showing up in gyms around the world to get started on a strength training program because they have heard it will help them stay younger. This age group can expect to live into their 80′s, 90s and beyond so staying strong and healthy is of great importance to be able to remain independent and healthy to enjoy these extra years.

Baby Boomers will not thank you if you call them “elderly” and they have no intention of “slowing down” or “growing old gracefully”. They intend to remain active and youthful throughout their entire lives so their health span equals their life span. If a strength training program will assist them in accomplishing this, then so be it, they will take it. As you would expect they are setting their sights high – instead of sitting around idly watching the world go by, Boomers intend to start new careers, hobbies, and travel. This can only be made possible by remaining strong and healthy. Strength training is the means to achieve this.

In addition to enhancing their own health, fitness and quality of life, Boomers also have the chance to influence the next generation by setting an example of a new, active model of an aging adult. They will teach them that weakness and frailty is not an inevitable part of getting old and that it within our control to stay strong and vibrant. Staying independent and taking care of ones self is a great incentive to maintain strength as you age. Creating more energy and endurance by being fitter and stronger enables an active lifestyle to easily be maintained. Building strength also builds strong bones, which helps prevent the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis. And toned muscles look better than flabby fat. Muscle is youth.

You can start building and regaining strength at any age, even people who begin strength training in their 70′s or 80′s can regain loss strength in as little as eight weeks. You don’t have to accept that you will lose your strength or muscle tone just because you’re getting older. Your muscles will continue to work for you as long as you make an effort to work your muscles. Strength training is the key to staying young, no other form of exercise can achieve the same results and the outcome is an improved quality of life that you could scarcely imagine.

Of all the choices we can make to stay healthy and well, the decision to include regular strength training in your exercise regime may be the most important.

Here are some very important reasons why you should get started on your strength training program today:

Increase Physical Capacity – Makes everything in your life easier. Nothing can help you lift the groceries, play with the grandchildren, and generally do all the things in life that you want to do like strength training. Without a well functioning mind and body our quality of life is greatly reduced.

Essential to Manage Body Weight – The only way you are ever going to lose excess body fat is if your muscles burn it as fuel. This can only happen if you raise your metabolic rate (the rate your body burns fuel). If you increase muscle tissue by only a kilo it will burn around 100 extra calories 24/7. You will only gain this extra fat burning muscle tissue with strength training, no other exercise or activity can do this.

Look and Feel Better – Because muscle tissue takes up less space than the same weight of body fat, strong active people look slimmer than their sedentary counterparts who weigh the same. As your muscles strengthen they are toned and uplifted giving your body shape, proportion and definition. Even if you don’t lose weight on the bathroom scales, your body proportions will change and you will be trimmer. You will soon wear a smaller dress size or your pants will be looser and you will have to tighten your belt.

Build and Maintain Healthy Muscles, Bones and Joints – As your muscles strengthen, tendons, ligaments and other connective tissue also strengthens. Strong muscles also surround and protect joints. Bones are strengthened and bone density increased because muscles are attached to them, as muscles grow stronger through strength training the tension exerted on the bones increases making them stronger as well. One major benefit of this process is reduced risk of injury while performing everyday activities or while participating in sports.

Strengthen the Immune System – Not many people are aware that muscle tissue serves as the body’s armor and defense against illness and disease. When the whole body’s muscular system is strengthened the immune system is also strengthened. This disease proofs the body against life threatening diseases and illnesses that could shorten your life.

Medicine for the Mind – A sound strength training program not only strengthens the body but also strengthens the mind through increased “feel good” chemical production. This prepares and helps us to accept and overcome life’s challenges. Blood flow to the brain is increased improving “mental fitness” which in turn leads to better memory, improved intellectual capacity and productivity. Just as you get more energy exercising, you also get happier, have a better outlook on life and enjoy life more. Stress is reduced and depression and anxiety are lifted. Strong, toned muscles improve self esteem and makes people ooze self confidence. .

The small amount of time each week that you spend on your strength training program to ensure that you experience a higher level of health and fitness will benefit you every hour of your day and night, awake and asleep in the years to come. Can you think of any other investment that would return so much from so little! There is no better win-win deal for you!

Women tend to forget about their muscle strength but every activity we do depends on them, from our everyday household tasks to our leisure or sporting activities. We need that strength even more if we wish have abundant energy to exercise on a regular basis and live an active lifestyle.

When Fitness Professionals ask women about their fitness goals, many mention personal goals such as decreasing body fat, having a firmer body, feeling better, and improving energy levels. Often, women try to achieve these goals by focusing mainly on aerobic exercise such as walking or jogging because either they do not understand what strength training can do for them or they fear that strength training exercise will give them larger muscles. Thanks to female hormones it is highly unlikely lean muscle tissue will increase very much. In fact only a small amount of extra muscle maybe a kilo or two is needed to help achieve a loss of excess body fat. If one of your health and fitness goals is weight loss, strength training exercise may be the answer to achieving the strong, fit, firm and youthful body you long for.

Many women miss out on the incredible benefits that strength training has to offer because of myths and false beliefs regarding this very important element of fitness. Done properly a strength training program that focus’s on major muscle groups of the body such as the back and legs increases the amount of toned lean muscle tissue. This will require more calories to be burned both during exercise and throughout the rest of your day. This is how excess body fat with be reduced. Many women incorrectly think they need to spend their exercise time walking on the treadmill or other similar aerobic activities . This will not produce the body fat reduction as muscle tissue cannot be maintained or increased with aerobic (heart/lung) training alone. And an increased metabolism is the key to weight loss.

Without strength training, an adult will lose approximately 1% of their muscle tissue per year after 30 years if age. For example:. If you are 55 years old and you’ve lost 25% of your muscle mass, you might be expending 250 calories less per day. You now have two options either you will always have to restrict what you eat so that you do not gain extra body fat, or you can begin a strength training program to raise your metabolism.

Strength training works because toning up muscle ignites your metabolism and keeps your body running like a zippy sports car. Every 500 grams of muscle on your body burns between 30 and 50 calories a day even when you’re watching TV or sleeping. Women often blame excess body fat on a sluggish metabolism when what’s really to blame is dwindling muscle mass. This loss of muscle is so slow and happens over such a long period of time that it goes unnoticed. This reduces the metabolic rate which allows sneaky body fat to start to accumulate.

If you’re not strength training already, don’t delay any longer, get started right away. No matter what your age you can become a strong, fit and more youthful woman. Make sure you see a Fitness Professional so you can learn the correct technique of the exercises and to ensure you get your results quickly and safely.

There are three basic kinds of strength training exercises: abdominal, upper body and lower body exercises. Abdominal exercises strengthen your center, which is supposed to give you optimum control over the rest of your body and keep all your power in check. Exercises for the upper body involve the back, torso and arms, while legs, thighs and hips are developed by lower body exercises.

Nearly all of the exercises will be lifting weights, they will be your weight resistance. This said, you must be aware of risk factors involved when starting out on your strength training program. For example, if you have any diseases or problems with your heart, or even if there is any history of coronary disease in your family, you must get your doctor’s permission before you can start a strength training program that involves weight lifting. If you suffer from obesity, chronic hypertension, arthritis, diabetes, asthma always consult your doctor.

You should also talk to your doctor about being ready for strength training when you are recovering from surgery, have had no physical exercise whatsoever prior to your upcoming strength training plans, are pregnant or had given birth less than three months ago. Obviously, after events such as these, you would probably want your body to be much stronger, but jumping into strength training exercises after such a weakened condition would do much more harm than good. Let’s get going, but slowly.

It is important to have a strength training program that involves the majority of the muscles in your body. Don’t just focus on one part of your body e.g. if you wanted to get a nice six pack. Do this and the rest of your body will suffer. A primary program you can start with would involve the bench press, lateral pulldowns, overhead press, bicep curl and tricep pulldown for upper body; squats, leg extensions and leg curls; and abdominal crunches for your midsection. You can add exercises later on.

There are even programs with combination exercises for people on the go. Such exercises include squats with bicep curls, or with overhead press, lunges with lateral raises, and so on. But these are for later, when you’ve already achieved some strength and experience in strength training.

Your strength training exercise program should be very basic when you start out. Eight to twelve reps per muscle group is the recommended minimum to help you get your desired results. This recommendation comes from The American College of Sports Medicine. As you progress with your exercises, the amount of resistance that is applied to your exercises must increase as well, but again, don’t rush into it. The only way to go is up. You’ll be stronger before you know it.

1. We cannot strength train a muscle today and tomorrow. We have to allow at least 24-36 hours of rest. Lifting on consecutive days leads to overtraining, muscle fatigue, and possible injury. All of our strength gains are made during the rest time!
2. We cannot spot reduce. This means if we want to lose weight in our stomach, doing 100 crunches a day will not make our stomach flab disappear. To reduce stomach fat, we need an overall reduction in body fat. Reducing overall body fat results from eating well, regular exercise, and proper rest.
3. We can spot tone. If we want bigger biceps, we can strength train for hypertrophy (fancy word for muscle growth). It is possible for us to focus on one specific muscle group. This is sometimes called targeted training. Studies have shown that machines isolate a muscle better than free weights.
4. Our strength training routines must be regular and consistent for results to take place. It took us years to put on the weight. We shouldn’t expect it to all fall off in three weeks. The best outcome from your fitness and strength training program should be a lifestyle change. Replace bad habits with healthy ones and reap the rewards.
5. Realize that our strength training routine must be changed every 4-6 weeks. This will prevent our body from hitting a plateau and it will keep things interesting. We can change our method, our exercise or our intensity level. Not changing our routine on a regular basis will eventually stop producing results. We will continually grow stronger as we progress with our fitness program. Be sure your body is challenged on every workout.
6. Our strength training routines must be built according to our specific goals. Specific goals may be: fat loss, hypertrophy, maintaining weight or adding bulk. Each goal will have a different method that is best suited for optimal results. Someone who is interested in losing body fat will strength train differently than someone looking to increase muscle bulk. Knowing what your specific goals are will aid in creating the best strength training program possible.
7. Our strength training routines must work all of the major muscle groups in our body 1-3 times per week. This includes our biceps, triceps, shoulders, chest, back, abs, quads, glutes, hamstrings and calves. Leaving out muscle groups will create an imbalance.

By using these 7 guidelines, anyone should be able to build a decent and effective program. The idea is to develop a safe strength training routine that provides us with major health and fitness benefits. Strength training has certainly increased in popularity over the past few years. Knowing how to build a strength training routine for our specific goals will move us one step closer to a fit body.