I swore I would never lift weights. Now I’m at the gym twice a week.

I hired a personal trainer in January and started a weight training program. I’ve never been interested in weight-training. Not at all. But I’ve surprised myself. I actually enjoy it.

Here are the two reasons I started lifting weights at 56 and the five things that currently keep me motivated to keep at it.

Why did I start?

As the saying goes, the only constant in life is change, and what my body needs has changed.

In recent years, I’ve become an accidental caregiver for aging parents. I say accidental because most people don’t choose to be caregivers. But it was pretty much a given; I’m an only child, and I’m responsible. It hasn’t been easy, but one of the (many) gifts caregiving has given me is opening my eyes. And they are wide open.

Two things motivated me to get started:

1. I’m not getting any younger. Especially for women, the older we get, the harder it is to maintain muscle mass. I want to be stronger tomorrow than I am today and stay stronger—so I can live independently as long as possible.
2. My bone density is good according to my scan a few years ago, and I want to do what I can to help it stay as good as possible. Could I have started my weight training earlier? Sure. But earlier has past. Now is the time to do something. Not later.

About a year ago, I wrote about my experience with Pilates. I still take one group Pilates reformer class once a week, but now I’ve added two days a week of weight training at the gym. The two extra days were a huge addition and commitment to my schedule. And I knew it would be.

Adding anything new to your daily routine is difficult, no matter how small it is. For a week or a month, you can probably do it. But consistently, week after week, month after month, year after year—that’s what’s hard. Luckily, just like my dad was, I’m stubborn, and the downside of not doing it was enough to get it scheduled and stick to it. Now, because I realize I actually like it, it’s not so hard to get my butt over to the gym.

Why do I enjoy it? More importantly, what motivates me to keep going?

1. I feel better afterwards.
2. I enjoy feeling stronger. All over.
3. My routine is an hour without any distractions. I’m not trying to multitask. I can focus on each activity and the technique required in turn. I leave my phone in my locker and use a simple sports watch to time my breaks between sets.
4. Low stimuli (vs. a group class). I can go at my own pace. I don’t have an instructor yelling at me to pedal faster or feel the pressure of a group class to do more than I should. I can adjust depending on how I feel that day.
5. It’s a great place to work on paying attention to myself and “thinking in activity,” as John Dewey, the famous American philosopher and strong advocate of the Alexander Technique, used to describe it. The Alexander Technique does not exist in a vacuum. Its skillset is meant to be applied to something. The weight room is a great place for me to really focus on my Alexander Technique skills.

It’s been worth it for me to pay a trainer to help me figure out a program and progression that works for me. She and I are also the same age, which means she understands the over-50 body and all that goes with it. I cannot emphasize enough how important that is.

It’s inspiring to see other women my age and older at the gym who are also working out and are strong.

Have you ever tried a weight training program? What’s been your experience? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

Image by Bruno from Pixabay

P.S. If you enjoy the content of this blog, you’ll love my recently published book, What Your Body Wants You to Know: Exploring Body Awareness, Posture, and Movement with the Alexander Technique.