Britt McDermott has no trouble picking up her 7-year-old, 53-pound son. Carrying loads of groceries for her four children isn’t a big deal either. Running up hills is easier than it used to be, too.

The reason is simple: muscles.

Not big, bulging ones, but strong, supple muscles that she’s developed through a regular routine of strength training.

She doesn’t fit the stereotypical image of a husky male weight-trainer trying to bulk up. McDermott is a 38-year-old Carmel mother of four and a certified public accountant who has kept in good cardio shape through running. But she does fit the profile of a growing number of women getting into strength training — using anything from free weights and machines to resistance bands, stability balls and weight bars. Men, too, seek health benefits, in addition to being motivated by six-pack abs.

Trainers now are pushing so-called “functional” strength training, developing and toning muscles for day-to-day activities — going up steps, carrying groceries and kids, golfing. It also helps maintain balance to prevent falls, lower body fat or prevent increases, curtail bone loss, boost metabolism and even lower blood pressure.

“It has made a huge difference in how I feel and how my clothes fit,” said McDermott. “I wasn’t muscular when I started. My upper body was weak. Now, I get comments on my shoulders all the time. They ask, ‘Do you work out?’ ” she said. But it doesn’t take a lot of time to get results, say personal trainers. Two or three times a week, 25 to 40 minutes, is plenty. And people of any age, even in their 70s, can start and benefit from strength training, given no other health issues.

Since January 2005, McDermott has done an hour of strength training twice a week at Better Bodies in Zionsville with owner Mitch Schroder. She’s among the 17.5 percent of women who do at least twice-a-week workouts, according to a federal study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That 2004 figure is up from 14.5 percent in 1998. The study, tracking strength training among more than 30,000 adults nationally, showed nearly one out of five U.S. adults do it, including 22 percent of men. Their rate has held fairly steady.

What’s holding back more?

“There are still a lot of people who look at strength training as something that men do who want to get big and bulky,” said Brian Holdsworth, personal trainer and owner of Anytime Fitness in Zionsville. “They don’t look at the health benefits of strength training.”

For women, the fear of getting bulky is unfounded because they don’t have enough of the hormone testosterone, he said. When you build muscle through strength training, Schroder said, the added muscle burns more calories daily, which can help you lose weight or maintain weight loss. Exercise, like walking, does not stave off the loss of muscle that often accompanies aging — about 7 pounds per decade for men and 5 pounds per decade for women, according to the American Association of Retired Persons. This slows down resting metabolism. Much of that decline in muscle mass can be halted, and even reversed, by strength training — typically recommended along with cardio and flexibility exercises.

Bill Regas thinks his long-time strength-training regimen has helped him stave off most health problems and remain fit at age 88 and 158 pounds. Like clockwork, the retired Indianapolis attorney works out five days a week at 5 a.m. at Better Bodies. First, it’s 20 minutes on the treadmill. Then he hits the weight machines to work mainly on his upper body. At age 72, Regas could bench press 200 pounds 10 times. He injured his hip three years ago, which keeps him from jogging, and he has had heart surgery. But he recovered quickly and has no plans to curtail his training.

“My doctors always tell me, ‘Don’t stop,’ ” he said. “To me, it did wonders. It’s got me to 88 years of age.”

For Victoria Wesseler, 53, all she has to do is look in the mirror for motivation to continue strength training. At age 50, she gained about 12 pounds, despite spending an hour a day on the treadmill.

“It was frightening,” said Wesseler, who is winding down her consulting firm on business ethics and compliance. “I wanted to lose the weight, but I wanted to be stronger, too.”

So she enlisted Jason Stuckey, co-owner of PUSH Fitness for Women, to set up a strength-training program she could do in her basement with free weights and resistance bands three days a week, followed by a treadmill workout. She started taking Pilates and changed her diet, eliminating all refined sugar, flour, alcohol and processed foods.

“I feel the best I’ve ever felt in my life. I can see my biceps. My arms are getting firmer.”

And she can do 30 regular push-ups, not the kind balancing on your knees. “That was my tah-dah moment. I could do a real push-up. There’s a real feeling of power.”

10 reasons for women to do strength training

Strength training uses resistance methods to increase your ability to exert or resist a physical force. The resistance you work against can come from free weights, machines, resistance bands, weighted bars, stability balls or body weight.

Among benefits are:

• Improves balance, flexibility, mobility and stability.
• Improves performance in sports or recreational activities.
• Reduces risk of injury by strengthening muscles and joints.
• Increases and restores bone density, helping to prevent osteoporosis.
• Builds lean muscle tissue, which burns more calories than fat.
• Lowers blood pressure over time.
• Adds challenge and interest to cardio and other exercises.
• Can reduce arthritis pain by strengthening muscles to better cushion joints.
• Makes everyday activities and chores that involve movement easier.
• Makes you feel better and look better, improving self-esteem.

Six strength-training myths

Myth: You can reduce fat around abs, thighs or other body areas with specific exercises.
Reality: Spot reduction doesn’t work to get rid of fat. How and where fat is lost depends on age, hormones, genetics and a diet that creates a calorie deficit. Wherever excess fat is stored is the last place you’ll lose it. Strength training will tone and build up muscles.

Myth: To tone muscles, use lighter weights and high reps.
Reality: Using lighter weights for higher reps will help increase muscular endurance and it does have a place in routines, but the lean, defined look comes from losing body fat.

Myth: For fat burning or weight loss, only do cardio exercise.
Reality: Cardio is important for burning fat and losing weight, but strength training helps preserve muscle and increase muscle mass. The more muscle you have, the more calories you’ll burn all day. A pound of muscle burns from 10 to 20 calories a day, while a pound of fat burns 2 to 5 calories a day.

Myth: You should be sore after every workout.
Reality: Soreness is normal if you’re just beginning or if you’ve changed your routine or are trying new activities. But soreness should lessen over time. If you’re sore after every workout, you may need more recovery days or to reduce the intensity.

Myth: Strength training makes women bulk up.
Reality: Women don’t have enough hormones (testosterone) needed to build huge muscles. Muscle takes up less space than fat. And when you add muscle, you lose fat, creating a leaner and more defined body.

Myth: I’m too old to lift weights.
Reality: There’s no age limit on beginning a strength-training program, although if you have medical issues or conditions, a doctor’s clearance is a good idea. Without exercise, you can lose 3 to 5 percent of muscle mass per decade after age 40. That contributes to weight gain and reduces your ability to do daily movements and activities

Barb Berggoetz, for Muscle Bulletin. Discover more about women’s strength training here

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