Having a toned body is not just about losing weight in the right places, but also about maintaining an appropriate amount of muscle mass on the body. While for young people having a muscular physique does not take a very long time, as their body is very efficient at building muscle tissue from nutrition and some light-weight exercise, for those who have crossed a certain age threshold, building up muscles can become very challenging.
Actress Naomi Watts has recently discussed this very same issue, which has become applicable on her on physique now that the actress has turned 50 years of age.
According to her, she has never been a huge fan of hitting the gym, unlike many other actresses in the Hollywood film industry, but the impact of aging has necessitated that she spends some extra time and effort at the gym to keep herself looking fit.
Weight-Training Has Become Essential
It has become very necessary for the actress to lift some weights if she hopes to keep her muscles from shrinking down. Although you might not have noticed any change in her physique when she appears on the TV show called The Loudest Voice, playing the character of Gretchen Carlson who was a former host at the news outlet Fox News, Watts has witnessed a noticeable change in her look with the passage of time.
While talking to SHAPE, Watts stated that, as we age, the muscles require an increasing amount of hard work to maintain their shape, regardless of how big or small they had become in the past. This means if you don’t indulge in intensive workouts as you age and maintain your current workout regime throughout your life then, with time, you would start losing muscle mass instead of maintaining it.
Lifting Heavier Weights
Many women prefer to lift weights that are lower however increase the intensity of their workouts by adding more repetitions to each set, as this has the effect of toning their body without making them look too muscular. But Watts has moved towards lifting barbells and heavier weights because the smaller weights are simply not good enough to push her muscles far enough to maintain their definition.
Watts also disclosed that she hasn’t subscribed to a hectic workout regimen even though she has increased the intensity of her routine. According to her, she has not committed to waking up way early in the morning, such as around 4 AM, to break a sweat, because, in her words, she is not a fanatic. She likes to mix things up to keep herself interested in working out by changing her timings, including multiple forms of exercise such as yoga (something she loves), and Pilates.
There is no doubt that Watts likes to keep herself looking as amazingly fit as possible, even after having two children. She has a trainer to ensure she sticks to her committed workouts without missing a single rep, as otherwise, according to her, she not only forgets about the way an exercise is supposed to be performed but also loses the motivation to complete all the reps in a set.