Building and keeping muscle, your metabolically active tissue, is a key element for long term health, vitality, longevity and fat loss. One of the causes, as well as symptom of the aging process is sarcopenia (muscle loss). Sarcopenia leads to overall weakness and is a direct cause of a decreased metabolic rate. As you can see from the photo, muscle is denser than fat. Muscle takes up less space in the body, and burns more calories than fat. The more lean muscle mass you have, the higher your metabolic rate, and the longer you will live.
Case in point why the scale is not your best tool for monitoring fat loss. Two individuals can have the same body weight and height, but have completely different body compositions and body dimensions. On the other hand, you can have two individuals with equal body fat percentage, however the leaner person weighs more on the scale due to the higher lean tissue. BioSignature developed by world renowned Olympic Strength Coach, Charles Poliquin, is my preferred method of testing body composition.
The majority of women opt for aerobic/cardio exercise as their exercise of choice. What they don’t realize is that excessive long, slow distance (LSD) exercise is counterproductive in changing your body. Cardio (LSD) decreases muscle mass, increases inflammation and oxidative stress, disrupts hormone balance, increases cortisol thereby increasing insulin, and accelerates aging. For over 20 years now, I have advised my clients, men and women alike, against excessive LSD exercise if their goal is to look and feel better, lose fat and obtain a lean physique.
My own personal workouts are structured and focused on interval style and resistance training. The time I commit to a workout is 40-60 minutes, and that includes my warm up and cool down. My goal is ideal body composition, reduced fat, more work in less time spent, increased muscle, anti-aging, a less catabolic environment, and a leaner, healthier physique. What works about intervals and resistance training is that it is extremely effective for hormonal balance, enhances an anabolic response, increasing/maintaining lean tissue, post exercise calorie burning is ramped up along with increased insulin sensitivity and growth hormone, and is superior for fat loss.
My resistance programs include a variety of Olympics lifts, push ups, chin ups and pull ups (pushing and pulling exercises), deadlifts (one of my favorite), squats, various styles of single leg exercises, lunges, and plyometrics. I use a variety of equipment too including dumbbells, the TRX, sandbags, medicine balls, bands, pulleys, Glute-Ham Raise (another favorite), Swiss balls, kettlebells, barbells, and my own body weight. Building muscle and maintaining an anabolic drive will keep you looking younger, leaner and feeling better than ever.
Do you have to join a gym to increase muscle? Not necessarily. For a minimal investment, you can create the perfect set up at home. Visit my website to find everything you need to get started. You’ll even find yoga DVDs and foam rollers, which I highly recommend to complement your yang training.
Here are my personal favorites to get you started on your HOME GYM:
READ Part 2 What is REALLY takes to Change Your Body, Boost Your Metabolism and Lose Fat – Permanently
