An old lady (or man).
This could be you or me.
I see people all around me that are in their 50’s just like me, but they look like they’re in their 60’s or older.
It’s sad.
So very sad that people seem to ‘give up’ and accept that they’re ‘too old’ to get fit.
Wrong.
It’s never too late. In fact, it’s not too late to improve your fitness level and you could actually get into the best shape of your life in less time than you think. Here’s something that works.
The majority of those that I meet in their 40’s and beyond that want to get fit tend to gravitate to distance running as a ‘go to’ in their effort to lose weight and get fit. I have to hand it to places like ‘The Running Room’ and the like that market ‘running clinics’ and promise preparation for a marathon or a half in a short time. They have group run sessions, they have a set schedule on marathon prep, it’s all laid out. And, it’s not even that expensive.
Why wouldn’t someone join that sort of thing?
<===This is why.
While you may ‘lose weight’ doing cardio, you won’t get the body of your dreams.
You’ll possibly burn a whooping 300 calories in 45 minutes of training…and by the way, the majority of cardio equipment OVER estimates calories burned, so don’t bank on an accurate number.
Your calorie burning efforts, STOP when you stop exercising (as opposed to other methods of training where your body continues to burn calories up to 38 hours post workout).
Steady state cardio can be mind numbingly boring and your motivation to workout drops.
You’ll tend to look like a skinnier version of your former fat self :/ Probably not what you’re looking for.
You’ll address your cardiovascular fitness, but cardio isn’t a well rounded program. Flexibility and muscle development go unaddressed.
You open yourself up to overuse injury, especially in the lower body. And your core and upper body are pretty much neglected.
Hmmm, I think my bias is clear.
But if you’re still unconvinced, take a look at this:
Bryner RW, Ullrich IH, Sauers J, Donley D, Hornsby G, Kolar M, Yeater R.
Effects of resistance vs. aerobic training combined with an 800 calorie liquid diet on lean body mass and resting metabolic rate.
J Am Coll Nutr. 1999 Apr;18(2):115-21.
This study compared slow-go aerobic exercise to short burst intense resistance training and found that the resistance group lost significantly more fat without losing ANY lean muscle even at an extremely low calorie intake (not so for the aerobic group).
Hard to believe, but while the aerobic group experienced a decrease in metabolism (and lost muscle), the resistance training group actually increased overall metabolic rate.
Do you see the power of short-burst resistance training yet? Plus, you get the added benefit of shorter time efficient workouts without risk of over use injury.
Am I suggesting that no one should ever run or do steady state cardio? NO.
If running/steady state cardio takes you to your happy place and is something you love, then you should do it but also include resistance training into your program for a more well rounded plan.
But, if you don’t ‘love’ steady state cardio (like running), then there are alternatives to help you get fit, shape your body and help you avoid overuse injury.
One example is a program developed by Steve Holman and his wife Becky. They’re in their 50’s but you’d never know it. I like the name of the program: Old School New Body. They take simple old school resistance training methods and put them together with a new twist. They call it the F4X method and it’s a unique way to lifting weights to save the joints. They’re workouts are SHORT and they DON’T include the ‘tried and UNTRUE’ method of steady state cardio.
Joint pain can be a real issue, so reducing or eliminating this completely is a big promise. I use lots of the methods laid out in the program myself.
Take a look at ‘Old School New Body‘, the article on this page is well worth the read. You’ll find 5 ‘tried and TRUE’ methods to look 10 years younger immediately.
Sign me up for that.