2 Reasons YOU Should Strength Train To Lose Weight!

2 Reasons YOU Should Strength Train To Lose Weight!

1.  Themore muscle you have, the higher your base metabolism will be and the morecalories you will burn even at rest. 
2.  Second reason is more important. Whenever you loseweight, you will lose some muscle along with the fat. If you don't exercise anddo some strength training, up to 30% of the weight you lose can come frommuscle loss, that isn't likely to be healthy over the long haul. Goodstrength and muscle tone are essential for functional living and health. Youcan hold your muscle loss down to 3-5% total weightloss with moderatestrength training. 

Strength training helps to preserve bone density,balance, and many other important things. 


Strength traineach muscle group at least twice a week--this really only takes about 30-45minutes per workout. Better yet, try circuit training, where you lift weightswithout resting between sets. This method meets both cardio and strengthrequirements because you keep your heart rate elevated throughout your workout,increasing the amount of calories you burn per workout. 

3 things are key to good health and longevity: 

Exercise, Good Nutrition, and Commitment.

Lifting Heavy is the Key to Weight Loss.  We know that losing fat involves increasing your metabolism. What you may not know is that muscle plays a huge role in raising metabolism. A pound of muscle burns about 10-20 calories a day while a pound of fat burns 5 calories. That means any growth in your muscle tissue is going to help you burn more calories all day long. In fact, strength training has all kinds of great effects on your body like:
·       Increasing resting metabolic rate so you burn more calories, even while at rest.

·      Making you lean and slim--muscle takes up less space than fat so, the more you have, the slimmer you are.
·     Strengthening bones and connective tissue, which can protect your body from injuries in daily life
·      Enhancing balance and stability
·      Building confidence and self-esteem

3 Tips to Improve Your Posture

3 Tips to Improve Your Posture

Establishing good posture habits involves more than just standing up straight. It means allowing your bones, ligaments and tendons (not your muscles) to support your body weight. When your muscles must bear your body weight and move it at the same time, they can't relax. Constricted muscles don't move freely or efficiently, causing pain and sometimes injury.

Postural alignment plays an important "support" role whenever your foot hits the ground. If your muscles have to support your body weight with each step, you'll tire more quickly. If you're bent at the waist, your lower back, quadriceps and neck muscles will be carrying your weight, which makes for inefficient running and post-workout soreness.

Focus your attention on the line your spine makes as it runs from the top of your head to the end of your tailbone. Return your attention to your spine as often as possible all day long, no matter what you're doing. Let it become a daily practice.

Don't run bent at the waist. Finishing a run with soreness in your lower back usually indicates you've been running bent at the waist. Instead, Chi Running encourages you to allow gravity to pull you forward by leaning slightly from the ankles, not the waist. Throughout your runs, make sure you're leaning from the ankles and not stressing your lower back muscles.

Engage your core by leveling your pelvis. Start by standing with your feet parallel and hip width apart. Imagine you have a string attached to the top of your head that is pulling you up, making you tall and straight. Drop your chin slightly and look straight ahead. Next, pull up on your pubic bone with your lower abdominal muscles while relaxing your glutes. Hold this position for 30 seconds. Doing this exercise throughout your day will strengthen your abs, allowing you to hold your posture straighter while running, swimming, sitting, standing, or even driving your car.

Practice initiating all movement from your core, the largest muscle group in your body, rather than the smaller muscles of your extremities.

The benefits of good posture are endless, and you can practice it anywhere, anytime. Whether you're running, sitting, or even sleeping, your whole body will thank you.

Weight lift to reach fitness goals and lose weight!

Weight lift to reach fitness goals and lose weight!

Strength training exercises are important for your good health, weight loss and fitness success.  Bottom line: If you do not use weight lifting exercise on a regular basis you simply will not reach your goals.

Your health is the most valuable asset you have…without it you'll inevitably spend everything you have, financially and emotionally, to get it back!


Strength training is important regardless of your age and becomes even more critical after age 30.

There are many ways that you can incorporate it into your life even if you think you can't.

Weight lifting on a repeated basis will help you to improve your physical appearance, fitness level and reduce your risk of health problems like heart disease.

Strength exercises on a regular basis will help you lose a lot of weight, a lot more than any cardio exercise ever could.

In addition, before doing any weight lifting, make sure you warm up your muscles properly. Don't do any weight lifting when your muscles are cold.

Warm up 5 to 10 minutes on a stationary bike, treadmill, etc. is sufficient.

You know that weight lifting is good for you, so make it a part of your every day routine. You can effectively exercise while keeping up with your other everyday-jobs.

When I’m out for a walk with my dogs, I find a bench or short wall and do push ups to fatigue, triceps dips and then repeat.

Strength training helps you lose weight, improves your health so you can live a longer and more productive life.  Be sure to include strength training exercises in your over-all exercise plan.


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Why it's important to Strength train and exercise as we age.

Why it's important to Strength train and exercise as we age.

During a fitness class I talked about the Importance of Resistance Training as we are aging and how important it is to continue to exercise, eat right, take time for meditation and stretching.

Strength training is the only type of exercise that can maintain muscle and metabolism as we age, and should be an essential component of every senior fitness program.

Men and women who do not perform regular resistance exercise experience a decrease in muscle mass throughout the aging process. Research indicates that inactive adults lose about one-half pound of muscle per year during their 30's and 40's.  The rate of muscle loss may double to one-pound per year in people past 50 years of age. Unfortunately, the higher rate of fat gain masks the muscle loss. Adults typically lose about 5 pounds of muscle and add about 15 pounds of fat each decade during the midlife years.

Based on bodyweight the average adult changes approximately 10 pounds per decade, but based on body composition the average adult changes approximately 20 pounds per decade (5 pounds less muscle and 15 pounds more fat).  A woman in her 50's may have 15 pounds less muscle and 45 pounds more fat than she had in her 20's.  This represents an unhealthy 60-pound change in her body composition, which increases her risk for a variety of devastating degenerative problems such as cardiovascular disease, many types of cancer, type II diabetes, and low back pain.

While the focus is typically on fat loss, more emphasis should be placed on muscle gain.  On average, previously sedentary seniors can replace approximately 3 pounds of muscle after about 3 months of regular resistance exercise.  So I’m going to encourage you to start now to strength train 3 days per week!  Not sure where to start?  Check a fitness facility near your home to see if they offer senior classes. If you can,  Hire a personal trainer who is over 30.  Youtube.com has some great strength training videos for seniors  http://youtu.be/JenGpTjS1lI  watch this 4 minute video to learn more.

Our life expectancy is longer in this day and age.  50 is the new 30, and while you may be eligible for some senior citizen discounts, you don't have to think of this stage of your life as the beginning of the end.  At 58, I feel better than I did in my 30’s.  I eat healthier and work out harder.

There are still more adventures to be had and obstacles to overcome as well as events to attend in your grandchildren's lives. Your age may get older, but you need to keep your body young, so you can live longer and be there for your family.

What Burns More Fat? Running or Weights?

What Burns More Fat? Running or Weights?

What burns more fat? Running on the treadmill or 1/2 hr of weights. Running will burn more calories at the moment (perhaps 300 calories for 1/2 hour) but a 1/2 hour session will suck up more calories thoughout the day because the body needs to recover from muscle break down. In addition, the more muscle you have the more your body will metabolize fat and increase your caloric effectiveness. So PUMP UP!

So don't sacrifice good form to use less intensity or more weight. So many people are concerned about how much they can bench press or how much they can curl or how long they can go doing cardio. Who cares? Don't bounce weight, swing the weight or throw the weight, control the weight.