NatNews

Regardless of what method of exercise you prefer most, incorporating strength training into your routine is a helpful strategy that can result in joint protection, improved heart health, less likelihood for injuries, an increased metabolism, enhanced mobility, improved mood, sharper thinking, and increased levels of confidence.

Other than the long-term benefits, many individuals also enjoy the way building body strength makes them feel overall. Dallas resident Damon Yousefy said he strength trains six days a week, primarily early in the morning before he goes to work. 

“I enjoy getting stronger, feeling sore, and the camaraderie in the gym,” he said. “It feels special knowing I’m part of a group that wakes up before dawn to work out and make ourselves better. The aesthetic benefits and having big muscles are also nice perks. I also love to eat, so increasing my metabolism has been a huge benefit.”

Dallas-area resident Jaclyn Byrom said she strength trains at least three days, sometimes four, each week at Burn Boot Camp, which has a different protocol each day. For Byrom, building strength is in stark contrast to certain expectations that existed in the past.

“I grew up in diet culture,” she said. “As a girl, you worked out to be skinny. Now I strength train to be strong. The thing I enjoy most is when I can pick up a heavier weight than I have previously. It reminds me that I can do hard things.”

Focusing on strength training can also offer some youthful advantages. A recent study published in the journal Biology revealed that incorporating strength training into one’s workout routine on a regular basis can decrease biological aging. Specifically, in the study’s national sample, on average, 90 minutes per week of strength training was associated with 3.9 years fewer in biological aging. The study noted that such exercise results in longer telomeres, protective DNA caps at the ends of chromosomes, slowing cellular aging.

As an avid gymgoer, Yousefy said he certainly believes in the accuracy of the study.

“Strength training keeps us fit, makes our skin tighter, and prevents erosion of bone density, keeping us young,” he said. “The older we get, the more susceptible we are to broken bones, and building strength makes us more durable. Plus, I have more energy thanks to strength training, and that keeps me feeling young.”

As an added youthful benefit, Yousefy said he also appreciates the results his strength training provides him when it comes to the ability to wear fitted shirts as well as other apparel options.

“I think everyone looks better if they exercise, and even a suit looks better if the wearer works out,” he said.

Byrom said she isn’t immune from feeling the effects of the reality of her birth year moving farther and farther away on online drop-down menus, as entering her 40s has caused her to realize how much hormones affect “all of the things,” but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t notice the impact strength training has had in her life.

“I feel stronger than I did in my 20s,” she said. “I am not sure that I feel more youthful, but I think that I am more capable of doing physical things than most people my age.”

Byrom said in addition to the aforementioned benefits, after a recent meniscus surgery, she was able to graduate from physical therapy and rejoin her training several weeks ahead of schedule. But she is also grateful for the ease with which she is able to go about adventures as well as everyday tasks without having to worry about physical limitations.

“I really attribute that (as do my doctors) to my muscle memory from strength training,” she said. “Other benefits are being able to do things like hike, kayak, and jog when we visit new places. The silly things that I notice are that I can do pretty much anything I need to—move things from the attic, carry the groceries in one trip, help move furniture. It sounds simple, but strength training allows me to be my most independent self.”

No one is born with freckles. These skin spots, medically known as ephelides, develop later in childhood as a defense mechanism after sun exposure on individuals who are genetically predispositioned.

The shopping experience certainly looks different today than it did before options such as Amazon, Etsy, and the online sites of essentially every retailer you can imagine existed. Not everything is purchased with a few clicks, though, and sometimes people still find themselves inside buildings with other humans looking to buy whatever it is they need or want at the time.

Such an in-person adventure often involves interacting with other individuals, whether one wants to do so or not. While the use of headphones or talking on the phone can help block the possibility of having to respond with “no, thanks—I’m just looking” when a store employee asks if an individual needs help finding anything, there is still the chance one might need to talk to someone at some point.

There are people who don’t mind having exchanges with employees while they are out shopping, and there are also those who would rather be left completely alone and not even have a store worker ask if they need help of any kind. Dallas-area resident Alexis Derrow said she likes the idea of having a button or other form of alert to indicate when she needs help, but she also said she would rather have an employee ask if she needs assistance rather than not.

“Sometimes you want help and can’t find a person, and that’s worse,” she said. “Then you’re wandering around with an armful of clothes desperate for someone to open a fitting room. When I want help, I want help—pull more clothes for me, suggest sizes, or bring something similar at a different price point.”

Derrow added that she is especially appreciative for a significant amount of help in certain situations that become more complicated and frustrating when she is left on her own.

“Getting a new batch of clothes after you’re in the fitting room is a nightmare,” she said. “That’s why people go shopping with friends—it’s a two-person effort.”

One aspect of Nordstrom of which Derrow has become a fan is its option to use a personal shopper, which is a free service the store provides its customers.

“I love it,” she said. “Sometimes I buy a lot, and sometimes I don’t, but I’ll send her things to buy for me, so she gets the commission if I don’t buy a lot in the personal shopping session.”

However, there are also individuals unlike Derrow who would rather avoid interacting much with anyone when on a retail mission. Dallas resident Drew Mbiam doesn’t think the in-person shopping experience should be completely void of store employees or interactions with such individuals, but he wants any conversations with them to be the result of a choice he makes.

“If it can be avoided, I won’t talk to the people of the store,” he said. “But if I don’t know where something is or need help, store employees are good to have around.”

Target recently implemented a guest engagement program known as the 10-4 policy, which requires employees to make eye contact, smile, wave, and use welcoming body language toward customers who are within 10 feet and to cordially greet those who are within 4 feet. This new requirement for employees was enacted in an effort to improve the customer experience and deepen loyalty among shoppers and as a response to recent sales slumps and negative publicity the company experienced in regard to its decreased diversity initiatives.

While not everyone is on board with Target’s new employee standards, some shoppers still appreciate a little acknowledgment sometimes. Derrow said she thinks store employees should be required at least to ask if a customer needs any assistance.

“I’ve seen salespeople oblivious to someone needing help,” she said. “Ask, ask, ask.”

Mbiam, on the other hand, said if a customer doesn’t have a need to talk to or interact with an employee, then there isn’t a need for the employee to force such a greeting or exchange.

“There should be something like probable cause before people have to talk,” he said. “Setting quotas can incentivize bad behavior.”

After all, many individuals like Mbiam are simply trying to limit the time they are in a place so that they can go about the rest of the day.

“I get in the store and get out in under 5–10 minutes,” he said, “because I get exactly what I want.”

WEEKLY PHOTO OP

The NatNews girl gang recently cruised the mean streets in style  

Monday, December 29: Please tell your people to subscribe to NatNews
Tuesday, December 30: Tom Petty Tribute — American Petty at Granada Theater
Wednesday, December 31: Stars vs. Sabres at the American Airlines Center; Plenty of NYE celebrations throughout Dallas; Rhinestone Rodeo NYE Party at Legacy Hall
Thursday, January 1: Mavs vs. 76ers at the American Airlines Center
Friday, January 2: World Introvert Day; Dustin Nickerson at Addison Improv (also on Saturday)
Saturday, January 3: WRRC Saturday run from Taco Joint; Free First Saturdays at the Nasher Museum; Mavs vs. Rockets at the American Airlines Center; Matchbox Twenty Tribute at Legacy Hall
Sunday, January 4: Stars vs. Canadiens at the American Airlines Center; Candlelight — The Wizard of Oz at Edison’s