Yeah, my reaction exactly. Laughable. That's just not something women do, certainly not women my age. Until I began to research the benefits of strength training. Until I found out exactly what that could mean to my health. So well into my queenage years, I became a weightlifter and you should too!

Weightlifting has become a fundamental part of a comprehensive exercise program-at any age. Actually, the more inclusive term is strength training which can be described as any physical movement which uses your body weight or some type of equipment to build muscle strength, mass, and endurance. You can use body weight (think push-ups), or free weights (dumbbells, kettlebells), or resistance bands, or special weighted machines at a gym. The goal is to stress your muscles to force adaptation and facilitate growth. This happens over time when you consistently work out and progressively increase that stress.

Ok, I suspect by now you are imagining the Hulk or Arnold Schwarzenegger. Huge, well-oiled, rippling muscles way beyond any real human look accomplished by countless hours of sweating in the gym. Truth is, you couldn't get that look even if you wanted to! By the time you hit 35 it wasn't likely. And as a queenager, uh...no. Physiologists tell us beginning about age 35 we will lose 1%-2% muscle mass per year. And after age 50, muscles tend to lose 10% to 15% of their size and strength each year. So you see it will be all you can do to hang onto what muscle you have and prevent the ravages of sarcopenia (severe debilitating muscle loss) that puts your health and safety at risk. So why bother? There are many great reasons to bother. Yes, please do bother to put yourself on a plan to reap the benefits of weightlifting.

Benefits to Overall Health

Of course the objective here is to become stronger; to increase your overall fitness and strength. And when you are stronger the activities you do every day are simply easier. Carrying in groceries. Putting on that fitted sheet. Climbing the stairs to the library. And you do them with less chance of falls when you've built the strength to catch yourself. Something we all want to work on. And should you fall, because your bones actually become stronger with strength training, you are less likely to be injured. Regular strength training also improves cardiovascular health. You could see your total and LDL cholesterol numbers improve, your blood pressure decrease, your resting heart rate get lower. I give the gym all the credit for convincing my provider to take me completely off my blood pressure medication! Yay! Big win there!

And if blood sugar management is a concern (as it is for most all of us) strength training will help with that as well. A regular and consistent program of strength training has been shown to lower the risk of developing Type2 diabetes. Fit skeletal muscle is known to increase insulin sensitivity which improves the use of glucose in cells. Because lean muscles do a better job at burning calories than a mass of fat, your metabolic rate will actually increase. That particular benefit can last up to 72 hours after you leave the gym! And that, in the longer term, will help you manage your weight.

Yeah! Better looking!

Of course you know toned and tightened muscles look good at any age. And you don't have to be a competing bodybuilder to reap those benefits. You will naturally appear to be leaner when your muscles are stronger and more defined. That means better looking arms and legs and, yes, a genuine waistline and flatter tummy. You can indeed target your lifts to shape and define the trouble areas you want to work on. Work on the core to decrease abdominal fat. Get into some triceps work to diminish the look of those flabby underarms we all hate. Strength training also fosters better flexibility and mobility. So you look better when you move; when you walk into the grocery store; when you're on the pickleball court. When you have to bend over to pick up that book you dropped.

But my favorite benefit here? Better posture. Consistent and progressive weightlifting can absolutely improve your posture. You know how you've lost inches in height over the years? And you notice you seem to slump no matter how hard you try to sit up. Get to the gym! Oh how I have enjoyed seeing my posture improve since I first went. And not just by the mirror. I can tell it when I am driving, in how my back fits against the seat. And when seated, I can even see a straighter line chin to thigh! You'll love this too.

O what a feeling!

Okay, confession here. The best part of going to the gym is actually when you're finished and ready to leave. But...wait. That's because that's when the serotonins and dopamines are coursing through your veins. The happy hormones. When you realize that you, a queenager, just knocked out another full circuit in the weight room! That you are doing something that improves your quality of life on soooo many levels! Therefore, you see, strength training can actually lift your mood. Clearly it can boost your self-esteem and confidence in yourself and I promise, no matter how sore and exhausted you might be at that moment, a program of weightlifting is absolutely a game-changer, a transformative experience every queenager can use to enhance emotional health.

Oh, and brain health as well. Strength training is known to improve brain health. Scientists are continuing to work on the opportunities that muscle development might have in terms of warding off cognitive decline. While the exact mechanism is unclear and complex at best, it is evident that weightlifting can provide some measure of protection in brain health. Some studies have demonstrated improved memory among older weightlifters even more so than other forms of exercise. Other studies have shown that weightlifters score higher on a number of self-identified quality-of-life measures. All the more reason to get into lifting as early as possible, like today!

In conclusion...

So I hope you've called the local gym and signed up! And I hope, like the wonderful people at my Y did, they will help you get oriented to the machines. You can secure a dedicated trainer if you want, but it's not all that difficult to figure out what you need to do once you get into it. You can also find a number of group classes that help you develop your skills. (Though I don't recommend you start with the power-lifting class, like I thought I could!) Just take your time beginning and see where it leads. Conquer one lift, one machine at a time until you have a whole circuit going! Of course, it is also greatly helpful to take advantage of the opportunity for socialization and pick up a few queenaged friends along the way and get (and give) lots of encouragement to keep it going. Building a gym habit can be one of the best investments you've ever made in yourself! See you at the Y, you gym rat you!

Resources: Lyon, G. (2023). Forever strong: A new, science-based strategy for aging well. New York: Atria Books.