If there was something that could help keep you strong and healthy, burn calories and reduce signs of aging, would you do it? It sounds too good to be true, but it’s the exact opposite. Strength training can help you achieve all of what I mentioned above – and the best part is you can have fun doing it.

Today I am sharing the top 5 reasons why EVERY woman should strength train.

1. It will support bone health.

Strength training puts a good ‘stress’ on your bones that helps improve bone density and reduces risk of osteoporosis.  Studies show that those who strength train over a period of time prevent bone loss and stimulate new bone formation. When you maintain muscle strength, not only are you helping strengthen your bones, but you are also working on your balance and coordination (both important to preventing falls and fractures).

This is especially important for women, as 1 in 3 women will suffer from an osteoporotic related fracture in their lifetime and 2 million Canadians are affected by osteoporosis.

2. Preserves muscle mass

Muscle mass diminishes with age, in fact every decade after 30 you lose 3-5% of your muscle mass. You can help counteract this loss with regular strength training.

Strength training will help you preserve and gain muscle mass as you age. 

3. Enhance your overall quality of life

Not only will you have preserved muscle mass and healthy bones you will also have an improved quality of life. Strength training will allow you to move better each day and improve your ability to do every day living activities. This might mean less pain, ease in moving up and down stairs, and better posture.

Ultimately, when you build muscle you help protect your joints from injury and improve your overall coordination, balance, and daily living movements.

4. Empowerment

With strength training you will notice the change in your body almost instantly. Each time you strength train you will get a little stronger. Seeing the results in your body will help keep you motivated, positive, and most importantly empowered. Getting stronger on the outside also brings strength to the inside. Many women who engage in regular strength training talk about its confidence boosting effects.

5. Controls weight

The more muscle you have the harder your metabolism works. This means your body will continue to burn calories even after the work is done. Mixing cardio with strength training is extremely important to help lose and maintain weight. Strength straining will help tone and tighten your naturally beautiful shape.

Common concern: Will I bulk?

This is one of the biggest misconceptions women have about strength training.

When women strength train the change in muscle is typically related to toning, endurance, and strength (not size). You would have to be following a particular training program to allow bulking to occur (which I promise is not easy).

-  Angela Wallace, certified personal trainer and TRX Pilates instructor

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What is TRX Pilates?

Pilates is a system of exercises designed to improve flexibility, posture, physical strength and the mind-body connection. Pilates has an emphasis on core strength, which includes the abdomen, oblique’s, gluts, inner thighs, and lower back.

It is low impact but challenging total body workout that uses tension within the body to strengthen and stretch muscles. Pilates improves your posture while creating strength in your body and a lean toned shape.

TRX suspension training is a full body strength workout that uses your own body weight instead of machines or dumbbells. The workout is centered around core strength and challenges endurance and cardio.

TRX Pilates combines these two amazing workouts into a fun and challenging core focused class.

Healthletica is now offering TRX Pilates classes with certified personal trainer and TRX Pilates instructor Angela Wallace. This class is an open level class appropriate for beginner and advanced students.

Classes start the week of May 21^st.

Tuesdays 7-8pm

Fridays 9:30-10:30am

Saturdays 10:30-11:30am

FIRST CLASS PROMO: $10.00

Learn more and sign-up by emailing Angela at angela@eatrightfeelright.ca

Kundalini yoga is a meditative and spiritual practice. It’s for people seeking to connect deeply with something greater than themselves. In Kundalini yoga, we breathe, chant, move, laugh, and cry as emotional blocks are released from the body.

Kundalini yoga is often called the yoga of awareness.

Each class includes breathing techniques (pranayam), an exercise set (kriya), deep relaxation, chanting, and meditation to help the practitioner strengthen the nervous system, and achieve mental clarity.

We’ll work on reducing stress, increasing vitality, reversing negative energy, healing heartbreak, building intuition, preventing burn-out, alleviating anger or resolving inner conflict.

In 1968, Yogi Bhajan came from India to the West to teach Kundalini yoga openly for the first time in history. His first stop was Toronto. He trained teachers to share these teachings with others. As such, Kundalini yoga is presented to you as it was originally taught by Yogi Bhajan.

If you are ready to feel free, change self-sabotaging habits, clear the unconscious patterns holding you back, and are looking for support along your spiritual path, Kundalini yoga is for you. Expect to experience big shifts!

Join us at Healthletica every Thursday at 7:15pm for our Kundalini Meditation classes.

Meditation classes are included in the 1-year and monthly auto-renew memberships. All others are welcome to pay a drop-in rate and join. Classes are non-heated. Space is limited.