Women: Health benefits of lifting weights – Part 20
In the past, weight lifting was something that was thought of as being a strictly masculine form of exercise. The very idea of it instantly conjured up images of bulging biceps and Conan the Barbarian, but the truth is that weights aren’t just for men anymore. Over the past 20 years, more and more women have been adding weight training to their exercise routine and living healthier, more active lives as a result. Women don’t tend to develop large muscles from weight lifting, due to the fact that they produce far less testosterone than men do, but there are many other benefits associated with even basic weight exercises that make them an essential part of the health-conscious woman’s fitness routine.
INCREASE AND MAINTAIN STRENGTH
Weight training not only strengthens muscle tissue, but tendons and connective tissue as well. It also encourages bones to become stronger, thicker, and denser. Stronger tendons and muscles are far more resistant to common injuries and a stronger skeleton means bones are less prone to breakage and deterioration. Working with weights regularly also eventually results in benefits such as increased flexibility, better balance, and more energy.
HELP MANAGE YOUR WEIGHT
The more you work with weights, the more muscle tissue your body will develop. Muscle tissue requires more caloric energy than fat tissue does, so the more muscle you build, the more calories you burn even when you’re not actually exercising. Every extra pound of muscle you develop adds up to approximately 50 extra calories burned each day, helping you stay slim, trim, and strong so that you can feel and look your best.
HELP PREVENT DISEASE
Since weight training helps build bone density, it helps a woman guard against the onset of osteoporosis – especially after menopause when her level of estrogen production decreases. Since weight training also helps prevent obesity, a woman lowers her risk of developing breast cancer, diabetes, and other serious conditions for which obesity is a major risk factor.
You can get started by adding a few simple weight lifting exercises to your routine at first. If you have a gym membership, they can be done with the help of some of the equipment or with the help of a trainer, but these exercises can also be done at home with dumbbells. Don’t overdo things at first. The idea is to do enough reps so that the muscle begins to feel fatigued. You can increase the weight of your dumbbells and the number of reps as your strength increases.
CHEST PRESS
Lie flat on the floor or exercise bench, making sure the soles of your feet are flat against the surface. Next position your arms so that the dumbbells are at your shoulders. Your palms should be facing forward, and your elbows should be forward of the shoulder line at a 45 degree angle. Press dumbbells upward, using a smooth, fluid movement.
ARM CURL
Begin by holding a dumbbell in each hand with your arms straight down. Your palms should be facing inward toward your body, and you should be standing with your feet slightly apart. Bend elbows to bring the dumbbells up toward the shoulder, rotating your arm as you lift so that palms face the ceiling. This can be done either by alternating arms or by doing the exercise with both arms at the same time.
OVERHEAD PRESS
Stand with feet slightly apart and hold dumbbells at your upper chest with your palms facing down toward the floor. Lift the dumbbells over your head, extending your arms fully, but taking care not to lock your elbows suddenly. Slowly lower the weights back to the starting position and repeat.
Underestimating Osteoporosis in women – Part 1
Introduction:
A 73-year-old woman is walking her dog on the streets of New York, when all of a sudden she begins to experience pain on her knee. As she is walking, she rubs her knee but the pain persists. She walks back home experiencing pain not only on her knee, but also now on her back. The next day she sees her clinical doctor and is scheduled for a DXA test. The results are then confirmed that she has been diagnosed with osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is defined as a skeletal disorder in which the absolute amount of bone is decreased in which the absolute amount of bone is decreased relative to that of younger, or menstruating, individuals although the remaining bone is of normal composition. This syndrome is considered to be the result from loss of bone mass over a massive period of time, which affects both male and female. Although decrements in the organs of the heart, lungs, muscle, and kidney also play a role in the aging process, the decrease in bone mass often affects in fractures and immobilization in the aged individual, which requires significant hospitalization time. There are two types of osteoporosis. Type 1 osteoporosis generally develops in women after menopause when the amount of estrogen in the body greatly decreases. However, it is far more common in women than in men and typically develops between the ages of 50 and 60. Type 2 osteoporosis typically happens after the age of 70 and affects twice as frequently as men affect. This involves a thinning of both the trabecular bone, which is the spongy bone inside the hard cortical bone.
The question mainly arises from the curious individual of, what are the risk factors and what can be done to prevent this syndrome? 75% of the chance, that genetics plays the role in an individuals bone mass. There are genes that code for Vitamin D and calcium receptors and for estrogen receptors that both significantly affect bone mass. With this high risk, one can cut down on cigarette smoking and maintain a healthy diet. Adequate calcium intake and calcium enriched products is critical in keeping bones strong. The main prevention is exercise and physical activity. Weight bearing exercise and muscle contraction have been shown to increase bone density. Osteoporosis is a serious syndrome once you obtain it. Therefore, in your younger days, maintaining a healthy diet and engaging in physical activity can greatly decrease the chances of an individual getting the syndrome.
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