I dropped off my daughter at the airport yesterday. She had a check-in bag weighing approximately 35 pounds, and I loaded it into the car and out to see if I could do it. I did it, very clumsily, and later felt a bit weird, just some tightness in the right side of my neck and some soreness in the right shoulder blade. By evening, I was feeling my normal self, but it set me thinking about my strength.
I often have this niggling feeling in my upper back after a full day at work , hunched over my desk, or washing the dishes at night. I have been working on my posture, but that by itself does not help with the upper back pain. And it’s embarrassing, while traveling to require help to place the 20 pound carry on in the overhead bin. Not that I am traveling any time soon, but one can hope.
Good physical health is a combination of strength, stamina and flexibility. Stamina is improved by cardio exercise like walking and running and most of us build it into our exercise programs. But very few think about strength training and flexibility. It’s boring for me, to lay down on a mat and stretch every day , even though it feels so good once I am done!. It’s also a pain to lift those dumbbells to build muscle, which as it is takes time to show up even after a many months long program.
I’m going to focus on strength training today. It is an important part of any exercise program. Working out once a week gives benefits which last a few hours to a couple of days. 20 min of strength training, every other day is the minimum required to maintain strength.
If one wants to build muscle,-lift heavy, lift often, add on the protein shakes, fine-tune your diet to add the muscle and get someone to guide you through the process in an intelligent manner. But let’s keep it beginner level here, for now.
I want to maintain my muscle mass, that’s it. As one ages, around 30-40 years depending on the research one is reading, muscle mass starts decreasing by 1-2%. each year. After menopause, in the 50s and 60s, it drops further leading to sarcopenia and frailty in the 70s and 80s.
Sarcopenia is age related loss of muscle mass. Less muscle mass means less strength, more falls, less recovery, more disability, overall, a poor quality of life. Risk factors are age, physical inactivity, poor nutrition, and gender. So as a female, yes, I am at risk. It is also related to other conditions like malignancy, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory disorders.
Strength training does not prevent injury. I can carry a heavy container of my plants and end up with neck pain. But research shows that if the baseline body strength is good, one heals faster from muscle strains and sprains. Which leads to less time feeling ‘old’ and ‘injured’.
So what is one to do? One is to start and keep doing a regular program of strength training. I am not talking about the gym variety of heavy machines etc. though if you are interested in lifting heavy, by all means do it.
I have lifted light hand weights off and on for a few years. But I have gotten out of the practice in the last couple of years, right when I need it the most.
This time I am motivated to start myself on a strength training program and try to follow it regularly.
I will start twice a week of hand weights, 5-8 pounds, and at least 10 min of body weight exercises-total time-20-25 min.
Even if I get injured, I will show up at the appointed time for the exercise. I may just stretch during that time, but that slot will be just for exercise.
Because this is what happens, I start the program, carve out the time for it, tell(yell to)the whole family that it is ‘me’ time and not to disturb me, and as soon as the habit is built, I get injured or busy with life and stop using that time slot and get out of the habit.
This is the program:
When: Mondays and Thursdays, 4-4:30PM is my mat time. No excuses, no interruptions.
What: 5 pounds for side and front raises, 8 pounds for bicep curls, overhead raises, triceps.Thats it. 5 exercises for upper body.
How: I can lift 5-8 pounds with good form. I will start with low repetitions and gradually build up to 10-12 reps. at a time. And I will do this over months, not weeks. I will try and not watch t.v or listen to music when I do this, because that usually affects my form.
Also: On the mat, knee pushups, bridges , clam shells for the sides of the legs. I walk up and down a steep hill next to my house at least twice a week , that I think is good enough exercise for my leg muscles.
Goal: Is to follow this for at least three months, if it starts feeling easier, I will add on some more exercises.
There will be many questions which will arise once one embarks on this program: should I eat before or after the exercise, should I eat carbs or protein, should I drink water before, during, after the workout, should I do it in the morning or afternoon, can I run or walk on the same day or not??
Do it when you find time, just do it, as the great shoe company says. Nothing else matters because its only 20 -25 min of your time and the weights being used are not heavy.
Once the program becomes a habit which you just cannot, or won’t miss, that’s when one starts fine-tuning the other aspects of it.
Speaking of habits, a simple way to start a good habit is to tack it onto another already established habit. I am going to do these before my evening routine of cooking dinner. So dinner doesn’t start till I do these exercises, and since I cannot keep the family waiting, hangry, I will do at least a part of it, if not all of it.
Another way to do it is to designate days to the program. For e.g. Fridays, Sundays, Wednesdays, I will try to pick the weights when I can through out the day. So maybe do the bicep curls right after brushing my teeth, the triceps while I am waiting for the water to boil for tea and so on till I cover all the exercises. Nowhere is it written that the exercises have to be done altogether.
Again, this will not help me lose weight, but this might give me some more energy to do my daily work. Also, it might help delay the onset of diabetes type 2 and hypertension to a small but important extent.
So let’s lift, ladies!