Who is strength training good for:
Children
Adults
Elderly
Pregnant Women (with doctor approval)
Elderly (with doctor approval)
WOMEN (yes, I put us women in our own little category)
Below are listed the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations for strength training for different populations for your ease. PLEASE NOTE: I have only included strength recommendations; not aerobic recommendations for the purpose of this blog. It is important that you mix both strength and aerobic exercise for health, weight management and disease prevention.
CLICK HERE : CDC Recommendations for Physical Activity for Everyone
CHILDREN 6-17 YEARS OF AGE:
CDC Recommendations for Children and strength training: 3 times per week 60 minutes or more a day.
** Note aerobic activity is recommended 60 + minutes everyday.
Children should do muscle and bone strengthening exercises that are age appropriate. Activities include things like gymnastics, pushups, running, and jump rope.
PREGNANT WOMEN
CDC Recommendations: Physical Activity Recommendations
It is important to consult your physician regarding continuing exercise during pregnancy. Every woman's body is different during pregnancy, and different complications may arise.
If you are regularly accostumed to exercise pre-pregnancy, your physician will often allow you to continue your normal activity levels, and make adjustments to intensity as you progress in your pregnancy. It is important to recognize potential risks of exercising and avoid exercises in a supine position which can inhibit blood flow to the uterus.
ADULTS 18-64 YEARS
CDC Recommendations for Adults and strength training: on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms)
It is very important for all adults to consider their current health state when chosing an exercise program. There are several considerations in developing an exercise program. Some considerations include: hypertention (high blood pressure), history of cancer or stroke, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, injuries, recent surgeries, lung disease and osteoperosis to name a few. These are all important to consider to prevent injury by selecting the proper exercises for range of motion, decreased joint stress, and regulating intensity levels for medications one may be taking.
The most common mistake with exercise programs is that they are not PROGRESSIVE. People get into a mental "Who Hah!" if you will, and jump right into performing exercises improperly that they have no business doing in the first place. It's important to understand that one must have STABILITY before builing too much STRENGTH, and must have STRENGTH before they can build POWER.
OLDER ADULTS 65 + YEARS
CDC Recommendatiions for Older Adults and strength training: on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms)
Strengthening exercises include: lifting weights, resistence bands, body weight exercises, yoga.
WOMEN
CDC Recommendations: Are no different for women then for than that of adults which include men. That is: on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms).
This is what I hear from most women looking to lose weight "I want to tone up". When I ask them their plan to acheive that goal this is what I get in response "Well, I`m going to do a ton of cardio everyday until I lose at least 10-15 pounds, then I`m going to do a little arms to strengthen and tone my upper body. My legs are fine. Actually, I really like my legs; they're all muscle! Oh yeah! And abs EVERYDAY!"
Okay, so here I go...LADIES! STOP NEGLECTING THE WEIGHTS. Not just machines, but the cables, free weights, and difficult exercises. Lifting weights will not make you bulky. Failure to lose bodyfat while lifting weights, will make you bulkier (AKA not eating properly, doing cardiovascular training). If you want the body that you desire, you cannot "lose some weight by doing cardio a couple hours a day, then tone up with machines later". This approach will not work. Period.
Today I am only touching the surface on debunking this common myth among women. Of course there are different approaches and styles of training, and it is important to train for your goal. Yes, but you must also consider how weight loss / gain occurs. I will talk about this more in my next blog.
For now, EVERYONE HIT THE WEIGHTS!! (If you don't know how, invest in knowledge & a fitness professional. How are those print-off exercises working out for you? If you're doing them efficiently, it's probably going well! If not, you're doing something wrong. Stop wasting your time!)
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