Studies have shown that post-menopausal women can reduce their body fat, increase muscle mass, build up their bones, and improve their balance by lifting moderately heavy weights on a regular basis.

The benefits of weight training are indisputable in preventing the effects of aging in pre-menopausal women and reversing the effects of aging in post-menopausal women.

Strength training helps you burn fat, it raises your metabolism, builds muscle and strengthens bones and connective tissue.

This is great news for menopausal women!

Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Women should pay particular attention to building strength in the upper back and shoulders to protect against osteoporosis but don't neglect the lower body either.
  
  
• To get the most gain in strength training, focus on the large muscle groups of the shoulders, torso, buttocks, and upper legs.
  
  
• Bench presses, push-ups, seated rowing machines, curls, calf raises, crunches all work to build strength.
  
  
• Household items such as soup cans or milk jugs filled with water or sand can be used as weights. You can also purchase small, hand-held weights at sports stores.
  
• To lose body fat and build muscle, you should use weights heavy enough to tire you after 10-12 repetitions on each muscle group.
  
  You build endurance and strength when working a muscle to fatigue.
  
  
• Move slowly while doing your reps to maximize strength gain. This is one sport where time the slower you go, the more you win.
  
  Your exercises will produce a 20 to 40 percent greater outcome if you take one to two seconds to contract the muscle, hold the contraction for half a second, and then lengthen the release to three or four seconds.
  
  
• If you belong to a health club, ask a trainer for assistance in developing a strength training plan that is right for you.
  
  If unsure of how to begin, you are likely best served hiring a personal trainer for one or two sessions to get you on the right track.
  
  There are numerous "how-to" resources on-line, at your local library and in fitness magazines.
  
  
• Add strength training to you exercise schedule two or three times per week, allowing at least one day of recovery between sessions.
  
  
• Just five minutes three times a week will produce noticeable outcomes
  over time.
  

It takes time, between four to six weeks of regular strength training, to see the benefits of weight lifting so be patient.

Get working!