You work hard to stay fit and active.

You hike, but do you Strength train?  If so, are you doing everything you can to HOLD ONTO your muscles?

“Bodyweight underestimates body fat during the aging process because adults lose 5 to 7 lbs of muscle every decade of life unless they perform regular strength exercises.”

“Perhaps the main reason that diets do not work over the long term is that up to 25% of the weight lost on low-calorie diets is muscle tissue….muscle loss leads to a reduction in resting metabolic rate, which greatly increases the difficulty of maintaining the weight loss.”

“Several studies have demonstrated greater strength and muscle gains when extra protein is consumed just before or just after the weight workout.”

**A growing body of research has found that another way to increase Protein synthesis is to consume some protein right after strength training.  This doesn’t call for protein supplements – a cup of milk or yogurt after a workout may be enough.**

Above in quotes are excerpts from Chapter 10 of the manual Fitness Professional’s Guide to Strength Training Older Adults.

Above in ** is taken from the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter, Nov 2015 issue

These 2 excellent resources are saying the SAME thing.

And then there’s the question of whether or not you’re doing the BEST exercises for YOU.  That’s another blog post, but the word that describes doing the most efficient, most beneficial exercises for YOU (including the concept of injury prevention) – is programming.  It’s what trainers do for their clients.  Form matters!