Walk into any gym and you’ll probably see the weights room filled with men doing bench presses, while the stretch classes are 99% female. This needs to be reversed, say Greg Stark, from Better Being Personal Training.
“Women have lower bone density and it becomes more apparent the older they get,” he says. “Weight-bearing exercise increases their bone density and reduces their chance of developing osteoporosis.” Strength training also helps your body use stored fat and tone up. “Use free weights, they increase the demand for joints to be stable as you move, whereas fixed machines guide the movement so the joint stability isn’t there,” Stark says.
But that doesn’t mean you should give up the stretch classes. “It’s important to have a balance between mobility and stability,” Stark says.
Jacki’s Aerobic Dancing classes feature stretching, isolation abdominal work and resistance training using Jacki’s own VertifirmTM method where students have the option to use hand held weights and ankle weights to tone and build strength whilst using their core to balance, as well as the aerobic segment and the dancey cooldown. In other words – a full body workout!
This article by Kimberley Gillan was featured in Body + Soul (June 5, 2011)