Heavy Weights Are Not A Fad

Have you noticed that dumbbells haven’t changed all that much since, well, forever? Or that no one seems to have improved upon the back squat? It’s hard to improve upon the foundations of something that has worked universally well for so long.

When it comes to maintaining health, moving weight is the best thing you can do for yourself. Your body craves the resistance.

There is always going to be a new fitness fad. Most of us watched our mothers dancing along to VHS tapes in the living room or maybe even went with her to the local rec center. A lot of us picked up running in college, then jumped in on spin classes, bootcamps, HIIT, barre, yoga sculpt, and so much more. And while these various fads are still technically available, most people tend to circulate from one to the next...remember Tae Bo? But lifting weights? That’s not a fad, it’s here to stay.

And the news keeps getting better. 

Recent research has shown that your perimenopausal period is one of the better times to adapt your training to prevent unwanted changes in your metabolism or body composition. When your muscles are suddenly deprived of estrogen, muscle stem cell regeneration drops by up to 60%. The solution? Resistance training and heavy lifting. When you can manually stimulate these stem cells, you maintain your muscle mass.

This isn’t to say you necessarily need massive muscles. But the more muscle mass you have as you get older, the better your resting metabolism can burn calories, the better your clothes fit, the better your life feels.

Older women who work on their muscles don’t need help using the bathroom when they’re 80+ years old, just saying.

Work the muscles. Lift the weights. Shoot for three lifting days a week and follow your workouts with 30-45g of protein for faster recovery. Weightlifting may not be “your life,” but you’ll find that it’s the thing that GIVES you life. 

And you’ve only got this one life to live, might as well make the whole thing a good one.