Diana has been a member of Fivex3 Training for the past two and a half years. She began training with us after her second meniscus tear surgery and has not stopped. Originally, she started training to help her get stronger with her running. However, it became quite clear to her that strength training was becoming more than just “something she needed to do to help her running.” It becoming part of her life and something she wanted to do because of 1. The changes she was seeing in her body 2. How it made her feel and 3. Yes, how it was helping her running. 😉
I will let Diana explain in her own words why she loves strength training.
If there was ever a “fountain of youth”, strength training done correctly and consistently is it. I feel younger than I did ten or even 15 years ago. I have more energy and certainly much more strength than I had at any point in my life. As a post menopausal woman in my 50s, I know my body is aging. However, I don’t feel like it is, and I credit that primarily to consistent strength training.
However, before starting on this journey, I had to alter my preconceived ideas about what barbell lifting was all about. After all, when thinking of exercise for middle aged women, lifting heavy barbells isn’t what immediately comes to mind. It definitely wasn’t anything I’d ever considered for myself. Barbell training is for body builders, other serious athletes, or young men in general, right? Since starting this program, I’ve actually discovered strength training is for much more than that: my own training has given me a stronger but leaner body.
Additionally, I had to overcome fear. Lifting isn’t easy and the weights are heavy. It’s hard work and takes commitment. In the beginning, I didn’t realize that successful lifting was as much mental as it was physical. I, who have never considered myself to be very strong, had to convince myself that I was capable of lifting something heavy. However, through training and the encouragement of my coaches, I have become more capable than I thought, and can now lift weights a good deal more than my body weight. This training will benefit me for the rest of my life. We’re all aging, and with age will come the inevitable loss of function. I would encourage anyone my age to develop habits that will improve their quality of life now, which will in turn help them later in life. Strength training, along with competent personalized coaching, could dramatically improve a person’s odds of remaining healthy and mobile well into old age.
Strength Training at FiveX3 has had a profound impact on my life. The encouragement I get from my coaches has enabled me to overcome my self-imposed barriers– to become a stronger, more confident, more capable, and more healthy me.