YOUR BODY IS WEARING OUT – FROM THE INSIDE OUT

No, no, it’s not just your imagination. You’ve changed. And there is a reason (yes, a real, scientific one) why you can’t inhale half a pizza without gaining weight and going up a size in clothes!

Sorry to break the news, but you’ve aged.

And your body is wearing out.

For every decade of your life, your metabolism slows by about 3%. Muscle burns more calories than any other tissue in the body and you lose about half a pound (225gm) of muscle every year.

And the news gets worse with menopause and manopause.

After the age of 50, your muscle loss accelerates to a pound (450gm) a year. Even active people complain about this -- they say "I'm eating the same, I'm running the same distance, but I'm gaining weight." Then to make things worse, they think the solution is to run more … but that just leads to overuse injuries. 

It’s a vicious cycle.

Muscle keeps us strong; it burns calories and helps us maintain our weight. It also contributes to balance and bone strength. Without it, we can lose our independence and our mobility.

We love the quote from George Burns, who lived to the age of 100:

"If I had have known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself!"

What to do

You need to strength train.

Use weights to maintain and rebuild your muscle; or if you’re really dislike weight workouts try interval training. Our Cardio Power Plate classes  are a fantastic combination of weight training and interval training. 

Just 20 - 30 minutes of strength training, 2 - 3 times a week is enough to regain about 2.5 pounds (1.1kg) of muscle in 10 weeks.

That's like turning the clock back 5 years - in under 3 months.

Resistance or interval training should push you hard and be challenging. You need to do 10 - 15 reps at a time - the last one should be difficult - rest for 30 secs, then do it again. Cardio intervals should be alternated between fast and slow intensities - not plodding along at the same pace.

A comprehensive body scan by DEXA SCAN will give you an up-to-date report of your current muscle mass, body fat and bone density.  Contact Measure Up for a 10% discount for all RANCAN SISTERS FITNESS members.