In this post we discuss strength training for women over 40 and the important questions the fitness industry fails to ask.
I recently read an article by a journalist who explored what it’s like for a woman to start strength training in her late 40s.
It’s a great piece that contains sensible advice and is peppered with uplifting stories of women who have improved their lives with regular strength training.
Great, so what’s my problem?
I actually think the journalist concerned was fortunate to meet a knowledgeable trainer at her local gym. Her experience was made all the better for it and it was clear the trainer had helped transform many lives.
The following observations are in no way a negative comment on this particular person’s approach, but rather an industry wide concern.
The fitness industry doesn’t ask enough questions before it provides solutions
I’m not talking about the type of questions that are ubiquitous on gym sign up forms. Questions like, has your doctor ever said you shouldn’t exercise? Or more accurately interpreted, are you going to die on the gym floor and cost us a lot of money?
These are mere box ticking exercises.
I’m not even talking about questions like what are your goals? Or do you have any aches and pains?
I’m talking about questions that are directed at your body.
Questions like:
How far can you bend and straighten each knee?
What happens if you do that against a light resistance?
What do you feel as you do this?
Do you have control throughout the range of motion?
Is there a difference between one side and the other?
These are just a few off the top of my head and by no means exhaustive.
This should ideally take place at every joint before you stick a weight on your back and ask everything to work together in an exercise like a squat.
Better questions lead to more effective solutions
Now of course you might think I’m being pernickety. Perhaps I would be a little less so if the person concerned was 25 and had been involved in athletic pursuits for much of their adult life. This clearly wasn’t the case however.
The danger here is developing an issue that will interrupt your training and have you spending valuable time and money trying to find a solution.
I’m telling you this as someone who makes their living helping people do precisely that.
The very fact the journalist concerned was having to negotiate stairs in a sideways fashion after her second session, demonstrates what can go wrong. Even if the exercise was pitched conservatively by fitness industry standards.
Ask these questions now and don’t pay later
Strength training is not a 6 week programme. It’s something that will enrich your life for the rest of your days if it’s approached in the right way.
Unfortunately the fitness industry is ill-equipped to help middle aged people. Even in facilities that are designed to do precisely that.
This post will help you apply this information in a practical sense and help you avoid issues both now and later.