Pumping Up For Fitness Women Hit Free Weights As Way To Improve Looks And Better Their Health

‘Tis the season when many women throughout the country make a New Year’s resolution that they’ll set aside some time to get back into shape.

Enter free weights … the most popular fitness activity in America the past two years.

The gain in popularity, which has doubled since 1987, can be directly attributed to the willingness of women to enter the weight room. According to “Tracking the Fitness Movement,” a publication of the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, the number of women engaging in resistance training now equals that of men.

“I think it will grow even more,” said Darlene Erkel, a personal trainer at the Sta-Fit Racquet and Athletic Club on North Division. “Free weights can do a lot of positive things for you. Like building up your bones, increasing full-range motion and improving your muscle tone, balance and strength.”

For Erkel, 38, coming to the gym eases the day-to-day grind.

“It really helped me cope,” she said. “Working out helps me to remove stress from my life. I find that after exercising I’m a much happier person.”

Strength training also aids in weight loss.

The popularity of jogging got the fitness movement off and running in the 1970s. In the ‘80s, aerobic dancing became the rage. This decade people in search of health and vitality are hitting the weights.

Walk into any fitness center and you can see the benefits.

Take Christine Coleman.

The 45-year-old mother of three began lifting weights five years ago.

“When I turned 40, my husband enrolled me in a hard-core gym,” Coleman said with a smile. “He put a program together for me and after a short while everything that had been sagging popped back up.

“Now I do it for myself and my husband. I lift three days and run three days each week. Anyone who would like to feel better about themselves and look better should come out to the gym. If you stay with it, you’ll feel 100 percent better about yourself.”

For Julianne Lundin, 30, weight training has been a part of her life since high school.

“I went to high school in Utah and weight lifting was a big thing there,” she said. “I gave it a try and I loved it. I like the way it makes me feel. It’s very good therapy for the mind. If I stop lifting, I don’t feel I look as good or feel as good.”

Sandy White, 38, a West Valley grad and mother of two, has been working out with weights for 15 years.

“I got into weight lifting looking for a way to improve my health,” she said. “I got hooked. It’s a lot of work, and there are days I really don’t want to do it, so I have to push myself.

“That’s one of the reasons I like belonging to a gym. If I was at home, I wouldn’t push myself as much.

“One thing I’d tell someone if they’re interested in giving this a try is to make sure it’s what they really want to do,” White added. “You have to be dedicated. It takes six months to a year before you really notice a difference.”

Several factors have contributed to the increased popularity of strength training. Recent studies have shown that free weights, along with cardiovascular exercises and stretching, are the main ingredients of a successful fitness program.

It has also been proven that strength training reduces the effects of osteoporosis. It also benefits those with fatigue syndrome and lupus.

“Senior citizens and women in the 30 to 40 age bracket are really starting to get involved with free weights,” said Erkel. “Older people seem to be more health conscious these days, and women are more athletic and sports-oriented than they used to be.”

“A lot of women want the hard-body look,” said Lundin. “It used to be thin was in, but not anymore. And working out for a hard body is a lot healthier for you than not eating so you can be thin.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: FITNESS PARTICIPATION Top 10 exercise activities for Americans age 6 and older who participated at least once in 1996, with average days of participation. 1. Free weights, 42.8 million (71 days) 2. Stationary bikes, 35 mil. (56) 3. Treadmills, 32.9 mil. (56) 4. Fitness walking, 32.5 mil. (112) 5. Running/jogging, 31.5 mil. (71) 6. Bicycling, 25.4 mil. (47) 7. Swimming, 23 mil. (38) 8. Resistance machines, 22.6 mil. (61) 9. Stair-climbers, 18.2 mil. (50) 10. Step aerobics, 11.9 mil. (48)

Source: Sporting Goods Manufacturers Assoc.