It’s Never Too Late to Build Muscle
After the age of 30, the average woman’s muscle mass will decrease by approximately 5% each decade. Her weight and fat mass will increase each year and her overall strength and balance will diminish, increasing her risk of falling and disease.
Here’s the good news … you have control over this!
Countless women in their 60’s, 70’s and even 80’s have come into my studio over the past 15 years asking for help to gain muscle mass and improve their balance so they can live their lives with confidence rather than fear.
If they meet with me once or twice a week, they still have to do homework to gain the advances they want, meaning they need to practice their exercises at home and work on balance exercises regularly to strengthen and train muscles to work properly.
The older you are when you start strength training, the harder you have to work to gain your muscle back but it really is possible. If you’ve spent the past 30 - 40 years letting your muscles atrophy, they will begin working again, but you have to be careful in how you go about training them.
It’s essential to have proper form and resistance (weight) to ensure that you don’t hurt yourself. If you haven’t exercised in some time, meet with a trainer for a few sessions to help create an effective workout plan to meet your specific needs.
The woman in the video above is exceptional and despite this, many of us could probably replicate her achievements, if we wanted to. We’d have to adapt an incredibly strict diet and exercise regiment including multiple sets of exercises for each muscle group with more weight than most of us would want to lift, including her amazing unassisted pull ups.
I’m strong and fit but that granny kicks my butt because I’m not willing to commit to the discipline required to do what she does. My hat is off to her.
My hat is also off to everyone at any age that starts an exercise program and sticks with it. We all can improve the quality of our health and wellness at any time.
We can all do better and we’ll also have some steps backwards from time to time, whether that’s with the exercise routine or our eating habits.
Be as consistent as you’re able to be and get help when you need it. Most of us need accountability in some form. It’s not a bad thing, rather it’s a great support system that we put into place for ourselves that allows us to succeed and in most cases, enjoy the process more.
I have 2 beautiful gym spaces in my home that allow me to do just about anything I could want to do and I still choose to go to the gym 2-3x/week to attend classes with friends. It’s more fun and I learn new things while I’m there.
Action Steps:
Think about your current exercise routine
If you feel good and you’re pretty happy with it, keep doing what you’re doing!
If you feel like you’re falling into the “average woman” category described above, consider starting something new this week. Maybe add in some walking, swimming or weight work, but ask for help if you need it and be patient and kind to yourself, so you don’t overdo it and injure yourself.
