Yes!!!! I just started back with a program after a hiatus (due to work being crazy). I've lifted off and on for many years. This time, I'm doing a program from a book called Strong by Lou Schuler (he also wrote the New Rules of Lifting for Women, New Rules of Lifting for Life, NROL Supercharged etc.). Strong, like NROLFW is specifically geared toward women. He pays attention to research on exercise science and updates his program accordingly. Focus on free weights and interval training. I'm off to a workout now.

I completely agree! Now, I just need to get back to a regular routine rather than my current haphazard schedule.

I have lifted free weights on and off since I was about 20 years old. Even in my off periods I have been able to keep my muscle definition. I have usually been one of only a handfull of women that venture into the free weights section of any gym I have ever belonged to. So yes, I agree that it makes a big difference.

I do weight training 3x per week for 60 minutes plus 30 minutes of cycling 5x per wk. Ugh

Yes! Just came upstairs from doing treadmill and weights. Tomorrow night it will be yoga and weights.

Yes, I do weights twice a week.

No hooping, terriks?? Tell me it isn't so :-).

I will do weight training until I am physically unable to...hopefully that will never happen.

I weight train every other day. I have a home gym where I do free weights and cardio and I go to the other gym to use their weight machines. I do work out with a trainer every so often to update my routines and to make certain my form is good.

I think there are so many benefits from weight training including building stronger bones, good posture and muscle definition.

I have a very petite frame (my physical therapist told me that even my knee caps are petite :-( )....but I am very strong. Sadly, even with all the weight training I've done for decades and decades, two years ago I was diagnosed with Osteoporosis (I have my teeny, tiny bones to thank for that)...but I am convinced I would have had that diagnosis at a much younger age if it had not been for the WT. (It's not always good to have teeny tiny bones).

btw...have you seen trailrunner's (Caroline) pics? One look at her body and you have to be convinced WT is a positive :-).

ETA: take a look at OutsidePlaying's pic under her what to wear thread. A pic is worth a thousand words. :-)

Yes I do. I run too and have been lifting weights for a long time. Well, I have taken some breaks along the way but I always go back to it. Right now, I am doing a combination of mostly running with stretching after. And on non-run days, I do about 30 minutes of cross training exercises which consists of upper body weights planks, and some other runner-specific lower body exercises like burpees or mountain climbers.

terriks, it's good you found a program that works for you. So often the muscles are neglected, and I think it really helps burn those extra calories.

I have been going to the gym for 31 years. I do cardio, lift weights and do stretching exercises 3x week. I have never been on a diet in my life. I have had young women ask me what my secret is.

Yes, I lift weights in conjunction with kettlebells. Sometimes we skipped the bells and do stations which includes some weight lifting stops along with hopping, jumping, or punching stops.

Best thing in the world for knee stability.

I always went for more weight and less reps, which many women seem to be afraid of, so more like 10-12 reps for most of my free weights sets and then 3 sets of each.

Yes. I've been a runner for 40 years and am now 62. I run 3x a week in the trails for an hour on two of the days and then an hour and 20 min the third day. I've been going to the gym for years but about 7 years ago I got a little more serious and started going to a strength conditioning gym. I used a personal trainer for about 2 years and then joined the classes once I had proper positioning licked.(sort of)

Classes are small (5-6 people) and we have our own racks - no machines except bikes. We use TRX's, toners, vipers, bosus, body balls, free weights, medicine balls, surges, Olympic bars, etc. I go 3x a week and one of the classes is strictly a core class of 1 1/4 hr. I have never felt stronger. My running buddy and I started to go in order to extend the life of our running and to just stay strong.

I don't want to get Dowagers hump or break my hip when I'm 80. I also have to admit that I love working out and have always done so.

I do free weighs at home, alternating between upper body and abs and lower body and abs with walking, pilates and yoga in between. What's always amazing is I don't feel myself getting stronger, but when I miss a week or two, I sure notice how weak I've gotten!

I do pyramiding...12 reps with light weight, 10 with med weight and 8 with heavy.

I also have weights at home and started lifting just last year. I can tell the difference, I feel better and am stronger and more fit.

I've done weights for many years, using free weights at home, along with stretch bands and ropes. At the gym I do the 30 minute circuit. It really ramps up the metabolism by building lean muscle. I feel awful when I miss more than 3-4 days.

I do both weight and body weight exercises, but currently focusing more on the body weight exercise as they tend to target many more muscles at the same time and that is making more of a difference for me in how I feel overall as well. Posture and less injuries. I go to a class 2-3 times a week doing this. Weights are used to make some of the exercises harder, but I like how this has made me feel muscles I didn't used to feel with just weight lifting as those tend to target a few larger muscle groups. Plus they are fun as well and often done in tabatha style so also get some cardio while doing it.

~30 minutes at least twice per week will get you good health benefits. Also consider yoga or some other type of training that involves balance. I have the trainers I work with for the weights also work on balance exercises with me.

I so agree about the importance of balance exercises, yoga in my case. I recently saw a video of residents in an assisted living facility who had participated in yoga classes and the difference in their mobility was significant.

I did weight training for more than a dozen years with a professional body builder as a trainer but in combination with aerobics. My principal aim was to ward off bone loss with weight bearing exercises. At my training peak I could do 600 pounds on the leg press and more than 30 pounds with hand weights. I was really strong and toned.

Stopped weights after tearing the meniscus in my left knee after doing squats supervised by an overly aggressive trainer. The weights also did nothing for my bones. I had some bone loss anyway.

I switched to Pilates and quickly understood that while my arms, legs and butt were super strong, my core was not. Core strength is vital as we age I also found out. So I began to work on the core, flexibility, posture and balance. The strength and muscle tone are still good and work on them occasionally. But mostly now it's the big 4 plus aerobics. Some things aren't possible if I want to avoid knee surgery so I've had to adjust, like it or not.

Any exercise is good. All the various types have their special benefits. They key is to pinpoint what you need and what you like at any point in time and do it consistently. Some love yoga. Some love dance. I do feel that some type of aeorbic exercise that elevates your heart rate and makes you sweat is as essential as core strength.

Consistency is a significant factor that's often overlooked.

Holy moly, rococogurl, you were strong. Interesting that the weights didn't help with bone loss. My trainer got a bone density report recently and she was off the charts.

When we had our group exercise going here a few yrs ago I did use weights. It made a huge difference in the way clothes fit. I haven't been exercising and it shows!

Yes! I use the Body for Life exercise program. I don't go extremely heavy with the weights, but it still does wonders, especially for my knees which have been a problem all my life.

Yep, barbell training three times a week. Squat, bench press, and deadlift one session, then squat, shoulder press, and power clean the next. I have juvenile-onset RA and osteoporosis, so keeping strong is important. I have a small home gym, just big enough for a full rack, my Oly bar and weights, and a pull-up bar.

I use free weights and a weight machine, and yoga also helps me immensely. I need a more formal routine, though, for my weights. I was on one a few years ago when I belonged to a gym.

Terriks, I remember Jackie Warner from her Bravo show. Lots of drama but I always liked her workout approach. Do you need special equipment for her dvds that you reference in the op?

Balance and stability are so important as we age and easy to incorporate if you have a bosu. Whatever exercise you're doing standing on the floor (shoulder presses, for eg) stand on the bosu while you're doing it and you've immediately added a core stability component. In real life we seldom do anything standing on an absolutely flat surface.

The gym that I go to follows the Functional Fitness idea and has been for years. Several years ago after having gone to the core class for awhile, I was moving grocery bags from the buggy into my car with that twisting movement that we all use. And suddenly I felt my core kick in and it really was easier and I felt stronger. That's what functional fitness does and the exercises usually incorporate at least 2, if not more, components into an exercise.

I love it when I see other people understanding and knowing the value of doing weight training. So many women won't do it because they are afraid they will bulk up, not true as we all know.

Yes, I started lifting with a trainer after my daughter was born 1.5 years ago. It really made a difference, even though I didn't lose any weight. I slacked off a bit after my move this summer and haven't found a new trainer that I like, so we set up an extra bedroom as a gym and I am doing the same program that Cawaps is doing.

I'm jealous of all you people who like working out. I don't in any form, much rather be on the couch reading a book, never been good at athletics, but force myself to do it for the health benefits. I always tell DH I am going to be so mad if I die young that I wasted all this time!

yes, and cardio, and body support/core exercises, plus stretching. Tried yoga and cross fit but neither are for me, strangely. When I don't exercise (and specifically core and back exercises), I get back pain as a legacy of work and gymnastics.

I was going to say yes until I read what most of you are doing! Mine are included in a fitness program I go to called "Fit For Life", 3x a week. We have a wonderful set of trainers and a variety of classes. I start with a 30 minute cardio session where we only stop long enough to get some water a couple times. Then the next class is a Cardio Fit class that has kind of a circuit method to it. She usually starts with some lower level cardio to get those who haven't been to the first cardio session warmed up, then we use weights, bands, balls, pool noodles, with cardio spurts in between. That runs an hour with the last being a cool down. She incorporates balance, flexibility, strengthening , and stretching in every session. It is really for seniors as she takes Silver Sneakers for payment but you can also pay yourself if not 65 or if you don't have insurance. The classes are uplifting to me and I have more energy when I finish than when I start. My last bone density showed improvement and my cholesterol dropped 40 points from one test to another once I had started the cardio class. What I really appreciate is that she tells us what muscle each exercise is working on as well as making sure we are doing it properly. She is great at giving modifications for those who have issues with shoulders, knees or lower back problems. She makes sure to stretch and strengthen the areas that us "older" people have issues with that cause I to fall like the achilles tendon, ankles, wrist, and knees.

mboston - sounds like you're in a good class especially if they are also teaching proper positioning and able to give alternatives as needed.

I go to a strength conditioning gym and the trainers, who are all kinesiology (Human kinetics) grads and they do the same thing.