Regardless of the look you're going for, it is so encouraging to see so many women embracing strength training. Wonder why so many of our mothers or grandmothers suffer from osteoperosis and the like? (I swear my great grandmother shrunk every year!) It is because lean muscle builds your bone density. You can't get it back and you WILL lose bone density and muscle after menapause. The best defense is to build it up and get enough calcium before that time.

Women were always overlooked in the fitness world because we don't have enough testosterone to naturally look like Arnold. But now we've come to accept the beauty of the natural female form and understand the health benefits of being strong women. We are now living longer healthier lives than generations before us.

And, while I realize many of the standards set by what should be our female role models are weakening, there are some positives in today's culture. For instance, even just 10 years ago, you'd never see a female action hero. Women's movie roles were limited to Bond girls or Damsels in Distress. Now, there are butt kickin' female action hero's out there- and people are buying tickets like crazy to see them! I love it!

Okay, that's my soapbox- sorry, I'll step off. I get pretty passionate about fitness- don't let me bore you to death.