After the age of 30, the body begins to gradually lose part of its muscle mass, as research indicates that men and women lose between 3% to 8% of their muscles with the passage of each contract, and this loss increases significantly after reaching the age of 60.
But women are more vulnerable to this deterioration, especially due to the effect of menopause, the lack of strength exercises, or only dependence on cardio exercises in the best cases, which leads to accelerating muscle and bone loss, according to Priyana Steinhper, approved personal trainer and health affairs editor at the “Today” site.
Also, menopause affects women in different ways, as the body’s energy use pattern changes, and the nature of fat cells changes, which may lead to weight gain more easily.
But the introduction of strength exercises within the middle age routine can make a big difference, as these exercises help to build muscle, maintain bone health, stimulate the metabolism that is slowly slowing with age, as well as supporting heart health and improving public fitness, according to the “Fit & Whale” website.
The importance of strength exercises for women after menopause
The importance of strength exercises for women is not limited to combating the loss of normal muscle mass, but also important “to strengthen the bones that weaken with age, and add years to a healthy age,” according to a study – published in the American College of Cardiology in 2024 – I found that “women who practice strength exercises two to 3 times a week, were more likely to live a longer healthy life, and less likely to die With heart disease by 30%. “
This is confirmed by the fitness coach, Natalie Yiko, by saying, “The strength exercises are important for women in the pre -menopause stage, as menopause leads to a decrease in estrogen, which may affect muscle mass and bone density.”
Power exercises help to compensate for these changes, “by stimulating muscle growth and promoting bone health, as it is useful for cognitive functions, improving insulin resistance, and improving the shape of the body.”
“Middle -aged women find positive changes in the form of their bodies and strength, and improve their mood and confidence in themselves, after exercising strength, it is a comprehensive approach to enhancing healthy age and improving the quality of life,” Yiko explains.
Tips to train strength for beginners
To ensure continuity in strength exercises, avoid injuries, and achieve effective results, coach Yiko – through “Today” website – provided 5 main tips that help safe and sustainable in this type of training:
- Gradually start: It is important to start slowly when starting strength training, preferably starting body weight exercises such as squatting, pressure exercises, and stem exercises, to build a strong muscle base before moving to tools such as light weights or resistance ligaments.
- Focus on basic exercises: There is a group of axial exercises that must be granted priority in the training program, such as squatting, deadly elevation, pressure, and trunk exercises (Blanc), as it enhances the comprehensive strength of the body.
- Choose fun exercises: It is better for beginners to choose the type of exercise that they feel pleasure while practicing, because feeling positive about the exercise contributes to making it a sustainable habit.
- Patience and perseverance: The results do not come quickly, but rather require commitment and repetition over time, and with continuity, the results begin to appear gradually.
- Progress registration: Keeping a memorandum to write down the details of exercises and achievements helps to track progress over time, and it is a motivation even in days when energy or enthusiasm is low
Full body exercises for women
“To help women build strength safely and effectively,” Yiko suggests a training program from the following steps:
Warmth
By performing the 10 exercises shown in the attached video, for 30 seconds for each exercise, with a total of 5 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0mmyv5otcm
Squatting exercises
Drush exercises in its forms that reach 45 shapes, are the most important for women at all, and the basic form can be done, as follows:
- The start with two feet diverged by width of the hips, and the toes are heading abroad at a slight angle.
- Going down the back down and behind, similar to sitting on a chair, leading to squatting position.
- Make sure to keep the knees in a straight line over the toes.
- Pay the heels to return to the standing position, and repetition 10 times.
- Choose the other squatting forms shown in the attached video, namely: squatting with bending, squatting with the stem lifting to the side, the circular squatting exercise, the reverse squatting exercise, and the triple squatting, and squatting the Sumo with high kicks, side squatting, all the way to the squatting with jumping, with the repetition of each shape 10 Times.
“Good morning” exercise
It can be done as follows:
- Stand on two pending feet by width of the hips.
- Put the hands behind the head, with the elbows to the sides.
- Bend the knees and bending to the hips, while pushing the buttocks muscles back, and chest to the ground.
- Make sure to keep the trunk muscles tight so that there is no curvature in the back.
- Stop at the chest parallel to the ground, and a feeling of stretch in the knee strings.
- Use the knee strings and buttocks to stand again, and repetition.
Bridge exercise
It is in the following way:
- Lie on the back with bending the knees and placing the feet flat on the floor.
- Relace the arms next to both sides.
- Run the buttocks muscles and push the heels to lift the back from the ground, and raise the sink upward.
- Ensure that the body is a straight line from the knees to the neck.
- Keep this position from the top, pressing the buttocks muscles, before going down slowly down, and repetition.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6_GQEEH_f0
Dumper rowing exercise with one arm
And the way it is performed as follows:
- Hold the dumbbell with the right hand.
- Make the left leg in the front and Yemeni in the back.
- The tendency forward towards the hips, with the back straight, bend the knees a little.
- Put the left hand on the left knee.
- Leaving the right arm carrying dumbbells hanging towards the ground.
- Pull the elbow up, bringing the dumbbell towards your chest cage.
- Return to the starting position, and repeat the exercise 4 to 6 times, with a switch between the two sides.
