Strength Training for Seniors

If you're doing some strength training already, great.  Here three important things to think about that most people don't know.

1. Think about the muscles you're using as you do the exercise.  It's easy to just go through the motions.  By mentally trying to contract the muscles that are involved, you will get a much better activation of the muscles.  This is called the "Mind-Muscle Connection."

2. Breathe.  People often tend to hold their breath when strength training.  This is a bad idea because it causes your blood pressure to skyrocket.  Try to breathe smoothly and continuously.

3. Engage the muscles both ways.  There are two parts of every strength training motion.  The hard part where you move the weight or stretch the band, and the easy part where you return to your starting position.  During the second part, it is easy to move quickly and just let the weight or band pull themselves back to where they started.  Try to resist it on the way back.  You can do this by going a little slower on the way back.  Now you'll get a muscular contraction in both directions.  That's twice the workout in half the time, as they say.

Stay tuned for more posts on Strength Training for Seniors.