The Importance of Muscle

Statistically speaking men and women after the age of 35 tend to lose 1% of their muscle mass per year. This is not a trend that needs to take place but due to our sedentary behavior we aren't using are muscles like we used to when we had to work the land, hunt for food, or walk to and from work. The following are specific reasons why we need to maintain a strong and healthy body.

1. Develop strong bones. By stressing your bones, strength training can increase bone density and reduce the risk of osteoporosis.

2. Manage your weight. Strength training can help you manage or lose weight, and it can increase your metabolism to help you burn more calories.

3. Enhance your quality of life Strength training may enhance your quality of life and improve your ability to do everyday activities. Building muscle also can contribute to better balance and may reduce your risk of falls. This can help you maintain independence as you age.

4. Manage chronic conditions.Strength training can reduce the signs and symptoms of many chronic conditions, such as arthritis, back pain, obesity, heart disease, depression and diabetes.

5. Sharpen your thinking skills.Some research suggests that regular strength training and aerobic exercise may help improve thinking and learning skills for older adults.

Safe ways to build muscle: The Big 5

The program consists exclusively of compound exercises, meaning that they involve rotation around several joint axes and therefore involve also several muscular groups per exercise.

How it works:

- Two minutes per exercise: 10 seconds forward 10 seconds back. = 6 reps at 20 seconds per rep

- At two minutes, the muscles should be fatigued to the point of exhaustion.

- Make sure to sustain continuous movement during the exercise making sure to not rest at the top or the bottom of the repetition.

- As soon as the exercise is done (at the two minute mark) as quickly and efficiently as possible move to the next exercise and immediately begin.

- Don’t forget to BREATHE!

- How often? Once you have completed this exercise you need to focus on recovery. This means repeat every 5 to 7 days.

- Perks: One workout that covers everything with only 10-12 minutes of work per week.

1. Seated Row (Upper Body Pull) Do not try to tuck your elbows in or flare them out. Let them ride

neutrally in the natural plane along which they tend to want to move

– tracking in line with your hands, wrists and shoulder while trying to

draw your shoulder blades together.

2. Chest Press/push-ups (Upper Body Push) Start the movement with plane of your palms at the front of your armpits,

which means that the arms should be kept at a 45-degree angle to your body.

Press your arms forward smoothly, and stop just short of lockout, so that

the muscle stays loaded and you’re not resting on a bone-on-bone tower

with your elbows locked. When you’re lowering the weight, the lower

turnaround should be performed when your palms are about even with

your front portion of your chest. Concentrate on keeping your shoulders

tucked down as you perform this exercise (important!).

3. Lat Pull-down/pull-ups Have your arms in front of you, not out to the sides, and use an underhand

grip, with your hands a little narrower than shoulder-width apart. This grip

is preferred because it provides a slightly greater range of motion. From

a position in which your arms are fully extended above your head, pull the

handles (or bar) down to the top of your chest. Hold the concentration for

three to five seconds before allowing your arms to return up to the

straight position.

Overhead Press/ It is important to move your arms overhead with your hand in

front of you, rather than out to the sides.

Leg Press/Squats The machine should be preset so that when you are seated in the

machine in the flexed or tucked position, your thighs are perpendicular

to the ceiling. Push your legs slowly and smoothly out to the point just

short of lockout. You don’t want your knees to be locked out, as this

creates a loss of muscle tension during the bone-on-bone tower. From

this position perform a slow transition, or reverse of direction, with

your legs now bending until they have returned to the starting position.

In a machine in which you are standing: Your feet should be

shoulder-width apart, and your back should be straight. Slowly bend

your knees, keeping you back straight, until the bar on your shoulders

lightly touches the weight stack. Descend with control, not rapidly.

Resources:

*Body by science by: Dr. Doug McGuff and John Little