You can’t go wrong getting strong

The Department of Health’s physical activity guidelines for Americans recommends that one achieve 150 minutes minimum of moderate aerobic activity, or 75 minutes+ of vigorous aerobic activity a week, and in addition, to engage in strength training for all major muscle groups two or more days a week.

While this is certainly an achievable level of activity even for those with a busy schedule, 80% of American’s are NOT meeting these guidelines. Yes. You read that right - 80%. That means there is a highly likely chance that you are one of those people. A study by Troiano et al followed 6329 people 6-60+, all of diverse backgrounds, and found that only 42% of children age 6-12 actually achieved their recommended amount of physical activity. For adolescents 12-19, only 8%, and for adults…. Only 5%. Want to know what makes this even worse? That “moderate activity” in the guidelines, its classified as walking at 3 mph. What is vigorous activity you ask? Well, that would be moving at 6mph, or for most, a steady slow jog.

We lose 4-6 pounds of muscle a decade naturally, which contributes towards on average, 15 pounds of weight gain a decade. That’s in your average case. For many more, we can lose 1% or more of our muscle mass PER YEAR. For a 150-pound person, that’s 1.5 pounds of muscle lost a year, or 15 pounds of muscle LOST per decade. On top of that, your percentage of lean body mass is intrinsically connected to how many calories you burn at rest. That means the less muscle you have, the less efficient with your calories you are. That is potentially catastrophic for the aging population.

Now, although only 20% of American’s hit their recommended physical activity level’s, 53.3% DO achieve the recommended amount of aerobic activity. That’s awesome, hopefully we can continue to see that number climb. What’s the problem with that though? Well, aerobic training is catabolic. What does catabolic mean? It means it causes the breakdown of lean body mass. So, we have 53% at least hitting their aerobic metrics, but ultimately losing muscle mass at an alarming rate, and another 30% on top of that not even getting their aerobic activity in…

If you’re not getting stronger, you’re getting weaker.

Benefits of strength training include higher proportions of lean body mass, greater mineral bone density, better balance, decreased risk of falling, decreased risk of Alzheimer’s, and a decreased risk of all-cause mortality. Strength training helps to foster independence, improve self-efficacy, improve athletic performance, and improve one’s pain. When performed properly, it can also increase range of motion and mobility.

Considering it’s also the safest version of physical activity out there, with only 1-4 injuries per 1000 hours of training, vs 4-30 injuries per 1000 hours of exposure to any field or court sport, it’s a no brainer that you should be resistance training.

Not sure where to start though? I don’t blame you, it certainly can be intimidating. That’s why we have so many options for you here at the club. You can pick up a W8 program, with instructions on the white boards on both our Strong and Zone floors. Packets are available in each room, with a detailed warm up and work out, complete with instructions and pictures. Still not confident? Join our Performance class, which brings you through a full body workout each class, coached and monitored by an instructor. Or, if you have specific issues or concerns, talk to me, or any of our other trainers on staff for some advice!

Remember, you can’t go wrong getting strong!

~Tyler