STAY TONED BY LIFTING WEIGHTS AT HOME
The Anti-Aging Benefits of Free Weights
In her best-selling lifestyle guide “French Women Don’t Get Fat,” Mireille Guiliano advises women in their 50s to invest in a set of free weights — nothing too heavy, perhaps 3–5 pounds — in order to maintain their toned, youthful appearance and range of motion. She notes that lifting weights isn’t entirely necessary during your 20s and 30s, but it’s essential to maintain muscle tone and bone density in your later years. Though Guiliano’s evidence is anecdotal, the science confirms that lifting weights can be an indispensable aid to healthy aging for both men and women. A study published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information recommends strength training 2–3 times per week to lower your risk of health problems and preserve bone density, independence, and vitality. According to WebMD, “Muscle loss is one of the main reasons people feel less energetic as they get older. When you lift weights, work out on machines, use resistance bands, or do exercises with your own body weight (like pushups and situps), you build strength, muscle mass, and flexibility.” You don’t have to join a gym to reap the benefits though; just pick up a set of free weights and a resistance band and research how to safely use them in your own home. Bodybuilding.com recommends designing a workout routine that includes one or two exercises for each of the major muscle groups: legs, back, shoulders, arms, chest, and abs. Try Success Stories Did you know that September is National Pain Awareness Month? In 2001, the American Chronic Pain Association (ACPA) led a coalition of groups to establish Partners for Understanding Pain. More than 80 organizations, including health care professionals and consumer groups like the NAACP, supported the effort. Every September for the last 18 years, ACPA reminds Americans that they have options when it comes to pain management and spreads awareness about the problematic results that can occur from mismanaged or over- prescribed medication. Here at Vital Care Rehabilitation, we work with patients who have spent their lives dealing with chronic pain. In some cases, these patients’ injuries require surgical bone, muscle, or cartilege replacements before their rehabilitation with us can truly begin. Maurice C. tells his story of finding a way to heal: “Finally making the decision to have my hip replaced was one of the best decisions I ever made. I’d been in pain for years, and I knew that I put off surgery for too long. After the replacement, I started working with Vital Care Rehab, and that was the second-best decision I ever made! Tim and Jordan’s caring and compassionate (and persistent!)
8–10 repetitions per set, but don’t push yourself to use heavy weights. Even options that are 10 pounds or less should be enough to keep you chasing after your grandchildren for years to come. One public figure who has taken the weightlifting creed to heart is Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The documentary “RBG” shows the 86-year-old judge at the gym, pumping lightweight iron with her personal trainer, and she even walked spring chicken Stephen Colbert through her routine on “The Late Show.” Ginsburg has called her trainer “the most important person” in her life apart from her family, which is a ringing endorsement for lifting weights if ever there was one.
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