How to stay Forever Fit and Firm - Part 4, Strength Training

In my opinion strength training is the best thing you can do to improve your health and fitness level as you age. Strength training is so important because around age 40 you start to experience muscle loss. “If you don’t do anything to replace the lean muscle you lose, you’ll increase the percentage of fat in your body, “says Dr. Edward Laskowski, a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Left unabated you can lose up to 10 lbs of muscle each decade starting at age 40.

The reason that loosing muscle is so detrimental to your fitness is because muscle is the component of your body that burns the majority of the calories you consume each day. Therefore, when you lose muscle your body requires less calories to function and consequently those extra calories you consume are stored as fat around your waist ,hips, and other places.

Your body constantly burn calories, even when we’re doing nothing. This resting metabolic rate is much higher in people with more muscle. Every pound of muscle uses about 6 calories a day just to sustain itself, while each pound of fat burns only 2 calories daily. That small difference can add up over time. In addition, after a bout of resistance training, muscles are activated all over your body, increasing your average daily metabolic rate.

Fortunately strength training can mitigate and even reverse the loss of muscle at any age. Thus, increasing the amount of calories you need to function. That’s why you hear some people say that after they have been strength training for awhile their appetites increase. This is a sign that they are starting to build muscle.

Increasing your metabolism isn’t the only benefit of strength training. It also, helps you:

•  Develop strong bones. By stressing your bones, strength training increases bone density and reduces the risk of osteoporosis.

• Control your weight. As you gain muscle, your body burns more calories more efficiently which can result in weight loss. The more toned your muscles, the easier it is to control your weight.

• Reduce your risk of injury. Building muscle protects your joints from injury. It also helps maintain flexibility and balance which is crucial to remaining independent as you age.

• Boost your stamina. Building muscle helps to increase your energy level.

• Improve your sense of well-being. Strength training can boost your self-confidence, improve your body image, and reduce the risk of depression.

• Sleep better. People who strength train on a regular basis are less likely to have insomnia.

• Manage chronic conditions. Strength training can reduce the signs and symptoms of many chronic conditions, including arthritis, back pain, depression, diabetes, obesity, and osteoporosis.

20 Minute Workout Express

Think you can't get a workout in this week because you are pushed for time?  Checkout my 20 minute workout routines on Health Fitness Nation.

You Must Lift Weights For Firm And Sexy Muscles

Image via WikipediaI get asked my age a lot, and when I tell people that I'm 52, the next question is always, how do you stay so fit and toned?  My answer is, by weight lifting 4 times each week.  By weight lifting, I mean lifting at a resistance and intensity that I can barely complete my last repetition on each exercise.  Exercising at that intensity is really the key to getting firm and staying that way, especially as you get older.

I see far too many people wear themselves out by doing hours of cardio each week, and very little weight lifting.  And, when they do lift weights, they exercise with a resistance that's too small to produce results.  You've seen them, they are doing their weight lifting routine while carrying on a conversation with their friends (and they wonder why they see very little results).

When you lift weights, you must have enough resistance to overload your muscles to the point of exhaustion, that place where you find it difficult to do one more repetition.  When you exercise like that, your muscles are worn to the point where they must be repaired  by your body and consequently, they are made stronger.  Then your body starts to firm-up and look sexy, no matter what age.

My Three Staple Exercises

Image by United States Marine Corps Official Page via FlickrRecently,  a client asked me if I could only do three exercises, what would they be?  After some consideration, I said I would do pullups, pushup, and barbell squats.  I told the client that he could target all the major muscle groups with these three exercises.

Let's look at these three exercises and see if they would be a complete whole body workout.

Pullups target the major muscles of the upper back, the biceps,  and the forearms.  The core muscles are also worked as long as pullups are done in a smooth and controlled manor.

Pushups target the major muscles of the chest, the shoulders, and the triceps.  The core muscles are also strongly used when pushups are done with strict form.

Barbell Squats target the quads, hamstrings, and the glutes.  Squats are also one of the best exercises there is for developing core strength when done properly.

There you have it.  These are the three exercises I would do if I was limited to doing only three.  What three exercises would you do?

Try Giant Sets When You Are Stressed For Time

Image via WikipediaEver have one of those days or weeks when it seems like you just don't have an extra minute to spare?  You've been doing so well with your fitness program and you want to workout, but you don't have an hour to spend at the gym.  So, what do you do, skip your workout and feel guilty, or skip some other thing you had planned  and feel bad about that also?

Giant sets is the answer to your problem.  Giant sets is a training method in which you do three or more exercises, one after the other, with no rest in between.  The idea is to do a series of exercises in a row, take a brief rest period and then repeat the sequence for your desired number of sets.  This is a good way to get an excellent workout done in a short amount of time (usually under 30 minutes).

I like to design my giant sets to hit the following major muscle groups; back, chest, and legs.  I typically do 10 to 15 repetitions of each exercise for 3 complete sets with no more than 60 seconds rest between sets.  Here's what one of my giant sets looks like:

• Back, lat pulldowns or seated low rows
• Chest, flat dumbbell presses or pushups
• Legs, barbell squats or walking lunges

3 sets of the above workout only takes about 20 minutes to complete, but I assure you it is effective.  If the workout seems too easy, increase your resistance, and if it's too hard, decrease your resistance.  Try it out and let me know what you think.

Keeping Your Muscle Is The Key To Fitness Over 40

Image by Rtist MrB via FlickrAs a personal trainer, I am in and out of health clubs all day. I love to observe the things people do in their efforts to "get in shape". The major thing I notice, is the over-whelming amount of cardio I see women doing while neglecting to do much strength training.

While cardio is an important part of any fitness program, it should not be the primary focus, especially if you are female and over 40 years of age. In your 20s you could knock off those extra pounds by just running on the treadmill a few extra times each week.  However, as you approach your 40s and beyond that plan isn't effective anymore and here's why.

As you enter your late 30s you start to lose muscle, and muscle is that part of your body that burns the majority of the calories that you consume each day.  A pound of muscle burns about 6 calories a day even while your are resting, and a pound of fat only burns around one calorie per day.

 If you don't do anything to combat the above scenario, you can lose as much as 10 lbs of muscle each decade beginning in your 40s.  That decreases your metabolism by about 60 calories a day every 10 years of your life.  So, that's about 21,900 calories a year that's being converted to fat, which is approximately 6 lbs of fat you gain each year.


I know, this is a very sad scenario, but there is hope.  Your savior is called strength training.  By incorporating strength training in your fitness program you can slow, and in some cases, even reverse muscle loss.  And, it's never too late to start, studies have shown the positive results of strength training in people well into their 90s.

Adding Muscle By Visual Impact

This system by Visual Impact is ideal for someone looking to add muscle without the bulk. That 'lean Hollywood look' as their website refers to it. Check it out. I'm sure the same results can be accomplished by most with a good combo of resistance training, strength training, cardio, and improved dietary habits. But for those who are struggling not matter what they have tried might wanna check out their system.

Not Your Typical 52 Year Old's Exercise Program

Let start this post by stating that I'm 52 years old and I've been lifting weights for most of my adult life.  I'm as strong (actually stronger), and I feel as good as I did 30 years ago.  I'm 6 foot 2 inches tall, and I weigh in at 218 lbs at 10 percent body fat.  I'm not telling you this to brag on myself, but hopefully to change your concept of aging.

I'm an ACE certified personal trainer and I specialize in fitness over the age of 40.  I hear and see far too many people over 40 years of age blame their aches, pains, and poor physical condition on "getting old", when most of their physical calamities are the result of years of inactivity and bad lifestyle choices.

I believe that getting old has less to do with years and more to do with your attitude and the daily choices you make.  Imagine your body being healthy, strong, and fit as you grow older and this will lead you to make the healthy choices to manifest the the healthy, strong, and fit life you want no matter what age.

What's more compelling than an example to show you that you can be healthy, strong, and fit in your 40s, 50s, and beyond.  Here is my workout routine I did yesterday. It was a heavy lifting day for my shoulders and back, so I did the following:

• Lateral shoulder raises, 3 sets of 5 repetitions with 60 lb dumbbells.
• Overhead shoulder presses, 3 sets of 5 repetitions with 80 lb dumbbells.
• Shoulder shrugs, 3 sets of 5 repetitions with 315 lbs.
• Bent over dumbbell rows, 3 sets of 5 repetitions with a 150 lb dumbbell.
• Weighted pullups, 3 sets of 5 repetitions with 35 lbs attached to my waist.
• Lat pulls, 3 sets of 5 repetitions with 270 lbs.

This is not your typical 52 year old's workout, but it could be.

If You Are Over 50, You Can Be Stronger In 10 Years Than You Are Now

Image via WikipediaLately I've noticed a lot of fitness videos and programs aimed at those of us over the age of 50.  It seems that these programs have good intentions, however the exercises and fitness routines they recommend are more geared toward people in retirement communities.  Just because you are over 50, you don't have to decrease your exercise intensity to the point of working out with resistance bands and light weight dumbbells.

If you are in poor physical condition, using resistance bands, and light weights is a place to start in your quest to improve your health and fitness level, but it isn't a place for you to stay for very long.  The ripe young age of 50 is where you really need to concentrate on building and maintaining your muscle mass and the best way to do this is with strength training.

Building muscle is important because you naturally start to lose your muscle mass at a rate of about 1 lb per year beginning in your 40s.   Muscle is that component of your body that makes your joints strong, keeps your metabolism high (which makes losing weight easier), and helps you remain youthful and strong.

Regular strength training can slow and even reverse muscle loss.  Studies have shown that people in their 80s and 90s can build muscle and get stronger by weight lifting.  I'm a firm believer in regular weight lifting.

I'm in my fifties and I've been weight lifting for over 30 years.  I'm stronger and more fit than I was in my 20s.  If you are over 50, starting a regular strength training program is one of the most important things you can do for your fitness.  If you start now, by the time you are in your 60s you can say, "I'm stronger now than I was 10 years ago."  Wouldn't that be awesome?






 

Fitness Model & Bodybuilder Samuel Okunola

Fitness model Samuel Okunola shares his workout and diet with SimplyShredded.com. This guy has on of the fittest physiques in the business. This is being 'shredded' at its best. Lean muscle without the puffy bulky look which is much healthier from an overall fitness standpoint. Read more about Sameul clicking the link below:

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Do Your Cardiovascular Exercise In Your Target Heart Zone

Image via WikipediaPeople often ask me what's the best equipment to use for cardiovascular exercise. My standard reply is any equipment that raises their heart rate and keeps it in their target heart rate zone. The next question I get is, what is my target heart rate zone? To which I reply, if they are going to spend 30 to 45 minutes on a piece of cardiovascular equipment they should know at what intensity level they should be exercising to get the most out of their workout.

In this post I will take the mystery out of explaining your target heart rate, so you can get the best results from your cardiovascular workouts. A brief explanation of how your body responds to exercise will help you understand how to do your cardio in a manner that is most efficient in helping you to burn body fat and firm-up.

Your body has two basic ways of generating energy for your muscles in response to exercise. One is by a method in which your body uses oxygen to burn calories to provide fuel to your exercising muscles. In this method your body is most efficient in burning stored body fat because fat must have oxygen present to be converted into energy to fuel your muscles. Activities which cause your body to use this method to generate energy are called aerobic. Examples are brisk walking and slow running. When you are doing activities such as these you are exercising in the aerobic zone.

The other method which your body provides fuel to your muscles is without the use of oxygen. In this method your body primarily uses carbohydrates that are stored in the muscle to generate energy. Activities that require a quick burst of energy such as heavy weight lifting and sprinting requires your body to use this method. Activities that causes your body to use this energy production system are called anaerobic exercises.

Knowing which energy system you are using when you exercise is important if you want to maximize fat burning. In my fitness program I do strength training in the anaerobic zone to build and maintain muscle and I do cardio in the aerobic zone to burn fat.

When planning your cardio exercise program design it around the following three concepts:

Frequency – I recommend you do at least 3 sessions of cardio each week but no more than 5. This is ample exercise to realize the health benefits, and burn body fat while giving your body maximum recovery time to build and maintain your hard earned muscle mass. I personally do 3 to 4 cardio sessions per week as a part of my fitness program.

Intensity – I suggest you do your cardio exercise in the range of 60 to 80 percent of your estimated maximum heart rate. This is called your aerobic zone and is where your body is most efficient at burning fat as fuel. Anything above 80 percent of your estimated maximum heart rate is going tap into your anaerobic energy production system which means you stop using stored body fat to feed your muscles.

Use the following method to calculate your estimated maximum heart rate and your aerobic exercise zone. Take the number 220 and subtract your age. This is your estimated maximum heart rate. Now take 60 percent of this number to get the lower end of the range of your aerobic zone and 80 percent of this number to get the upper end.

For example, I am 51 years old so my estimated maximum heart rate is 220 – 51 = 169 beats per minute (bpm). Therefore, the lower end of the range of my aerobic zone is 169 bpm x 60% = 101 bpm and the upper end of my aerobic zone is 169 bpm x 80% = 135 bpm. So when I do my cardio exercise I do it at a heart rate in the range of 101 to 135 bpm.

The easiest the way to see if you are staying in your aerobic zone is with a heart rate monitor. If you do not have access to a heart rate monitor you can use the following method to check your heart rate and stay in your aerobic zone. Take the lower and upper range numbers you calculated above and divide them by 4. This is your 15 second heart rate count. Then periodically during your workout stop and check your pulse for 15 seconds to see if your heart rate falls between the 2 numbers you just calculated.

I’ll use my example again. The lower and upper ends of the range of my aerobic zone is 101 and 135 bpm respectively. Therefore, my 15 second heart rate count is 101bpm / 4 = 25 for the lower end of the range and 135 / 4 = 34 for the upper end. Thus, when I’m doing my cardio and I stop to check my pulse for 15 seconds and the number I get is between 25 and 34 I’m in my aerobic exercise zone. This is the intensity range that my body is most efficient in burning fat for fuel to provide my muscles the energy to exercise.

Duration – It is my observation that you get the most benefit from your cardio program when combined with strength training if you do between 30 and 45 minutes 3 to 5 days each week. Do the 30 minute sessions after strength training and the 45 minute sessions on the days you do not weight lift.

Design your cardio exercise program around the three principles above and you’ll see a real difference in the way you look and feel.

Exercise of the Week; The Dumbbell Row

The dumbbell row is a good alternative to the seated row that I mentioned in one of my earlier posts. It it is a great exercise to strengthen and develop the muscles of the upper back.

Hold a dumbbell in one hand, and place the opposite knee on a bench. Lean forward, and place your other hand on the bench. Step to your side with the other leg bending your knee slightly. Proper form is very important on this exercise, so be careful that your lower back is not rounded. Hold the dumbbell fully extended beneath your shoulder. This is your starting position. Now, slowly pull the dumbbell to underarm height, squeeze your shoulder blade toward your spine and return slowly to the start position. The breathing pattern is to exhale as you pull the dumbbell toward you and inhale as you return to start.

I recommend that beginners do 2 sets of 10 repetitions of this exercise and those who are more experienced do 3 sets of 10 repetitions.

Exercise of the Week; The Leg Press

The leg press is one of the best exercises for overall strength and development of your legs. First, sit in the seat, positioning your feet about shoulder width apart and chest high on the platform. Adjust the seat height by pulling the handle and sliding forward until your thighs are parallel to the platform. This is your start position (make sure that your lower back is pressed firmly against the back of the seat). With your feet flat, slowly press upward until your legs are fully extended but short of locking. Slowly return to the position where the weight almost touch the weight stack. The breathing pattern for this exercise is to exhale as you press up and inhale as you return to the start. Again, you will have to experiment to find a weight with which the last three repetitions are difficult to perform.

If you are new to strength training do 2 sets of 12 repetitions. If you are a veteran of strength training do 3 to 4 sets of 10 repetitions.

Exercise of the Week; Lateral Dumbbell Raise

The lateral dumbbell raise develops and strengthens your shoulders. Start by holding a dumbbell in each hand in front of you. Position your feet shoulder width, slightly bend your knees, and hold your chest high. This is your starting position. Bend your elbows slightly and raise your hands out to your sides about shoulder height with your palms facing down then return to your starting position. Be careful to keep your forearm and your elbow at the same level at the finish of this movement. Your breathing pattern is to exhale as you raise your arms up and inhale as you return to start.

Combine this exercise with the 3 previous (lat pulldown, seated low row, and dumbbell chest press) exercises for a routine that works all the major muscle groups of your upper body. Do this routine 2 times each week to keep your upper body tone and strong.

If you are new to weight lifting do 1 to 2 sets of 10 repetitions of each exercise. If you have some experience with strength training do 3 to 4 sets of 10 repetitions of each exercise.