How to tighten loose skin: Sue’s Story
When Sue first came to me at 60 she wanted to feel healthy and strong, and to firm and tone her body.
Sue had always been active. She participated in weekly volleyball, she participated in a weekly bowling league, and in the summer she’d take out her boat or participate in a local baseball league.
Even though she was so active, Sue became diagnosed as Diabetic.
Her new medication and changes in nutrition helped her drop weight fast, but she was left with loose skin on her arms, her chest and her stomach, and the activities she was doing weren’t firming her up.
During Sue’s fitness assessment she asked me what so many of my clients ask when first starting out: “Is it possible to tighten loose skin?”
If you’d like to lose some weight but wouldn’t categorize yourself as clinically obese, or you’ve lost weight suddenly, or you’ve lost weight through nutrition and cardio, then there’s a good possibility you can tighten loose skin.
The answer is weight training.
Here’s the thing: while lifting weights from time to time is better than nothing for your strength and wellbeing, the real secret to tighten loose skin lies in consistency.
You’ve got to stay consistent with your weight training plan for at least 12 weeks or longer.
That’s was the exact plan for Sue.
She had perfected cardio, but it was time to add a consistent weight training routine in order to firm her arms and tighten her tummy.
1 year later and on a new low dose of medication Sue feels confident and excited to wear tank tops that show off her beautiful arms. She’s got her body back and she’s so proud!
Not to mention, her strength and energy have soared. She feels in control of her body and in control of her health again.
Here are a few tips to get Sue’s Fabulous Results:
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Start Slow:
In order to tighten loose skin, you’ve got to lift heavier weights, but if you’re just starting out, lifting heavy right away is an injury waiting to happen.
Begin by building muscular endurance which includes 4-8 weeks of light weights first. Focus on perfecting your form.
Starters experience an increase in lean muscle that firms the body before lifting heavy, so never fear! You’ll still get the amazing results you’re after.
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Stick with the same workout:
All too often women swap out their workout before their body has had time to adapt to the moves. The goal with a tight, toned body is to eventually go up in weight size.
If you’re constantly changing the workout, that won’t happen. Stick with the same workout for at least 1 month and focus on increasing weight size instead.
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Create a Consistent Plan:
You don’t need to weight train daily in order to see results. Choose a simple number of days you know you can stick with.
It doesn’t have to be the exact same day of the week, but it does have to be the same numbers of days per week. So, when choosing the perfect number think of a busy time in your life. What would have been the greatest number of exercise days you’d be willing to do.
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Workout the whole body:
All too often women will focus on workout moves that target only the area they want to improve, but the real strategy to get firming results is by working out the entire body, especially if you’re trying to lose weight.
Lean muscle you produce during weight training revs up your metabolism and firms the body as you lose fat. The more lean muscle you have, the more fat you’ll burn and the firmer your body becomes (and I promise, it won’t make you look bulky).
Just one caution: The longer you’ve been carrying excess weight, the harder it will be to tighten the loose skin.
The skin has elasticity due to Collagen and elastin fibres in the body, but the longer skin has been stretched out, the more the fibres have become damaged, and can’t bounce back.
That’s why it’s so important to start weight training as soon as possible. So, if you haven’t already, start now.
