I research a lot about exercise and weight loss, because it is a problem for so many seniors. It simply becomes easier to gain weight and harder to lose every year. Maybe it’s time to debunk those myths about exercise and weight loss, especially as they apply to seniors.
I’ve had years of dieting experience, although I’ve never been more than 20-25 pounds over my ideal weight. I’m vain enough to fight back even a couple of pounds. Working out and playing sports is my go-to first step when I need to lose weight.
I guess I must be doing something right, because my weight has been steady over the last couple of years, and is now the same as it was in college. But it is true, if I deviate from my eating program and eat carbs and sweets, the pounds gleefully jump back on my body like an unwelcome rodeo rider.
Unfortunately, for many seniors, growing older is equated with growing bigger. It’s harder to stick to a diet when eating becomes such a source of pleasure. And the food is everywhere, always available. When you want to adopt a healthy diet, there’s so much confusion about what exactly that is.
Common Myths of Exercise and Weight Loss
I hear people say that exercise won’t help you lose weight, for example. Huh? It drives me crazy. Okay, so maybe forty minutes of cardio only burns up 200-300 calories. That’s not the point.
Exercise sends a message to your body to mobilize the fat storage and build some muscle. And, even more important, it sends a message to your brain that you care about your health and have taken a big step to improve your lifestyle habits. Change one habit, and it opens the door to other improvements.
- Exercise in the form of weight lifting makes you “big.” This is not true. If you consume more calories, you’ll get bigger (either with fat and/or muscle, depending on the food and exercise.)
- Seniors can’t/shouldn’t lift heavy weights. To increase your strength, you need to push your muscles to fatigue. This means increasing the weights you lift (with the help of a spotter, if necessary).
- Proper weight training is pain free. We’ve all heard the expression, “no pain, no gain,” and there is an element of truth there. While proper form prevents pain and injury, there should be some delayed onset muscle soreness. Stretching, hydrating and proper nutrition help you recover more quickly. Think of it as your body calling you to exercise those muscles again!
- You don’t lose weight by lifting weights. This is the greatest myth about exercise and weight loss. Weight training burns more calories than cardio exercise. Here’s why:
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- Increase the amount of weight you lift, and you’ll increase your strength and muscle mass.
- Increase your muscle mass, and you’ll increase your metabolic rate.
- Increase your metabolic rate, and you will burn more calories.
- Burn more calories than you consume and you will lose weight!
Weight Training for Weight Loss
For anyone looking to lose weight by burning more calories in the gym, I recommend reversing your cardio and weight training routines. Why? Weight training can burn calories for up to 39 hours following your workout.
A cardio-first routine as a warm up is fine, but studies show that your body does not burn cardio calories until after the first 20 minutes. (Unless, of course, you are doing high intensity intervals.) If you lift weights for 30 minutes first, your body will burn calories as soon as you begin your cardio routine.
Create Your Routine, Record Your Progress
Don’t just guess how many repetitions, number of sets and how much weight you complete during each workout. Track what you’re doing so that at your next workout you have a record and a starting point from which to record your progress.
Alternate days you work each of the major muscle groups. The muscle groups forming the upper body are the abdominals, pectorals, deltoids, trapeziuses, latissimus dorsi, erector spinae, biceps, and triceps. The major groups of the lower body are the quadriceps, hamstrings, abdominals, and glutei (the butt).
Muscle soreness and some fatigue are normal after muscle-building exercises, at least at first. After a few weeks, you should not be all that sore after your workout. If you give your muscles time to recover, you can train every day by alternating which areas you work.
For example, an advanced routine might look like this:
- Day 1: Legs and Abs
- Day 2: Chest
- Day 3: Back and Abs
- Day 4: Rest
- Day 5: Shoulder and Abs
- Day 6: Arms
- Day 7: Rest day or stretching
Admittedly, this five-day split is for more advanced seniors. Rob likes to follow this routine to get the three toughest days done when he’s fresh, and to separate chest exercises from arms to allow joints to optimally heal. Here’s a link to a sample table, along with images on some of the exercises recommended by the American Council on Exercise.
Weight Training and Heart Disease
So many of the men and women we know who have suffered heart attacks and strokes have a fear of lifting weights or even raising their heart rate through cardio exercises.
But the American Heart Association says, “Just as we once learned that people with heart disease benefited from aerobic exercise, we are now learning that guided weight training also has significant benefits.”
The Miracle of Weight Training
Weight training slows muscle tissue and bone loss associated with aging. In fact, it is even possible to regain muscle that has been lost from years of inactivity. That’s pretty miraculous!
Sure, cardiovascular training and stretching have their place in a balanced fitness plan, but it is progressive resistance exercise that builds muscle, allowing us to stay young, active, and independent for as long as possible. Nothing else comes close to being as effective.
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