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For immediate release:  August 6 , 2007 (Clyde, NC)

Building Muscle Can Build a Longer Life

The benefits of lifting weights go far beyond just strengthening your bones and muscles. Lifting weights or working on resistance machines can help:

- Increase your metabolism—the more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns.

- Enhance daily activities—as your overall strength increases, you’ll need less effort to carry groceries or do yard work.

- Improve your health—including lowering your risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure, and relieve some arthritis and lower-back pain.

If you’re just getting started, experts recommend doing between eight and 12 different strength-building exercises two to three times a week. Begin with a weight that lets you do eight repetitions comfortably. The weights could be as little as 1- to 5-pound weights to start. Slowly increase the weight when it becomes easy to finish the repetitions.

In a study of adults between the ages of 20 and 50, a single set of repetitions three times a week provided almost as many benefits as the traditional three sets. If you’re in a time crunch, even one session a week can slow muscle loss.

“Many people fall into the trap of their current workout and repeat the same routine over and over. This is why many people plateau and remain at their current fitness level,” said David Yount, Exercise Physiologist and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist at the Haywood Regional Health and Fitness Center.  “Your body needs continuous changes and challenges to continue to improve and help you reach your goals.”

Yount suggests changing your workout by switching exercises, intensity, or weight and repetition schemes. For example, if you have done 3 sets of 15 repetitions for the past 6 weeks, try raising the weights and lowering the repetitions to 3 sets of 10.

“You should be challenging yourself with new exercises or repetition schemes every 4-6 weeks,” he noted. 

For more information about Weight Training, or to learn more about the Haywood Regional Health and Fitness Center, call 452-8080.     

SIDEBAR BOX

More Workout Tips

- You can use dumbbells, barbells, weight machines, or your own body weight to provide resistance.

- Warm up muscles before and stretch out muscles after resistance training.

- If you’re older than 65, experts recommend that strength training focus on improving balance and muscle coordination. Exercises should center on the hip, knee, shoulder, and back muscle groups. Begin slowly with one set twice a week and build up to more sets three days a week.

- Before you get started, you should see your doctor if you haven’t had a checkup in a couple of years, if you’re older than age 45 and have been inactive for many years, or if you have a chronic illness, such as high blood pressure or diabetes.

- If you’re older than 65 you should do more repetitions with lighter weights to avoid injury. Avoid barbells, which can cause injuries, unless you’ve learned the proper technique.

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