Denton County Living Well Magazine Spring 2015 | Page 44
Why Women Over 40 Should Lift Weights
By Julie Alvira, MD., MBA
T
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 sexual development
and the body… but wait… we women have androgens as
well. They are made in the female ovaries and adrenal
glands. Both bodies produce these hormones in different
amounts. Androgens control male sex traits, development,
muscle mass, aggressiveness, and sex drive among other
functions. In women, they influence sexual behavior and
are converted into the female hormones called estrogens.
(Tulane University, 2014).
Testosterone is one of the most potent androgens in humans.
It is present in higher levels in men than in women. Simply
stated, women do not possess the level of testosterone to
support a bulky physical appearance. We develop more
levels of estrogen. Any woman that is out there that looks
bulky muscular is probably supplementing with extra hormones. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
has stated that women naturally develop less muscle mass
than men because they have fewer muscle cells. To make
things very clear, even if a woman trains very hard, she will
achieve only a fraction of what a man can achieve because
a male’s testicles produce testosterone in higher amounts
than our ovaries. My fellow females, you will not look like
a superhero just by performing exercises with weights!
Benefits: Physical and emotional
Somebody once said, “Fitness is 100% mental. Your body
won’t go where your mind doesn’t push it.” Ladies, we un-
derstood the science, so let’s look at the benefits to get a
clearer picture of why we should give weights a try.
Physical
It is fine to continue doing your cardio, yoga, and light 3-5
pound weight routines, but by incorporating more intense
strength training into your workouts, a woman can achieve
more fat loss. This is due to the fact that the metabolism is
enhanced when lifting weights, because the premier calorie burning tissue in a woman’s body is muscle mass. According to studies, the more muscle mass a woman has, the
more calories she will burn. After age 30, most people begin to lose half a pound of muscle mass and at age 50 that
doubles; so, by increasing muscle mass through performing
strength training at least twice a week, you will help fight
muscle loss. The ACSM also states that weight training
helps a woman’s body:
• Slow down the rate of bone density loss to help avoid
osteoporosis.
• Improve hormonal balance by maintaining a healthy
weight before and after menopause. Sleep better.
• Reduce risk of cardiovascular disease.
One weight lifting misconception is that if a woman stops
working out, the muscle will turn into fat. Muscle and fat
are separate tissues. If the workout stops, the muscle may
atrophy but they will not convert to fat!
Another point to clear up is that a woman weighs more
when she has more muscle. This is true, however, due to the
fact that muscle is more dense than fat, you will lose inches
everywhere without losing pounds.
Emotional
A woman will feel and look better. A Harvard study found
that strength training reduced clinical depression symptoms
more successfully than standard counseling did. In addition, you feel more energetic, more confident and increase
libido.
Haven’t you heard that by lifting weights your
“happy hormone