Are you training effectively for your age?
As you get older your body and metabolism changes, so what worked for you in your 20s, may not necessarily work for you in your 40s. Research proves middle-aged spread often occurs in people who do an excessive amount of aerobic work and not enough resistance training. From their late 40s, women will probably be about 6-9kgs heavier than they were in their 20s due to decreasing hormone levels, muscle mass and general activity. From their late 40s, men will probably be 7-11kgs heavier than they were in their 20s due to an excessive amount of beer! To combat it you must maintain muscle mass through exercise, but it must be the right kind of exercise, at the right time and frequency.
Bursts of intense resistance training such as Power Plate and/or intense interval training is the answer. But don’t forget the real magic happens when you are resting, this is the “KILL & CHILL” process. Train hard and you will rip up the muscle fibre, rest for the rebuilding magic to happen...Not allowing sufficient recovery time means the required adaptation doesn’t fully happen, and you start your next workout in an already-fatigued state. It will take time to become apparent, but inadequate recovery will mean your fitness results plateau and your risk of injury increases.
THE GOLDEN RULES
1. Plan your training week. Don’t schedule sessions that work the same muscles on consecutive days.
2. Take at least one day of complete rest per week to give your mind and body a break.
3. Eat immediately after exercise to help replenish your energy supplies and fuel the recovery process. Eat a snack containing carbs and protein or take a protein shake.
4. Finish each workout with stretching to help flush out waste products and return muscles to resting length.
