Are you an older woman and have always thought Strength Training and Weight Lifting is only for strong young men?
While this used to be the way many people thought, studies have now shown that strength training is incredibly beneficial for both men and women, young and old, and particularly for older women.
In fact, older women who do an hour or two of strength training exercises every week can see significant improvements in their cognitive function, particularly in the areas of the brain responsible for planning and executing tasks.
A study, which appeared in the Archives of Internal Medicine, has been carried out assigning 155 women aged bewteen 65 and 75 either to strength training once or twice a week or to a comparison group doing balance and toning exercises.
One year on, those who did strength training had improved their performance on tests of executive function by 10.9% to 12.6%.
Those who did the balance and toning exercises actually experienced a slight deterioration of .05%.
The improvement of the first group included an enhanced ability to make decisions and resolve conflicts.
Don't worry Ladies! You won't be expected to hold up a building!
So if you’re an older woman and want your later years to be full of life, joy and activity, maybe it’s time you considered adding some regular strength training into your schedule and reaping the benefits of greater health, fitness and mental alertness.
And if you don’t know where to start, why not consider Personal Training to make sure you get the most benefit in a safe manner from your workout. Just give us a call at Geelong’s Gym and we’ll set you up with a Personal Trainer who’ll suit your needs.
