2017 is the year of my dedication to what I call “purposeful mindfulness.” I try daily to have a time out for meditation. But as I practice this habit, I have realized how often I use mindfulness while exercising. Focusing while training allows me to push my body further than I thought possible and making strength and fitness gains I would not have with out the practice of mindful lifting.

While you are lifting, take time to pay attention to what muscles you are using during a particular exercise. When you are preparing for your set, know which muscles are doing what part of the exercise. For instance, when you set up to squat, engage your glutes, your abs, your hamstrings and quads. Focus your mind on your breathing. Inhale with the weight on its descent, and exhale on the exertion. Take a moment and look at the muscle while it is contracting; see the muscle expand and contract. Then take a soft gaze away from the muscle (or close your eyes if you are seated or lying). Feel the tension in your muscles as they contract and move on the concentric and eccentric contractions. Finish the first rep and then embrace the next reps as fully as you did the first. Enjoy the feeling of the strength in the muscles that you are working.

Through weightlifting I have found strength outside my body; I have found it in my mind. Weightlifting, I have come to find, is my meditation. Breathe in, breathe out, lift, hold and repeat.

When I was a young mom, people asked me why I lifted weights. My answer was “so I can carry both my children up the stairs at the same time!” My reason now? I still want to be a strong, independent woman!” I love introducing my clients to the feeling of accomplishment they have as they get stronger and can do more and more without asking for help!

My friend in California recently contacted me to help her get back in the gym…WHY? I mean she is a triathlete for heavens sake! She has run marathon upon marathon! She is fit! She is strong! So I asked her! Her answer: “Because my arms are getting jiggly!”

Seriously! Then she followed it up with this: “I was an athlete my whole life, naturally strong upper body, but even I didn't think the words of my 7th grade health teacher "muscle starts to decline after 30" would ever apply to me.” In her words, “there's only so much you can do to your face to remain young... put that time, money & effort on your body and you'll start to FEEL like you're turning back clock as well as look it. “

As we age, we lose muscle mass, we lose bone density, our metabolism slows down. Strength training can combat all of that, with the additional benefits of increasing flexibility, reducing joint pain, reducing peri and post menopausal symptoms, sleeping better, and if that isn’t enough, being more mentally fit, (NYT: https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/21/lifting-weights-twice-a-week-may-aid-the-brain/).

Luckily, strength training (also known as resistance training) does not necessarily mean joining the muscle heads at the local Gold’s Gym! You can start to build muscle with your own body weight and slowly adding resistance as your strength increases. Things around your house, such as cans, milk cartons and dirt bags can be used to add weight and resistance.

My caveat? I do recommend consulting a fitness professional for guidance on technique if you have never done resistance training before.

APF UPDATES

Mindfulness While Lifting Weights

Strength Training is Crucial for Women Over 50 (and under but that is not my topic!)