When you think about it the human body was designed to work. Not sit behind the wheel of a car, sit behind a desk or sit watching TV. Muscles make our skeleton move. They contract and relax thus leading to every movement the body makes.

Think about our ancestors. Plowing fields, washing by hand, lifting bales of hay, walking everywhere. A far cry from the demands we place on our bodies in the 21st century. Osteoporosis is on the increase in older women today and the main reason for this is lack of weight bearing exercise. This far outweighs lack of calcium, which lets face it, in the normal western diet high in dairy, is rather unlikely.

As a fan of Body Pump I can personally vouch that lifting light weights and working all the major muscles groups has been transforming for me. I can run with less effort, my posture has improved and I've lost inches. I really can't praise it highly enough!

This article in Marie Claire explains in more detail the following 5 reasons to lift weights:

- it beats aerobic training hands down for fat loss
- it will make you stronger and fitter
- it strengthens bones
- it improves your mood, confidence and well being
- it helps prevent illness and aids recovery

Your local leisure centre or gym may not offer Body Pump but they will certainly have a range of weight machines and instructors to design a strengthening program for you. Don't feel intimidated about using weights. Gyms are no longer full of muscle bound hulks oozing testosterone. The results will be truly worth it. Strengthening muscle literally turns the body clock back by years!