Dallas County Living Well Magazine Spring 2015 | Page 38

Why Women Over 40 Should Lift Weights
By Julie Alvira, MD., MBA

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here comes a time when you have to put fear
away, step out of your comfort zone,
and challenge yourself. You might
feel uncomfortable and awkward
when you try something new, but sometimes
the unknown will become your new normal. I
am talking about women and lifting weights.
There’s still a majority of women out there
that think that heavy lifting will make them
bulky, and if the lifting stops, then everything
will turn to fat. Other women think that lifting weights will change how their body
looks or that they will “look masculine
and buff.” Some say that women over
40 who touch weights are out of their
mind. All of these are misconceptions!!
Let’s set the record straight.

First things first: Androgens
Androgens are sex steroid hormones that are made primarily in the male testes and rule male s ^X[]