How to Use Your Own Body Weight to Strength Train- Great For The Over 40 Crowd! - Day 4 on My Journey to Wellness

This is how look today but I have hopes for a more "sculpted" look soon...at 57 I need to make a special effort (lol)

Ready to remove this extra layer of fat that I started getting once I turned 57! Yikes!

I have come to love strength and resistance training!  Why?  Because you begin to see results quickly! The muscles have memory and if you haven't worked out for awhile, strength training can bring you quick results because the muscles remember a younger and firmer you!  You just need to be diligent and make strength training part of your "movement" regime.

Strength training is a must for women (and men) over 40.  Why?

• Strength training burns more fat than cardio!
• Strength training will jump start your metabolism be building and maintaining muscle
• Strength training will help combat osteoporosis and helps build strong bones
• Strength training will increase your joint health
•  Strength training will literally change the shape of your body (shapely arms, legs, stomach...)
•  Strength training will make you stronger and give you more ability to do other physical activities
• Strength training will relieve your stress - in fact it is one of the best holistic ways to reduce stress that I know of (for more holistic ways to reduce stress click here)

Here are the exercises I am doing everyday to strengthen my body and to sculpt my arms and abs. I also work with weights which I will talk about later.  Right now lets take a look at using your own body weight to get in shape!

Get Your Plank On!
I love the plank! It is wonderful for every area of your body. Great for definition in your abs (better results than crunches) your arms (nice lean look) and your legs!  It also strengthens your core which is important when it comes to preventing back aches.  30 minutes a day and building to 2.5 min a day within 30 days will give you excellent results! FOR ME - starting at one minute twice a day and grow from there (I also do 30 sec. of plank lifting one of my legs on each side)

Push It Up 
Yes I know - not glamorous but effective.  Pushups really are one of the best ways to strengthen your arms. The get rid of that flabby flesh women have a tendency to get after 40.   Push ups also target your shoulders and your core. Maybe not fun but they work.  It's a great body weight exercise.  FOR ME -the Push-Up Circuit. I am not doing all the reps but I am working on it...starting at 5 reps for each move and growing from there.

My goals are to firm up my arms a bit more and trim those abs to give more definition. Whatever your goals are for your wellness the bottom line is, it is not so much about what you look like...it is about what your health is like.  You want to be healthy, you want to be well.  Move toward those goals and the rest (lookin hot!) will
follow! 

Update November 2015: Here I am almost a year later after I wrote this blog - my definition is back, the flab on my arms has been reduced, I have dropped some inches and most importantly I feel great!

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