Bodybuilding in geezerhood?

[HFWR]

A bench and a few dumbbells (not me) work just as good, or...

Bodyweight Exercises for Home Fitness - Get Bodyweight Exercises and Ideas for Budget Fitness at Home

 

[happy2bretired]

How about Pilates? I've been kinda browsing around on the internet this morning. I think I like the idea of a home Pilates machine now better than a home gym weight thing.

We have a place here in town that you can get private instruction on a rebounder Pilates machine ($50 per hour) I'm reading that some people take the private classes for awhile to understand the proper form then they buy a cheaper type of machine for home and drop the private lessons.

I'm kinda playing around with the idea of some private lessons this summer then maybe getting a machine for the cold snowy winter. My ideas always get me in trouble tho since motivation is the thing with me.

 

[audreyh1]

One reason there doesn't seem to be a lot of interest in weight training among women over 50, is that it wasn't considered "something girls did."

Nowadays I would say it is a sign of responsibility for older folks to train with weights, assuming your health allows it. Every ounce of muscle you lose, increases your potential dependence on others.

Amethyst

Surely this is fading into the past. Sounds more like my mother's generation (which definitely had this cultural aversion to using weights). I'm 50 now, and in my early 20s there were already lots of professional female body builders and women regularly used the weight machines at the gym. I've done serious weight training on and off most of my adult life.

Hopefully it'll start paying off now!

Audrey

 

[fancy free]

I am just getting back into lifting again and a friend recommended this book --

Amazon.com: The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess (9781583332948): Lou Schuler…

and they have a website --

The New Rules of Lifting

She said it's quite popular and she's been using it to good effect.

 

[TromboneAl]

I tried a bowflex, and found that it didn't have the same satisfying feel as lifting weights.

 

[Katsmeow]

I am just getting back into lifting again and a friend recommended this book --

Amazon.com: The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess (9781583332948): Lou Schuler…

and they have a website --

The New Rules of Lifting

She said it's quite popular and she's been using it to good effect.

I actually bought this book (for my kindle). I like the narrative portion of the book where they have a good section explaining why women shouldn't shy away from lifting heavier weights and why doing tons of reps to "tone" or "lengthen" the muscle is really ineffective.

That said, the actual workouts in the book were not that appealing to me. I personally like using weight machines rather than free weights and the book is almost all free weights.

 

[Amethyst]

I'm sure you're right and it is fading away, thank goodness. The late 70's were the start of a new fitness boom (oddly enough, there was one in the 1920's too, or so I've read). At just 50, you are just young enough to have benefited (if you wanted to) from the change in the law that forced schools to spend more on girls' physical education. Three or four years older, and you might have been forbidden to use the Universal machine because it was "boys only"!

Amethyst

Surely this is fading into the past. I'm 50 now, and in my early 20s there were already lots of professional female body builders and women regularly used the weight machines at the gym. I've done serious weight training on and off most of my adult life.

Hopefully it'll start paying off now!

Audrey

 

[happy2bretired]

Well, I visited the Pilates place yesterday. The lady that runs it, I'm guessing, is in her late 60s or early 70s. She sold me on Pilates (I'm very gullible) and have an appt next Tuesday. She will do an assessment of my physical abilities and take a medical history, etc. on my first visit. She said that their practice is physical therapy based and for me, I think it's a good fit.

They had about 6 Pilates machines and about 3 matted tables with the springs. I watched a class of 2 very slender ladies last night work on the mat and the matted tables. Very slow and controlled movements.

The instructor recommended a book The Pilates Body by Brooke Siler. I'm reading it now and I hope I can make this work. I will take about 3-6 classes and learn the basic movements and then work at home in my basement this winter. Anyway, that's what I'm saying right now.

 

[TromboneAl]

I didn't know what a Pilates machine looked like, so I Googled it:

 

[happy2bretired]

Yeah, it does sounds kinda strange. I think I'll stick with the mat for now and not the torture device.

 

[Amethyst]

Any other women over 50 returning to BB? - Bodybuilding.com Forums

Orchid, I found this forum by googling "women bodybuilders over 50."

Might be some insights there that you could use.

Amethyst

 

[Cattusbabe]

My younger sister got me into doing this: Kettlebell Classes, San Diego Kettlebell Training, Kettlebell Workout, Kettlebell Training, Kettlebell DVDs and Routines | Iron Core Kettlebells

Love it. I have seen a remarkable improvement in my strength, flexibility and endurance and a marked reduction in joint pain.

 

[Orchidflower]

Amazing, isn't it, that you can just start lifting some weights--or, in my case, water jogging with the 2-1/2 lb. weights on each ankle and those water gloves that look like webbed fingers on--and so very quickly build arm and leg strength. Tells us something important about our bodies, eh? So very worth the effort as you become stronger, quicker and so much more flexible as we age doing exercises with alot of resistance.