Pick Up The Weights!

Pumping iron can give you a physique to die for and strong bones to boot, but the benefits of resistance training don't stop there. According to a study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania, strength training twice a week attenuates the accumulation of visceral fat–the fat that surrounds your organs and in excess gives you that "potbelly" look along with an increased risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and the Metabolic Syndrome. As if increasing your risk of chronic disease wasn't bad enough, that visceral fat may also be hampering your sex life.

Jump on a treadmill or bike frequently and you are less likely to walk around with a gut that hangs over the top of your pants, right? Though it is well accepted that aerobic exercise decreases the likelihood that you'll gain weight around your belly, fewer studies have related strength training to a decreased likelihood that you'll be walking around with a stomach that rivals that of a sumo wrestler. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania decided to examine if building muscle helps whittle your waistline. They took 164 overweight and obese untrained women aged 25 through 44 and randomly placed them into one of two groups.

The control group received American Heart Association brochures that recommended 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity on most days of the week. That's it. The second group engaged in strength-training exercises twice a week for two years and received extended social support. Both groups were instructed not to gain or lose weight during the study period.

Initially, the strength-trained group started with hour long circuits working the major muscle groups in the body in addition to smaller groups like the biceps and triceps . The study coordinators incorporated some principles of periodization to ensure the women continued their progress. The women in this group gradually increased the amount of weight they were lifting as they grew stronger and they were given new exercises every 12 weeks by certified fitness professionals. The first 16 weeks were supervised and all other sessions were unsupervised.

In addition, the women progressed to free weights and decreased their total workout time to approximately 45 minutes per session in the second year. During the intervention, women who didn't complete their two sessions per week got reminder calls from the fitness trainers. There's nothing like being accountable to someone to ensure you get off the couch and into the gym. To ensure success, a few extra things were provided to this group including free childcare, semiannual social gatherings, a study website and a monthly newsletter.

Have you ever heard someone say that she hired a personal trainer so she would actually get in the gym? If so, it should come as no surprise that the women in this study had an easier time adhering to the strength-training sessions during the time the exercise was supervised compared to when they were on their own. Adherence was also better during the first year, when the women made 76 percent of their strength-training sessions versus the second year, when they made a mere 61 percent.

After two years, neither group saw a significant change in bodyweight. The strength-trained group gained strength, though they didn't experience a significant change in lean body mass. They also lost a greater percentage of overall body fat in comparison to the control group– 3.68 percent versus 0.14 percent– respectively. However, the decreases in body fat in the strength-trained group were more evident after year one, when the women attended more strength-training sessions than after year two. Greater adherence means more results. No surprise there. In addition, the strength-trained group gained significantly less intra-abdominal fat than the control group– 7.05 ± 5.07 percent and 21.36 ± 5.34 percent– respectively.

Though a 9-pound weight gain over a 20-year period may not seem like much, that visceral fat surrounding your organs isn't just sitting still.

This study confirmed that accountability matters and strength training can decrease the likelihood of harmful fat padding your organs. Though strength training didn't alter bodyweight, if the women changed their diet, they may have been more likely to see changes in their weight, physique and possibly even their motivation to stick with the program.

Get a Big Belly and Lose Your Orgasm?

Sure, a huge waistline won't exactly enhance your body image. And, consequently, it might not help your sex life either. But...research also shows that Metabolic Syndrome— one disease that you have a higher chance of getting if you gain a good amount of visceral fat– has actually been linked to sexual dysfunction.

In short, Metabolic Syndrome is a group of risk factors led by increased gut fat (or in medical terms, "abdominal obesity") and insulin resistance that put you at an increased risk for coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

You Have Metabolic Syndrome If You Have At Least Three Of The Following:

Elevated waist circumference:

• Men: Equal to or greater than 40 inches (102 cm)
• Women: Equal to or greater than 35 inches (88 cm)

Elevated triglycerides:

• Equal to or greater than 150 mg/dL

Reduced HDL ("good") cholesterol:

• Men: Less than 40 mg/dL
• Women: Less than 50 mg/dL

Elevated blood pressure:

• Equal to or greater than 130/85 mmHg

Elevated fasting glucose:

• Equal to or greater than 100 mg/dL

In a study examining premenopausal women aged 20 through 48 with Metabolic Syndrome compared to healthy women, researchers at the University of Naples found that the women with Metabolic Syndrome scored lower on the Female Sexual Function Index, had a reduced satisfaction rate and higher levels of C-reactive protein (which is tied to inflammation). This means women with Metabolic Syndrome are more likely to have problems with their libido, arousal and orgasm.

There are a multitude of factors that impact one's sex life (aside from the obvious– choosing a good partner) and it is estimated that up to 43 percent of women in the United States have at least one of the multiple disorders associated with sexual dysfunction. If you want to be sure you are in the other 57 percent of women, consider the risk factors for Metabolic Syndrome and if you have any, start addressing them.

It is estimated that women aged 25 through 44 gain about 0.51 kg each year, mainly as fat. Though a 9-pound weight gain over a 20-year period may not seem like much, that visceral fat surrounding your organs isn't just sitting still. Instead, visceral fat is busy secreting many molecules called adipokines that can go haywire and wreck havoc on your body, putting you at risk for a variety of chronic diseases and possibly even hampering your sex life at the same time.

Sure, you can jump on a treadmill several days a week and run to your heart's content to minimize the likelihood of fat covering your abs. But why not pick up the weights regularly, increase the weight you are lifting periodically and change your routine frequently? Doing so may give you a little extra insurance against gaining harmful visceral fat, thereby decreasing your risk for a number of chronic diseases and increasing the likelihood that you won't be one of the approximately 43 percent of women in the United States suffering from sexual dysfunction.

References:

Rosin BL. The progression of cardiovascular risk to cardiovascular disease. Rev Cardiovasc Med, 2007;8 Suppl 4:S3-8.

Esposito K, Ciotola M et al. The metabolic syndrome: a cause of sexual dysfunction in women. Int / of Impot Res, 2005;17:224-6.

Irwin M, Yasui Y et al. Effect of exercise on total an intraabdominal body fat in postmenopausal women: a randomized trial. /AMA, 2003;289:323-30.

Ross R. Effects of diet- and exercise-induced weight loss on visceral adipose tissue in men and women. Sports Med, 1997;24:55-64.

Ross R, Janssen I. Is abdominal fat preferentially reduced in response to exercise-induced weight loss? Med Sci Sports Exerc, 1999;31:S568-72.

What is the Metabolic Syndrome? American Heart Association.

http://www.americanheartorg/presenterjhtml?identifier=4756.

Pauls RN, Kleeman SD, Karram MM. Female sexual dysfunction: principles of diagnosis and therapy. Obstet Gynecol Surv, 2005 Mar;60(3):196-205.

Laumann EO, Paik A et al. Sexual dysfunction in the United States. Prevalence and predictors. /AMA, 1999;281:537-44.

Going S, Williams D et al. Aging and body composition: biological changes and methodological issues. Exerc Sport Sci Rev, 1995;23:411-58.

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