Your Body Is Changing in One Direction — Unless You Intervene.

Do you remember the excitement of growing? Adding inches so you were finally tall enough to ride the rollercoaster? Gaining pounds and muscles so you could hit a home run? Hitting puberty and reaching for your first love?

We are designed to change from the moment of birth.

After 30, the biological changes start to reverse. Yes, 30. No wonder that birthday felt like such a big deal.

What happens then? Sarcopenia is Greek for the loss of muscle. Your muscles are designed to respond to stimuli. This loss happens in the absence of load. If you don’t use them, you start to lose muscle mass and strength at 30.

Change the change.

This is precisely – at 68 – why I offer my strength training programs to people over 30.

Training is an intervention that is in your control.

As you approach 40, what happens to your muscles starts to happen to your bones. Peak bone density is also around 30, but typically, bone loss doesn’t start until 40. That is still pretty young and gives you plenty of time to counteract.

The body changes whether we participate or not. Muscles atrophy, bone density shrinks, and power declines, but only if we don’t apply stimulus.

Change the change.

Apply force to the change that is coming.

Consistency is the lever.

It is common for people to notice weight changes after 40. The loss of muscle – if allowed to happen – will cause you to burn fewer calories. The same consumption will add weight. Genes and other factors play a role, but it is most common that metabolism – without intervention – slows as you age.

The negative direction of these changes is sharpest among inactive people. Along with muscle and bone loss and slowing metabolism, your nervous system gets less efficient. Signals slow, and your ability to turn on for power evaporates. Strength isn’t just muscle. It’s communication. And communication improves with practice.

We’re designed to grow, and then we are designed to die. That is our biology.

Consistent strength training buys you time. You make muscle, bone, boost your metabolism, and stimulate your nervous system.

Functionally, you perform better in life and in sports, sleep well, and feel good.

My 68th year is nothing like what I imagined it would be. I have no chronic pain. My strength training manages my arthritis, maintaining my range of motion and flexibility. I weigh less than I did at 30. My core is tighter than it was at 40. My nervous system is most often parasympathetic (rest and digest) instead of sympathetic (flight vs. fight).

How?

I strength train three times a week. Consistently. If I miss a day, I make it up. I rest for 48 hours in between but hit those days without fail.

I row, walk, hike, rock climb, and bike for cardio. My dog is a great excuse for a walk!

I eat for health and enjoyment. I do not deprive myself.

I can’t stop my body from changing. I will die. But I can live life to the fullest as long as I am here.

Change the change.

Left alone, the body adapts downward.

Don’t leave it alone.

If you are over 30 – or approaching – now is the time to apply stimulus.

If you’re over 30 and ready to change the direction of your adaptation, that’s the work I do.
Email me or book a call.
Let’s apply the right stimulus.