Are you noticing that as you get older it’s getting harder to lose weight? Do you find you’re getting away with less than you used to and you’re gaining weight around the middle?
It’s simple science. Your lean muscle mass is decreasing, and it starts to decrease at the age of 30. Without lean muscle mass, your metabolism gets slower and slower. You burn less calories at rest, which means you start to gain fat, even if you’re just eating the food you used to eat that kept you in shape. Your whole systems starts to slow down, which means weight gain and feeling uncomfortable in your clothes.
If you’re peri-menopausal or menopausal, your oestrogen levels will be declining, causing you to gain weight around the middle.
Isn’t it great you know that, because once you know the issue, you can focus on the solution. Now you can start to plan your comeback, where you’ll be looking and feeling great, with tons of energy and fitting great in your clothes again.
5 reasons why you should lift weights if you’re a woman:
1.You’ll increase your lean muscle mass.
When you lift weights, you build lean muscle. Lean muscle burns loads of calories at rest. Lean muscle gives you a high metabolism. You’ll become a calorie burning machine. Remember it’s the not the calories burned in a session that’s important but the EPOC. Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC, or after-burn) . You’ll burn so many calories at rest, making is so much easier to lose weight.
2. You’ll help prevent Osteopenia or Osteoporosis.
You need to be strengthening your bones so you don’t get this horrible condition. Strength training can help protect your bones and prevent osteoporosis-related fractures. Do this now before it’s too late.
3. Your mood will be brilliant.
Women go through a tough time with all the hormonal changes they face. A decline in oestrogen, starting with the Peri-menopause can lead to mood swings and potentially bouts of feeling low or depression. To prevent this as best as you can, lifting weights has been scientifically proven, time and again, to have a huge positive effect on your mental health. You’ll get a big release of endorphins post session, and it’s also been proven that over time it lowers your overall cortisol levels (stress hormone).
4. You’ll sleep well.
You’ll be more naturally tired than if you didn’t lift weights. Come 10:30pm, you’ll be dying to get into bed rather than that stressy, wired feeling when you want to stay up. Lifting weights makes you feel knackered in a good way, your muscles have all been worked, you’ll sleep deeper and more sound.
5. You have a hobby that’s really good for you!
Lifting weights, or exercise, is so much fun! Especially if you find your tribe and a community of like minded people! It is the most fun thing. And it’ll keep you on the straight and narrow during the week. You’ll find that you want to eat more healthy and not drink or eat crap during the week. It’s win, win.
To your success,
Jessica Cooke X
