The word "strong" has many meanings. Is a person strong because he or she perseveres when all seems lost, or because they can bench press 200 pounds? Strength is not an either/or dilemma. Being strong of body does not preclude being strong of heart and soul. My next guest tells us that physical and mental strength are connected, especially for women.
Why Women Who Want to
Feel Strong Need to Get Strong
by Colleen M. Story
When Connie asked me to contribute a post about strong
women, my first thought was of my mother, and right after that, my grandmother
and great grandmother.
I was fortunate to come from a long line of strong women. My
great grandmother came over from Ireland when she was only 19 years old. I
can’t imagine what it must have been like to spend months on a tall ship in
those days—alone, no less.
My grandmother lived her life on a dairy farm, and after
losing my grandfather when he was only in his mid-forties, spent the rest of
her life alone, a strong and independent women who raised milking cows, young
steers, chickens, cats, and dogs on her property until her dying day at the age
of 93.
My mother fits the definition of strong in so many ways. She
raised my older brother and me for several years as a single mom, and I
remember her struggle to make ends meet. Regardless of how tight things were,
she kept us feeling safe, and was sure to encourage us in whatever natural
talents we had.
I could tell many stories of the emotional strengths
possessed by these women, but interestingly enough, what comes to mind is not
their ability to withstand life’s ups and downs while maintaining a great sense
of humor, or their tendency to keep a stiff upper lip even during tough times.
I’m thinking of a different kind of strength.
You see, my grandmother was a master at arm wrestling.
Physical Strength
Encourages Mental Strength
Usually when we talk about strong women, we’re referring to
those who withstood emotional and mental challenges to make significant changes
in their lives. But what about women who are physically strong and resilient?
When you spend your life on a dairy farm, you develop
defined muscles, and my grandma managed to keep them long into her senior
years. She could also go toe-to-toe with you on most any subject, and had a
sharp wit to accompany her points of view, but as kids we didn’t look forward
to mental debates.
Instead, during our annual visits, we’d challenge her to arm
wrestling contests.
Studies have shown that physical strength encourages mental
strength. In the late 90s, for example, researchers found that strength
training increased overall muscle strength by nearly 40 percent, while also
improving mood, reducing anxiety, and boosting confidence.
Another study around the same time found that 12 weeks of
strength training in adolescent girls improved confidence and general
effectiveness in life.
“These findings offer preliminary support that weight
training for strength can improve confidence about a variety of life tasks in
adolescent girls,” the researchers wrote, “and could provide the basis for new
modalities of therapy for low self-esteem.”
Even when my siblings and I were young teens and Grandma was
around 80, she still had enough strength in her hands to give your wrist a
twist, after which there was no coming back. We’d practice resisting, but it
was near impossible. I can’t help but think now that her ability to stay
physically strong had something to do with her avoiding any type of mental
decline, as well.
A 2015 study found it to be true. One group of participants
who already had mild cognitive impairment went through six months of weight
training. The other, a control group, did not. Results showed that those who
trained experienced significant improvements in overall cognitive function,
specifically in abilities like planning, organizing, devising strategies, and
visual memory. The improvements were still there twelve months after the
training stopped.
“We know weight training stimulates hormones that make
muscles grow and it's possible these hormones are also having similar benefits
for brain function," said Professor Fiatarone Singh.
In a report by the Centers for Disease Prevention and
Control (CDC), scientists state that strength training not only reduces the
effects of arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, and back pain, but
can have a major effect on a person’s mental and emotional health.
“Strength training exercises can also reduce depression and
boost self-confidence and self-esteem,” the authors wrote, “and improve your
sense of well-being.”
Sometimes the Body
Needs to Come First
I’ve noticed the effects myself. Growing up on the ranch, I
was challenging my muscles every day, but after I left home and settled into my
work as a writer, things changed. I started to feel tired more often, and my
body felt soft and squishy. I now know that much of that was because I had lost
muscle.
When I got back into doing some push-ups, and started
lifting hand weights and working with resistance bands, I felt my old strength
come back—and with it, a renewed vigor in the mornings. I was ready to tackle
my day in ways I wasn’t before. I also felt the effects in an increased sense
of confidence and empowerment.
“Strong girls exude a confidence that is intoxicating,” says
fitness blogger Neghar Fonooni.
“When you realize your outer strength, you can tap into your inner strength,
and that begins to radiate.”
It’s a shame that many women feel averse to strength
training, convinced it’s a “guy thing,” because there’s nothing like feeling the
ease of lifting your own 50-pound bag of dog food into the trunk, or being able
to dash out 20 push-ups without breaking a sweat.
Young girls, in particular, who are used to their role
models looking stick-thin, may be afraid to develop too many muscles, fearing they’ll
look freakish, but the reality is that getting stronger helps define a woman’s
figure and creates more attractive curves. But these may be considered
secondary to the mental and emotional benefits.
Lyn Paul, a Montana State University Extension professor who
studied the effect of weight training on women, told the Los Angeles Times that regardless of age, women gain
self-confidence from getting stronger.
"My study found that the No. 1 benefit of strength is
that the enhanced function makes them feel empowered," she said.
"This whets their appetite for more strength, pushing them further down
the health-and-fitness road."
Personal trainer Alexa Towersey has had similar experiences
with her clients. “Weight training doesn’t just deliver a strong, healthy body
and a beautiful aesthetic, it’s also very empowering. There is nothing more
rewarding than watching a woman lifting heavy weights with confidence, and then
watching how this translates into her attitude toward the rest of her life.”
Try Getting
Physically Stronger to Feel Emotionally Stronger
I’m addicted to strength training now. I’m on the lookout
for ways to get stronger that I can incorporate into my home-based routine. The
strong women in my family continue to inspire me. My mom, for example, still throws a bowling
ball screaming down the lane faster than any of her friends on the league—the
only one of her peers that looks vibrant and strong on her way up to the red
line.
If you’re a woman who may be feeling a little unsure of yourself,
I encourage you to try strength training, if you haven’t already. You may be
surprised at the results. As you lift more pounds, you may find that you’re
able to approach other things in your life with increased inner strength, as
well.
If nothing else, imagine someday smoking your grandkid in an
arm wrestling contest.
Sources
Tsutsumi
T., et al., “Physical fitness and psychological benefits of strength training
in community dwelling older adults,” Appl
Human Sci., November 1997; 16(6):257-66, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9545677.
“Pumping
iron could ward off dementia,” The University of Sydney, February 16, 2015,
http://sydney.edu.au/news/84.html?newsstoryid=14605.
Colleen M. Story has been a full-time
writer, editor, and ghostwriter for nearly 20 years. She’s worked for
high-profile clients like Gerber Baby Products, Kellogg’s, Fresenius Medical
Care, and Nicole Miller Skin Care, with many articles appearing in Healthline, Renegade Health, Women’s
Health, 4Health Magazine, and
more.
She’s the author of Rise
of the Sidenah, a 2015 North American Book Awards winner, and Loreena’s Gift, a literary novel
released by Dzanc Books in April 2016. She maintains a robust inspirational
blog for writers and other creatives at Writing and Wellness, with her
own personal website at colleenmstory.com.
She lives in Idaho.
Rise
of the Sidenah is a magical fantasy about a young sculptress forbidden
from practicing her art, until a powerful man offers her an opportunity she
can’t refuse. He draws her into a world of deceit, murder, and betrayal,
leaving her no choice but to engage him in battle to save the ones she loves.
·
2015 North American Book Awards Winter, Fantasy
·
2015 New Apple Book Awards Official Selection,
Young Adult
Loreena’s
Gift: Loreena Picket thinks she knows herself. A
blind young woman who lives with her uncle, a reverend at a small- town church,
she’s a dutiful niece and talented pianist for the congregation. But they’re
both hiding a terrible secret. Loreena can kill people with the touch of her
hand.
While
her uncle sees her as an angel of mercy, helping usher the terminally ill
members of his flock into the afterlife, Loreena has her doubts. She cooperates
with her uncle until her troubled older brother returns to town. When she
reveals her power by saving him from a local drug dealer, she is drawn into a
sinister and dangerous world that will test the true nature of her talent and
force her to consider how far she is willing to go to survive.
Release Date April 12, 2016. Available at all online bookstores and from Dzanc
Books.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FRIDAY FEATURES is a steady presence on Out of the Fog where I explore the concept of "strong women." Who are they? What makes them strong? How do we see them in writing and/or in business? If you're an author, what is their place in the world of thrillers of mysteries? If you're in business, how is the working environment impacted by the presence of a "strong woman" and how are they seen as leaders and team members? If you're an emerging strong woman, tell us about your journey. Have other questions you find compelling? Ask away and I'll post the answers here.
If you have something to say about the topic of
strong women, contact me on Twitter:
@conniehambley.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
