subject: Proper Exercise Offers Many Youth Enhancing Benefits For Women [print this page] For most women staying youthful is right up there on the priority list. Money is spent on hairstyle, cosmetics, clothes and appearance, maybe even surgery or other procedures if they think it is worth it. But the most important place to stay youthful is right down at cellular level when oxygen and nutrient transfer takes place from the bloodstream.
As 70 percent of the population does not do enough strength building and maintaining exercise particularly as they get older their body composition (muscle/fat ratio) is on a negative slide downwards. It is easy to lose strength and muscle tissue if you do not challenge them on a regular basis and they will atrophy (shrivel) at the rate of about a half-pound per year.
Your weight on the bathroom scales may not change but the composition of your body will change - you will have more body fat and less precious muscle tissue. It is hard to look youthful without good muscle tone. Toned muscle is firm and taut and clings to the body but flab just sags and hangs and makes you look much older.
Many women use the excuse that strength training exercise is going to make them get big muscles but nothing could be further from the truth. It will not happen now...not anytime soon...not ever. The only big bit will be the fat layer that will continue to make you get larger and heavier. The muscle is the little firm bit underneath that bulky fat layer and is your very best friend as that is what is going to help you become slim again.
The core of your metabolism and the thing that governs the rate your body burns fuel (calories) is your muscle tissue. Toned and strong means lots of energy is being used and you will maintain a healthy weight. If your muscles are allowed to become weak and flabby means you cannot use up the energy from the food you eat and guess what happens to it? Yes, it is piled up on your tummy, your hips and thighs and anywhere else your body wants to store it.
Proper strength training exercise is the only type of exercise that can reverse this situation. If you think long duration low intensity activity is going to solve your body composition problems you are going to be very disappointed. You need to directly load your muscles with adequate resistance (weight) to rebuild lost strength and to maintain it.
There are many other important health benefits for women from strength training exercise. When muscles are strengthened the bones they are attached to are strengthened as well. The metabolic rate is boosted helping you lose excess fat. Without that muscle tone your body is much slower at burning calories and more are stored.
All in all the benefits add up and the only outlay is just a couple of sessions each week with some effort put in and you will rejuvenate your entire body inside and out. This will knock years (maybe decades) off how you look and how you feel.
