Physical Strength, Firming Muscles, and Bone Health

Understanding this Concern + How I Can Help

Current ways I help people with physical strength, firming muscles, and bone health:

• Online Personal Training

  (***Currently not accepting new personal training clients)

Understanding this concern:

THE OVERVIEW OF MUSCLE LOSS AS WE AGE, AND HOW STRENGTH TRAINING CAN REVERSE THIS 

After about age 25, we start to lose muscle mass (if we don’t have a strength training program or a very physical occupation.) 

Over the years, this muscle loss adds up and can eventually manifest in the body as:

-Injuries/aches and pains

-Slower metabolism

-Weaker bones

-Less physical strength to do everyday tasks

But! The great new is…..

THIS CAN BE REVERSED AT ANY AGE!

It is NEVER too late to start reaping the benefits of strength training.

Our muscles truly don’t know age. It will respond to strength training no matter how old we are when we start.

HOW STRENGTH TRAINING HELPS IN THESE AREAS SPECIFICALLY

Preventing Injuries/Improving Aches and Pains

Many times, we have aches and pains because our muscles no longer have the strength to hold our joints in their proper alignment.

Overtime, when we’re going through our daily lives with less than ideal movement patterns (certain muscles overcompensating for others, not having our joints protected etc.), this can lead to injuries.

Strength training brings back this muscle strength/tone to get the body moving properly and protect the joints as we move.

It also brings blood flow to achy joints which can be helpful immediately.

Speeding Up the Metabolism

Muscle tissue is what we call “metabolically active tissue.” This means it burns a lot more calories than a non-metabolically active tissue.

 This is why, as we lose muscle tissue overtime, this decreases our metabolism.

 But, this is NOT just about decreasing the calories we burn at rest…

 It’s also about how having less muscle, changes how our body USES energy (aka the food we eat.)

The more fit muscle we have on our body, the better our body is at USING more carbohydrates in our meals, versus sending them to the fat stores.

Because not only is there more space to store carbohydrates in the muscle (when there’s more fit tissue), but the receptors that take the sugar from the blood and into the muscles, become more sensitive-leading to more sugar being brought into the muscle.

***This is called becoming more “insulin sensitive.”

Versus insulin resistant, which is what happens to a lot of people as we age. Strength training helps reverse this.***

Long story short, having more fit muscle tissue drastically effects our metabolism, and our body’s ability to lose fat and keep it off.

*And this is especially true in the perimenopausal and menopausal metabolisms because of how the estrogen and progesterone changes affect our insulin sensitivity.

*Blogs on strength training and fat loss + strength training and the perimenopause and menopausal metabolisms coming soon!

 Improving Bone Density/Health

Strength training is so incredibly important for bone health we go through our life.

*Especially for females because of how the estrogen changes in menopause affect our bone density.

Strength training works to increase bone density because it causes the muscles to “pull on” the bones.

This “pull” signals the bones cells to lay down more bone. Overtime, leading to stronger and denser bones.

And yes! For those, who haven’t had a regular strength training program, and now have osteopenia or osteoporosis, this bone loss can be reversed with strength training!

One of my clients came to me at 65 with osteoporosis. For the first year or so of strength training (2x per week, full body workout, 30 minutes), she was able to maintain her bone mass.

Then, by year 2 she started to reverse it! Her bone scan showed a 1% increase in her wrist, 3% increase in her spine, and 6% in her hips!

I’ve even had clients in their 80’s start with me and see the same results.

This is why it’s truly never too late to start strength training :)

 Improving Strength for Every Day Tasks

I feel like this one is pretty straight-forward, but let’s hit it anyways :)

As we age and lose muscle, it becomes increasingly harder to do everyday tasks (carrying groceries, moving furniture, picking up grandkids.)

Strength training brings back the vitality to our life. It allows us to be able to live the way we want, and do it injury free!

I have always said, strength training is like finding the fountain of youth. And this still holds true :)

(***Currently not accepting new personal training clients)

"I was never an athlete growing up. All my life I felt quite uncoordinated in my body. So, I felt very nervous meeting with a fitness expert.

But, I started working with Ashley when I was in my early 50’s.

At this time, I had pain in my calf muscle that several doctors were implying I would need surgery on.

But, after regularly performing a proper strength and stretching program with Ashley, the pain in my calf muscle went away!

And not only was Ashley super kind, and accepting of me as I was, she also helped me build confidence in my body.

I turned 60 last year, and throughout my journey with Ashley, my body’s resiliency and core strength has increased drastically…

I actually fell over my dog recently and sustained ZERO injuries.

Also, not only is my core strength more physically and aesthetically noticeable, I’ve also had activity instructors (shooting, golf, etc.) comment on how impressive my core strength is for someone my age!

My willingness to try new activities over the years has come from the confidence in my body that Ashley helped me create.

Ashley truly cares about helping people feel better physically, and feel more confident in their body."

-Sheila B.

“I am an athlete in my late 50’s who recently decided to return to playing softball.

I started pulling muscles in my legs and was having a lot of trouble with my shoulders. Due to this, I thought I was going to have to give up on my softball playing days.

But, through a recommendation, I found Ashley. Ashley built a strength and flexibility program specifically for me, and continues to progress it based on my feedback to her.

This has been a tremendous blessing.

I am now able to fully enjoy my softball playing without pulling any muscles.

I haven’t felt this fit in 25 years thanks to Ashley."

-John P.

To read all testimonials, visit the testimonials page here