I’ve long been a proponent of the Hilaria Baldwin style of working out. I’m no scientist, but I’ve heard there are studies suggesting that a minutes-long burst of physical activity every 30 minutes throughout the day has tremendous metabolic and cardiovascular benefits. Activity for as little as three minutes (á la the strange bouncy movements of Señora Baldwino, sheathed in her forever athleisure ensembles, surrounded by countless progeny) on the half hour leads to tremendous energy, improved cognition, fabulous mood, and better sleep. That last part isn’t a study, that’s just why I do it.
This is an exciting time in history for women in their 30s. There’s a growing buzz about how to age gracefully, a key component of which is lifting weight. Years ago, I heard from a woman in her early 40s that she felt “empowered” by weightlifting. I couldn’t wrap my head around how to do that.
The extent of my “lifting,” as might be the case for other women, was the twice annual cross training days on the cross country running team that consisted of attempting to remove 40 pound weights from the bar put in place by the football players as they lounged around swigging water from their gallon jugs allegedly to offset the effects of high-dose creatine. In other words, it was all a bit bewildering.
But I heard other women rave about weightlifting. Every now and then, I’d have a friend of rigorous discipline get into CrossFit and start waking up at 4am to squat balancing truck tires on her shoulders, and that also seemed bewildering.
Finally, I heard one too many times that you begin to lose muscle mass in your thirties and lifting weight is essential to maintaining bone density, and I decided it was time to try this empowering exercise for women who want to age with grace and energy. For accountability, I signed up for a program, of which there are many. And I started January 1st to boot! But with the riches of YouTube, you could easily find your own workout program with plenty of instruction (at your own risk, of course, I’m not offering health advice).
I was not prepared for the enormity of the benefits. Even of just a little bit of weight. When you are starting from next to nothing, even a little bit makes a tremendous difference. It can be as simple as finding some random dumbbells and learning the vocabulary of basic strength training routines. “Goblet squats,” “deadlifts,” and “skull crushers” are just poetic names for simple, load-bearing exercises.
You probably don’t have to do much. I settled on 30 minutes, four times a week. In talking with one of the most fit mothers of many in her 40s that I know, I learned a helpful principle: If you got less than 7 hours of sleep the night before, fast-paced exercise (and fasting) is likely to be counterproductive. You can still lift heavy, but go slow and probably nix the 4am CrossFit.
What is perhaps most satisfying about lifting weight is how functional the training is. I’ve been amazed how many times I go to lift groceries or boxes, open a jar, or buckle a child and feel the same pattern of movement that I have been working on with the workout routine. Far from “bulking up” and lifting for show, it’s the subtle development of muscle groups around the joints that has been the most beneficial.
I was initially drawn to working out regularly because of the physical demands of daily childcare. I’m amazed at how adding even the most modest weight has dramatically increased the returns of such movement.
Listen to the women in their 40s full of zest for life: lift stuff. My only regret, if I have one, is it took me so long to take their advice!
