One of my very first blogs I posted was titled ‘step away from the pink dumbbells’. That was back in May 2015. A lifetime ago. Before I qualified as a personal trainer and trained in exercise for the older adult. A couple of months before I found out that I needed open heart surgery and four years prior to a 110kg deadlift. All these things have made me even more determined to spread the word on the importance of weight training for women and men of all ages but particularly older women. So I’m repeating my original blog with some additional observations and challenges.

The most important form of exercise for men and women over 50 must be strength training. For women in particular the health benefits are impressive. At around the age of 35  our bones are at their strongest, after this the cells that break bone down slowly start to outnumber those that build it.   Throw in the reduction in oestrogen following the menopause and our skeleton may slowly become brittle, weakened and prone to fractures (osteoporosis).  We probably all know someone that has sustained a broken hip or wrist during a fall that would never had happened (the fall and the fracture) if they were a decade or so younger. It can be life changing.

The good news is that strength training can slow this process down as it increases bone density and increased muscle strength will improve balance thereby making  a tumble less likely as you get older. Posture will also be improved by preventing  kyphosis of the spine (hump back) which not only makes you look older but can suppress the chest resulting in respiratory disease. If this isn’t convincing enough unlike cardio exercise (running, cycling) strength training can boost your metabolic rate for 24-36 hours post exercise. You can have that post workout chocolate bar with the smug knowledge that your body is blasting those calories.

I love weight training but I know many women aren’t convinced of the benefits. Some believe that they are going to end up looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger or that it is dangerous. Firstly, women don’t produce the levels of testosterone that would result in bulky muscles. Women can usually only bulk up by taking testosterone supplements.  Plus, if you use the correct technique injuries, although possible, are unlikely. What you will end up with is a strong, toned, lean body.

But I think that the real challenge is overtaking the fear of stepping into the free weights area of a gym. When I first started going to a gym many years ago I wouldn’t have dreamt of picking up a dumbbell.  Dumbbells were located where men roamed between short bursts of noisy exertion.  I then started using a personal trainer and a whole new world opened up to me. It wasn’t the scary place I thought it was and I now understand why weight trainers sit around a lot.

I am very fortunate that I  belong to a training facility that runs weight lifting technique classes which is pretty unusual although most gyms have free weigh areas and run body pump classes. But there is nothing to stop men and women using dumbbells in the comfort of their own homes. I would however advise a couple of sessions with a trainer to ensure that you are getting the technique right.

So to get back to the pink dumbbells. To get the full benefits of weight training your body needs to be challenged. If you are doing five repetitions of an exercise using a dumbbell and the last one is as easy as the first then you are not going heavy enough. A brief search of Amazon for pink dumbbells would conclude you would be hard pushed to find anything heavier than a bag of sugar. Out of the women I train with I probably have the weakest arms yet I rarely pick up a dumbbell weighing less than 10kg (22lbs).

Four years on since I wrote the original article I am even more passionate about the benefits of weight training for older women but sadly see very little evidence that it is being embraced by my peers.

I did actually find myself needing the pink dumbbells as part of my rehabilitation after open heart surgery. So there is a place for them. But once I completed my cardiac rehab I sprinted away from them.

I now belong to a mainstream gym as well as the training facility I joined seven years ago. At this new gym very few women use the free weights section. In response to a number of comments by women, who felt uncomfortable training in front of men, a women’s only part of the gym was installed. I was quite supportive of this as I had assumed it would include a squat rack complete with a barbell and weights. This piece of kit being over-scribed in the main area but the focus of most of my training. But no. No squat rack, no barbell or weights. But a range of dumbbells from 1kg to 10kg. What does this say to women? That this is the most we can achieve? Bearing in mind that the average handbag weighs 5kg and a bag full of groceries over 10kg the bar is being set very low.

And not a gym instructor in sight. So no access to advice and support on how to use and progress with weights unless you pay for a personal trainer. There really does need to be an investment in such support if we want to hit the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation of muscle strengthening activity ‘involving major muscle groups on 2 or more days a week’. Mainstream gyms can’t just be about making money.

So ladies don’t pick up a dumbbell that is lighter than your handbag. Do pick one that challenges you. And when it doesn’t go heavier.

N.B. The featured photo is of the dumbbells I bench-pressed last year. My personal best. I’m going for 17.5kg this year.