Weight Training in Your 40’s

By Binu Dhindsa

Binu Dhindsa, Fitness columnist

As a mother who has nurtured children for the last 13 years, I have discovered that feeling healthy and fit comes from more than just the physical fitness and nutrition. We do so much for our kids that somewhere in those early years of motherhood many of us forget about ourselves.

Sometimes we want improved health, but we miss the deeper reason of why we want it or what it actually means for us. Some of us grew up with fitness around us and some of us didn’t. Those who were more active as children usually find it easier to get into a fitness routine as adults. I sure know my love for weight training and sports came from my teenage years, and now is linked to how I live and what I teach women around me.

I grew up in a small town in Ontario, where my parents were very overprotective and cautious about who I was hanging out with. Being of Indian decent, and talking to many Indian friends lately, it’s a very common trait that existed in our parents who were new to this country. I slowly found ways to do more things that I wanted to do, and one of them was following my older brother around!

One thing my brother and his friends would do is go to the nearby gym. So I figured, ok, I will tag along. This became a fun habit for sure, learning how to use weights in a weight room as a teenager. Little did I know it was setting me up for adulthood.

Fast forward many years post-marriage, and post-babies, and suddenly my body was not cooperating. I joined gyms everywhere I went. For me, it was the only way I knew to “get back in shape”. It was the first time my body was at a place I was unfamiliar with. I suddenly had to buy larger sizes because my body didn’t bounce back to where I figured it would. Wow, that was a surprise to me. Why didn’t anyone tell me this would happen?

I didn’t fret, as I had experience with many years of working out at a gym along with reading fitness and food magazines and being on a healthy eating train from a young age. I also had friends who were dieticians so I was surrounded by knowledge of healthy living tips. So I just went back to what I knew, attended classes, starting teaching Zumba, ate more vegetables and less junk and some of the body fat came off. As the years went on, this became hard to maintain.

I wasn’t as consistent anymore and it showed. It was all about how I felt inside and out. I had certain fitness goals but was having trouble meeting them. Then I entered my 40s and everything seemed harder. Time was definitely an issue.

This all added up to more weight gain and less self care. I knew from my research and experience that I needed more weight training back in my life. My body was changing in ways that wasn’t working for me and the regular weight training was necessary to balance my body out. The beauty of using weights is that your whole body gets used. You end up strengthening primary and secondary body parts in a much more efficient manner. And the efficiency of losing unwanted body fat is the added bonus. The theory of it all is great, but the challenge is often how to fit this into our weekly routine.

Most of us don’t have a great deal of time to spend on exercise, so how do we figure out what to do in the limited time we have? Do you hire a trainer, or download a program from the internet? I did both and it’s what I needed to get that push!

I needed something that worked into my schedule, and that was flexible in case I couldn’t make it to a gym. I knew that I needed consistency so I made a commitment to myself that I was going to get this done. I scheduled my workouts into my daytimer so that I had no excuse not to complete the workouts. I had this inner drive as I knew I wanted to feel confident and strong again and the weight training was my ticket.

As a trainer myself, I know that the more consistent you are, the faster you will see results in your body. I have since found these easy-to-follow videos that I use for myself as well as my clients. This one here at fitnessblender.com is a great place to start to create a more confident, healthier and stronger you. The beauty of these videos is the resistance training and the cardio all wrapped up in under 20 minutes. Weights are where it’s all at. We need weights for bone strength and for boosting our metabolism. As women hit their 40’s and 50’s, it is that much more crucial to have weights in your weekly routine at least three times a week.

Try this video a few times a week for one month. And don’t wimp out with the weights. After pushing myself with heavier weights, I started seeing more results in my body. My body fat started disappearing, my muscles started showing and I felt more fit and strong than ever before. Women will not get bulky with the use of heavier weights. It’s a common misconception. You definitely do need to eat cleaner when doing weights to help reduce the body fat on top of the muscles you are building. So ditch the refined carbohydrates and switch to clean, easy-to-digest carbs, increase your lean protein and green leafy vegetables! This will give you that leaner look you are striving for.

This video represents a portion of what this website offers. They also have great programs and very affordable prices. Following some of these programs is really great, but you will need some self-motivation. A great way to go about this is to find a friend to do it with you where you make an appointment with each other to get this done.

You won’t need willpower, just a desire for a healthier you. Noticing what you want and what stands in your way is the first step to a successful health habit.

Now go try this video, and let me know how you did. You can find me on social media on facebook, twitter(@Zumbawithbinu) and instagram(@binu_d).

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