Creatine? BCAAs? + Protein Intake Lately....

Is cardio exercise all it's cracked up to be?

Sometimes I think it’s wild that I am choosing to really focus on weightlifting and gaining significant muscle in my late 30s but then again, maybe it’s the smartest thing to do as I get older? As we age, muscle mass decreases. In fact, we lose approximately 3-8% of our muscle mass per decade after age 30. Yikes! This means that you are more prone to injury, increases your risk for osteoporosis and more likely to fall. This increases even more after age 60. I like to think that the next 1-2 decades of my life are arguably the best times to be focusing on building up my muscle mass.

This post does not provide medical advice. The information in this post is for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. 

Many times when we think of exercise we think of the person going for a run, hopping on their Peloton bike, or doing a 60 minute HIIT orange theory class. While strict cardio exercise is great, strength training needs to start getting more credit. The real sweet spot (for me personally) is strength training 4-5 days per week, 1 HIIT session + 1 longer easy cardio session per week. Building lean muscle mass helps boost your metabolism and prevent against the things I mentioned earlier. You are still increasing your heart rate by weight training - just like you do with cardio.

"Strength should be an attribute of all humanity. It's not a gift that belongs solely to the male of the species." Jan Todd - The First Woman To Deadlift 400 Pounds

For much of my life I have loved working out. In high school, I did track (indoor/outdoor) and believe it or not - spent most of my time in the weight room because I threw shot put and javelin. I loved being able to get stronger and build that lean muscle mass. In college, I did more cardio - running half marathons and shorter races nearby. After college I decided to run a full marathon and often ran or did some type of cardio for all my exercises. It wasn’t until the last few years, after my 4th child that I realized how important the weight training part of everything was and I feel like I am back in the gym as a junior in high school, building up that lean muscle mass. Anyways, we have seasons in life and I am entering my “LIFT HEAVY SHIT” phase…….