Fitness Over 40 and Beating Flab

Battling the bulge? It seems to get harder as we get older. The truth is most people just become less active as they age and eat more calories. The result: bigger bellies and flabbier bodies. Can you fight it? Can you keep the fat from piling on no matter how many birthdays pass by?

Absolutely.

Women especially lose sight of what it really takes to lose body fat and tone muscles. They constantly try new diets. They routinely take pills, and they relentlessly cut calories-always looking for that one diet, eating plan or fitness fad to lose unwanted flab on the abdomen and arms.

Unfortunately, most women in their quest for a leaner, trimmer body actually make themselves a better fat-storer and highly inefficient calorie burner.

The solution? Weight training.

Just imagine your life without low-calorie dieting, taking pills and being consumed with a flatter stomach or trimmer thighs. Wouldn't it be great? It can be. You just have to pick up some weights or use machines either at home or in the gym, two to three times a week.

You see, as we age we lose muscle, and because we become less active and eat more calories, the fat builds up. So to lose the fat and put muscle back on your body, you have to challenge the muscle with a load. Weight training is the way.

Now this doesn't mean you have to spend hours in the gym or hours with your equipment at home. But it does mean you have to spend at least 30 to 40 minutes working out with weights, two to three times a week. Check out videos. Tune into ESPN fitness shows. Read magazines. Consult a fitness trainer or hire one. There are basic routines for working the major muscles groups that will strengthen and tone your body. By building muscle you increase the calorie burning.

A pound of fat burns two calories. A pound of muscle burns 35 to 50 calories. Now imagine eating more because you're a better fat burner.

So what do you do?

Perform two or three sets of 10-15 repetitions for each body part; workout on alternating days. Never work the same muscle group two days in a row. Your muscles need recovery time. So perform your weight workout Monday, Wednesday and Friday or Tuesday and Thursday or however it fits your lifestyle. The key is to be consistent, and this isn't something you do for a few weeks. It takes months to change your body.

Throw away the scale. It is not the best indication of how much fat or muscle you have on your body. More muscle on your body may mean for you a higher number on the scale. Take your measurements and have your body fat tested. But rest assured, as a woman you won't bulk up unless you're spending hours in the gym everyday and you are genetically predisposed to more muscle mass.

So, if you want to lose body fat, tone up, get stronger and look better in your clothes, you need to weight train. Stay consistent. Keep it up. You will win the battle of the bulge, once and for all.