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Why Women Over 40 Need Yoga with Weights
Age is just a number. We have a choice between letting Father Time take us down or leveling up our health in a way that keeps us rocking out as we age. When I hear women and men my age complain about getting older I have an urge to shake them and say “well you’re not trying hard enough!” However, I can relate to the feeling of things not being what they used to be. That’s when I found yoga with weights.
As I approached 40, it got harder to maintain my health and fitness. I carried more weight around my mid section and my face. I also felt out of breath when I ran up a flight or two of stairs. My muscle tone was there, but a bit saggier in certain areas (like my butt). While some people shrug their shoulders and chalk this up to getting older, I knew I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel.
I spent my 20’s and 30’s practicing tons of vinyasa yoga. I barely did any other forms of exercise consistently, especially cardio. Yoga was my number 1 go to for my mental and physical health. I was also an effective way for me to maintain a physique I was happy with. But the time came when it wasn’t enough and I had to amp up my workouts. The other benefits that came with working out so hard grew far beyond my appearance.
Working out harder than I ever have in my life in my 40’s has helped me tap into a physical and mental strength that I hadn’t had access to in years. It also has been one of the best ways for me to release stress, anger, frustration and other typical emotions that go along with being a wife, mother and business owner. So this is not a call to “get skinny” or “live your best life.” I’m simply recommending that you don’t slow down in your 40’s, rather try amping it up! Work out HARD and see how it makes you feel. Our intense yoga with weights class called FlowLIFT is a great place for you to test this out for yourself.
Why Women Over 40 Need Yoga with Weights
No Pain No Gain
You may be perfectly happy with how you look and feel and don’t need to change up your routine. But not everyone feels that way. When Carolina and I created FlowLIFT, we wanted to get in better shape and yoga wasn’t cutting it anymore. We were looking to be leaner, stronger, tighter, and improve our cardiovascular fitness. We also wanted to get everything we needed in one class. Who has time for 5 different workouts every week? Not us!
FlowLIFT is extremely difficult. We could barely get through our own classes when we first started. But the more we did it, the better it felt. Our bodies were changing before our eyes. Our muscle tone improved drastically, the extra pounds around our midsections melted away and our stamina dramatically increased.
My perspective on who I am as a person even changed. Before I was Amanda the calm yoga teacher. Now suddenly I was also a workout instructor playing hip hop and yelling at everyone to move their asses. FlowLIFT opened up a whole side to me I didn’t know was there. Go balls to the wall when you’re doing FlowLIFT and you’ll unlock a part of yourself that trust me, you want to meet.
Sometimes I feel like I’m going to puke during the class and I think to myself, “yes, this is exactly what I need.” The level of intensity and the fact that FlowLIFT has everything in one 45 (or 25) minute session (strength training, cardio, full body functional moves) make this the perfect class for staying in shape as you get older.
In these everybody-gets-a-medal times, it’s risky to say “no pain no gain” when it comes to women and fitness. But I’m saying it. For me, I have found that the whole fit over forty game plan needs to include a certain level suffering while working out. If I want to maintain my personal ideal physique, I need a sweaty, full body ass kicking on a regular basis. Going through the motions with a personal trainer or playing doubles tennis twice a week isn’t gonna get the job done. However putting 100% into two to three FlowLIFT classes per week will.
Yoga With Weights For YOUR Ideal Physique
The conversation around fitness has become much more inclusive in the last decade and this is a wonderful thing. There are many different body types and healthy does not equal thin. It’s now much easier to step away from the “ideal” look that society used to sell us. We see different body types on runways, in clothing commercials, movies, television shows and media in general.
So what is YOUR personal ideal? We all have one. It feels so good to slide into that certain pair of jeans with no struggle to button the top button. This ideal occurs when we pay attention to what we eat and use food for fuel. We exercise that magic number of times per week (probably at least 3 times). These are feel good choices that fill our system with endorphins and clean energy. There is no deprivation, just moderation. We look good, feel good and are still able to enjoy our lives.
Coming up with a game plan to healthily maintain this personal ideal is key so that you find a balanced approach to feeling and looking hot as you get older. So many women have said to me “but this is so much more than just a workout class.” You get to discover a whole new part of yourself that you did not know was there. An added bonus to the graceful confidence we step into in our 40’s.
FlowLIFT Is The Ultimate Yoga With Weights For Women Over 40
If you research ideal workouts, you’ll often find that strength training and cardio are must-do’s. FlowLIFT has both of these rolled up into one class, and that’s not all. FlowLIFT is full body and utilizes both sides on every move. Like yoga, everything you do on the right side, you do with the left. There is no favoring the dominant side and it creates a more balanced strength than most other physical activities.
Our yoga with weights also increases range of motion in the joints and strengthens the lower back, core and hips in a functional way. Rather than succumbing to some outdated viewpoint of getting older, try to shake things up a bit and try something new.
Start with the LiteLIFT and XpressLITE classes to get used to this new way of moving your body. Start with the 1.5 lb ankle weights and when you feel ready, take it up a notch with the 2.5 lb. We’ve got everything you need to get started in our shop.