Hello everyone, I am Bhairavi, 47 years old, mother of a teenager and a tween, and this is me, although I was not
UP, DOWN, AND THEN UP AGAIN
I was a typical Indian retro girl who weighed 52 kg before marriage. I got married, became mom, and boom, my weight shot to 81 kgs!
BHAIRAVI, LOSE WEIGHT.
Then as you rightly guessed, there was absolute chaos. I hit the gym and went straight for the treadmill, elliptical, HIIT, and Tabata. I reduced my carb and fat intake and reduced my weight to 70 kg in one year.
I proudly showed off – hey, you know what, I lost weight. AWESOME BHAIRAVI!
But then I realized my stamina had lowered, and I started feeling fatigued. I began overeating carbs and fats, and then again, I gained weight.
HAHAHA, BHAIRAVI, BACK TO SQUARE ONE.
You guys must be wondering, what’s going on?
ENLIGHTENMENT
I started reading a lot about weight loss. I realized, in the process of losing weight, I had also lost muscle mass. I decided not to do any exercise for a week until and unless I had a proper, well-structured plan of action.
STEP I: Make a diet plan and a workout plan.
STEP 2: Implement and check the results after 3 weeks.
Since I wanted to gain strength, I added strength training to my exercise regime. I took the slow and steady path. I started with 2.5 kg dumbbells and started feeling better and better. After 3 weeks, I was absolutely amazed by the results in terms of fitness.
COMEBACKS ARE ALWAYS BETTER THAN SETBACKS
It has been 1.5 years since I started strength training and I feel strong. I don’t feel tired even at the end of the day after attending to the family’s needs like I used to feel before. I feel great. After this, there has been no looking back.
THE EYE-OPENER
One fine day, I was working out as usual and one of the gym users advised me not to lift weights giving the reason that I will start looking too muscular. But, I had done my homework well. I informed him that this is a myth; that females have lesser muscle mass as compared to males and so the muscle-building process will not be as quick as it happens for males. It takes years to build muscles. So the next question was – “Have you seen those females in competitions?”
I replied, “Those female competitors take the help of performance-enhancing supplements to get a body suitable for competitions.” To add, I also informed him about the benefits of weight training for females.
- Females start losing muscle mass after the age of 30. Adding weight training ensures that muscle mass is maintained and hence reduces injuries, arthritis risk, back pain, etc.
- It enhances mood.
- It protects bone health and much more.
CONCLUSION
I hope that along with that gentleman, I also cleared out doubts of readers to some extent. To sum up, I will say, any female who wants to dance on her 70th birthday without breaking a bone should add weight training to their exercise regime. So, now that you know the benefits of weight training, what are you waiting for?!! GO FOR IT.
Author: Bhairavi Shah
