The benefits of exercises for women are so many that I could never list them all. Basically, the more a person exercises as they approach old age, the more the benefits they get from them. For a woman, the main reason they live longer than men or even live happier is because their daily lives are so full of activities that those are exercises by themselves. Here are some of the common myths that are not true about strength training over 50 and other exercises.
a) Strength training will cause you to bulk up – This is not true, women do not have testosterone that are used to build big muscles, there will be no bulking up when they undertake weight lifting exercises. However, for women bodybuilders, they have a special diet and exercising schedules as well as chemical supplements that cause their muscles to bulk up. Unless you take these too, you need not worry about bulking up.
b) Weight training is hard – this is one of the top myths that scare women away from exercising altogether. As you start your weight training, you will start with low light exercises that you will find easy to do because your muscles will not face much stress. With time, as the muscles grow stronger and adapt to the stress and pressure and the body becomes more conditioned, the intensity of the exercises will increase.
c) You are too old to start exercising – It is never too late to start exercise, and the body is never too old to continue exercising. There are specific over 50 exercise for this age if you are worried about injuring yourself or not being able to stand the pressure or intensity of exercises. As long as you have a good program that will guide you through the process of exercising, you have absolutely nothing to worry about.
photo credit: infomatique