« 3 Minute Mini-Walk by Leslie Sansone | Main | It’s Time for Goal Call Monday »
Add Strength Training to Your Workout! Our Great, Great Grandmothers Strength Trained.
By Cindy | February 2, 2008
Your great-great grandmother strength trained daily. Her household responsibilities included carrying wood into the home to keep the fires warm, gathering water from the spring or well in buckets, milking cows, and possibly moving feed to tend to the animals. In the home, cooking was demanding from kneading dough, moving cast iron pots and pans, to stoking the fire and cleaning. The laundry was a tremendous exercise of arm strength with the scrubbing boards and lye soap cleanings, and hanging the laundry and beating rugs was no small feat. Scrubbing floors and any number of chores without the use of modern day electricity required strength. Walking and horseback riding were the modes of transportation.
Studies and scientific evidence were unnecessary for great great grandma to stay fit. Her family’s survival depended upon her strength. Our ancestors lived a physical lifestyle using their muscles in day-to-day activities. Because of technology and modern day conveniences, a healthy lifestyle, today, requires artificial stimulation through “current strength training methods.” We know what is good for the body, yet as a nation, we are more unhealthy than ever before. Even though our lifespans are increasing, preventative measures to deal with lifestyle choices are ignored by a large portion of the population. What’s happening?
No longer is our day-to-day survival based on our physical exertions. Modern day conveniences such as machinery replacing large laborious tasks, the invention of washing machine, dryer, refrigerator, running water, and easy access to prepared foods are only a few examples of changes to our lifestyle. Our ancestors had to make, grow, and hunt for their food which required physical forces on all the systems within the body. Today, the basic process of gathering the laundry and getting the dishes into the dishwasher expends some calories, but doesn’t tax our muscles very much.
With the science to back up the importance of the muscular system, it is clear that strength training is an essential component to a healthy lifestyle. Since our immediate survival (the effects of our lack of activity tends to come at the end of our lifespan) doesn’t depend upon our physical exertions, modern day strength training is necessary to tax our body’s muscles.
There is a huge amount of trepidation among women to “strength train.” We are in an age where you have to adapt to strength training to fully support your healthy lifestyle. Our great-great grandmothers strength trained through the lifestyle they lived. Women are nervous to start, but I want to help you realize there’s nothing to be nervous about. There are so many benefits in working your muscles. The focus on the scale and fat took too far of a leap in priority over the importance of overall body composition.
Do you want to see real results? It’s time to take up strength training. I’ll discuss the full benefits in a later post, but I do want to leave you with one very important fact as you’re shaking your head at me and thinking, “Yeah, whatever…”
“every pound of new muscle uses 30 to 40 calories a day at rest for tissue maintenance, whereas a pound of fat uses only about 2 calories a day. In other words, muscle is 15 to 20 times more active than fat.”1
What does that mean? Higher metabolism, all day long, more efficient body. If you’re in maintenance mode, then this means you can eat more calories. If you want to lose weight, then it might mean a temporary increase in weight (as you increase muscle mass), but a more efficient body to burn calories over time. When combined with cardiovascular activities, you will see a noticeable difference in fat loss and muscle gain through body measurements.
I will discuss strength training in depth as it applies to you as a mom. My goal is to convince you of it’s importance and how to training right. Over the next several weeks, I will post on the following topics:
- The benefits of strength training
- You will not look like a bodybuilder
- An inside look at what your muscles are doing
- Opposites attract…It’s a balancing act
- Endurance versus strength
- Ways to use your body
- Understanding the difference in equipment choices
- Individual exercises illustrated with explanations of their importance to your body
Just as we want to train our children to be competent in Reading, Writing and Arithmetic–the foundations of a sound education, your muscles are one of the top three elements of living a healthy lifestyle (cardiovascular exercise, anaerobic exercise, and diet).
Is there a question you have about strength training that you would like me to include in the above discussions? What are your perceptions on working your muscles?
Reference: Westcott, Wayne, Building Strength and Stamina , 2nd. Edition, (Champaign, IL: 2003) 9.
Don't forget to subscribe to my RSS feed and join in the Journey. Thanks for visiting!
Topics: Fitness Knowledge |
February 3rd, 2008 at 1:25 am
I can’t wait for this series! I really want to do strength training, but am unsure about where to start and how to go about it! And I can’t afford a personal trainer!
Did you know that strength training helps prevent bone loss?
February 3rd, 2008 at 10:09 am
Now I know why my maid is in such great shape! Ha - I kid I am the maid and in horrible shape.
I still need to lose 40 pounds, and have heard it is best to lift weights when you are closer to your goal weight. What is your thoughts on that?
February 4th, 2008 at 5:37 am
Excellent post! I’m so interested in strength training. I started following a program I found the the CDC site, Strength Training For Older Adults. I’m not “older” but morbidly obese and they were at a pace I could follow and I’ve built up from there. Thank you so much for taking the time to write such an intriguing post to stimulate interest in strength training!
February 4th, 2008 at 7:52 am
Amen! What a wonderful post! I’ve been lifting weights on and off my whole life and I love it! I belonged to two gyms and yes I went regularly. But I just moved to SC and there are no gyms or health clubs around here. (unless you count the “He-man” gyms with freeweights which I don’t like plus they’re extremely overpriced.
I noticed when I was lifting, the fat came off much more slowly but my overall body was changing - more shape, definition, and overall symmetry. The best recipe for success if some kind of weight training, cardio, and healthy diet.
February 5th, 2008 at 12:09 am
What a great post! I have wondered about the hardships my great grandmother’s experienced. I absolutely hate to camp… in a fully equiped cabin. But when we are out there, and I’m done whining about how much I hate it, I’ll sometimes think to myself… this is way better than our ancestors had it in their daily lives.
I have questions! Does pilates count as strength training? Are weights always involved? I’ve been using bands. The bands are like fishing tube with handles on them… I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. I can’t recall the brand or the workout instructor on the video. Is that a form of strength training? I’m a total beginner when it comes to the strength training part of my workout.
I can’t wait to hear more on this subject!
February 5th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Hi Hanlie, Yes! One of the many, many benefits of weight training which is coming up in the next article.
Hi Grumpy Chair, I can see where it might be said to really focus on strength training as you get closer to your goal weight. Especially for someone that’s used cardio and the body has adjusted itself to the routine. The addition of Strength training will be something new to the body and a great kick start to another decrease in fat. Plus, strength training kicks up your metabolism and works double duty for you.
Thank you Diana. You’re always so encouraging. Studies show that senior and young adults are equally benefiting from strength training.
Carol, I am completely with you. I’ve been here for quite sometime. It’s why I really try not to focus on the scale and to watch the inches!
Thank you Georgie Girl! I will definitely cover all your questions. The quick answer for Pilates is that it requires quite a bit of core strength and helps lengthening. It really is a great combination of body resistance/flexibility training. Nope, weights aren’t always involved. Static holds are also great for your muscles and all it requires is your body weight. But as you strengthen your muscles, you might find yourself wanting to add more resistance in the form of weights. Bands are a method of strength training.
What a wonderful response ladies. I plan on having the Benefits out by Thursday! Thank you for stopping by and helping me build upon the upcoming posts.
February 8th, 2008 at 8:52 am
Cindy, I definitely enjoy weight training and would like to hear your take on it. I currently do a lot of circuit training and occasionally supersets. If you’re interested, you can read a bit about my routine here.
Trust me ladies, unless you are genetically… unusual you will NOT get huge lifting weights without ingesting massive amounts of steroids. What you will get is a faster metabolism, greater range of motion, and probably even increased self confidence.