“For women, when we see us getting up and eating fast workouts, we see going to workouts without food… we continually break down the tissues we want to continue aging,” warned Dr. Sims.
Solution? Eat small things before exercise in the morning. Dr. Sims recommended options such as protein coffee (a protein powder mixed with milk and espresso), Greek yogurt and overnight oats, or a few tablespoons of yogurt. These small changes protect your muscle mass and make your metabolism work properly.
The most effective way to train.
Another important difference centers around resistance training protocols. While aerobic exercise has traditionally been emphasized for women, Dr. Sims has revealed that strength training offers a special advantage to a woman’s body, especially as hormones change with age.
“Now when we talk about the science of strength training, we know that with age, we lose muscle quickly from when we reach 30,” Dr. Sims said. “It’s really important because it’s an active organization, and that’s why it helps maintain so many different systems within the body.”
Beyond physical fitness, resistance training offers great cognitive benefits. “If we’re strength training… it’s creating signals in the brain to really improve our ability to become plastic,” explained Dr. Sims. “For women, strength training is great because they change body composition. But in the long run, they want to have a good body and a good mind.”
Dr. Sims recommended that women in their 30s and older focus on heavy weights with fewer repetition, rather than the traditional 10-12 personnel approach that is generally recommended.
