Want to be strong, healthy, and happy, and feel 10 years younger? Then it's time to pick up the weights. "Strength training is no longer about being buff or skinny," says trainer Holly Perkins, author of Women's Health Lift to Get Lean and founder of Women's Strength Nation. "It's as critical to your health as mammograms and annual doctor visits, and it can alleviate nearly all of the health and emotional frustrations that women face today. And it becomes even more critical once you hit 50." (Running Womens Trainers, Nike Uk Cheap)

That's because women lose up to 5% of their lean muscle tissue per decade, starting in their 30s—and that number increases after 65. "I cannot stress enough how important muscle mass is to your life," says Perkins. "There is a direct correlation between your health and the amount of muscle mass that you have. The more you build, the faster your metabolism hums, the tighter and firmer you get, and the easier it is to lose weight and keep it off." It also decreases your risk for diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and makes you less likely to fall or become injured.

Of course, to Perkins—who is on a mission to get women weight lifting—the benefits go even deeper. "Something magical happens when you reach for a heavy object and are surprised by your own strength," she says. "It's an incredible feeling to climb a flight of stairs and feel powerful, or when you find that you no longer need the help of a man to move boxes. It's time for women to find their power."