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Category: Fitness
10 HARD FACTS FROM RP STRENGTH
April 4, 2025

10 HARD TRUTHS from RP STRENGTH

You can’t out-train a bad diet.⁠
Training hard with no nutrition strategy = spinning your wheels.⁠
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Progress will slow.⁠
Beginner gains don’t last. Long-term change takes patience and precision.⁠
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Motivation won’t save you.⁠
Discipline and routine > fleeting motivation.⁠
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You’re not eating enough protein.⁠
If you want to build muscle, protein isn’t optional it’s essential.⁠
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Fat loss requires a calorie deficit.⁠
No hacks, no magic. Just science.⁠
⁠
You can’t “spot reduce” fat.⁠
Abs are made in the kitchen, not with 100 crunches a day.⁠
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Rest days matter.⁠
More training isn’t always better. Recovery drives growth.⁠
⁠
Tracking works – guessing doesn’t.⁠
Want results? Know your numbers. Period.⁠
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You’re not training hard enough.⁠
3 sets of 10 with 50% effort won’t build muscle. Push yourself.⁠
⁠
There are no shortcuts.⁠
The RP way: real science, real effort, real results.⁠
⁠
#RPStrength#RPLifestyle#RPDietApp#Lifestyle#Fitness#Health#Hypertrophy#Training#RPHypertrophy#RPDiet#Gains#GymLife#Fitspo #agewell ##FitAfter50 #StrongWomenOver50 #MenopauseFitness #HealthyAging #OnlinePersonalTrainer #WomenOver50Fitness #50AndFit #StrengthTrainingForWomen #MidlifeWellness #AgelessStrength

lea4000@gmail.com No Comments
May 8, 2022

How Many Calories Are Burned When Doing Housework?

It All Adds Up: Calories Burned When Vacuuming and Doing Housework.

If you find that squeezing in a workout when pressed for time is a feat, you’ll be happy to know that household chores such as vacuuming, gardening, and dusting burn a fair amount of calories.

Plus, doing housework at a moderate intensity counts toward the 150 minutes of weekly exercise that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends (1Trusted Source).

Performing household chores can also help you gain strength, boost mobility, and increase metabolism, which can help you to maintain a healthy weight. Besides yielding a cleaner living space, engaging in these tasks can help to maintain your mobility, which makes all of your other everyday movements easier.

We’ve calculated the number of calories a person weighing 175 pounds (79 kg) burns when performing the following activities at a moderate intensity. If you weigh more, you’ll burn more calories, and if you weigh less, you’ll burn fewer calories.

Read on to learn how many calories you burn during home maintenance tasks such as vacuuming, tidying, washing windows, and mowing the lawn.

How many calories do you burn by vacuuming?

Vacuuming for a half hour burns around 80 calories for a 175-pound person, and is a viable form of exercise that works your upper body, core, and legs (2).

A small 2019 study found that vacuuming is a physically demanding task that also works the arm muscles. Lifting the vacuum cleaner was more intensive than using push and pull movements to vacuum, which is something to remember if you dread carrying the device to different levels of your house (3Trusted Source).

Try vacuuming on your tiptoes or in a squat position to strengthen your leg muscles.

Tips to turn housework into a workout:

  • Engage your core muscles and maintain good posture while performing all tasks.
  • Use proper body mechanics when lifting and carrying items and during pushing and pulling movements.
  • Avoid overreaching or twisting your body without proper core engagement.
  • Use your non-dominant arm and hand to do tasks, which allows the other side to rest and gives you a more balanced workout.
  • Instead of hunching over at a low counter or bending down to reach low items, assume a squat position.
  • You can add in pulses, toe raises, and heel raises, or do walking lunges, high knees, and high kicks as you move around.
  • Use wearable weights, such as a weighted vest and wrist or ankle weights to improve balance and gain strength.

How many calories do you burn tidying up or carrying things?

Tidying up burns around 238 calories an hour, while moving and carrying boxes burns around 588 calories an hour (4, 5). Add in some gentle stretches to counteract any repetitive movements that you make. If you’re carrying bags or handheld items, add in a few bicep curls.

Keeping up with housework may positively affect brain health, which is linked to physical health. Results from a small 2021 study involving older adults found that doing housework physical activity is positively associated with brain volume — particularly gray matter volume — in the hippocampal and frontal lobe (6Trusted Source).

How many calories do you burn dusting or scrubbing?

If you dust for an hour, you’ll burn around 159 calories and have a cleaner house, which positively impacts your health. But if you’re doing heavier scrubbing, like washing windows, you’ll burn between 318–378 calories per hour 2, 4).

It’s a good idea to do a few gentle backbends for every 15 minutes of dusting or scrubbing since these tasks involve a lot of time spent bending forward.

Turn up the volume

Crank up the tunes to boost your mood, energy, and motivation. Listening to music while going about your household duties offers several benefits. According to one 2020 meta-analysis, music positively influences physical performance, perceived exertion, and oxygen efficiency (7).

How many calories do you burn making a bed?

Creating a daily routine that includes making your bed may positively impact your mental health and set you up for a productive day. You can burn around 80 calories making beds for 30 minutes (2). However, since it will probably only take you around 5 minutes, the task only burns about 13 calories.

How many calories do you burn sweeping and mopping?

Mopping burns around 318 calories an hour and works your shoulders, triceps, and biceps, as well as your core, if you’re mindful of it. Sweeping is a little less intense, and will burn about 159 calories per hour (2).

Engage your arm muscles as you go, and try to switch sides once in awhile for a more balanced core and shoulder workout.

How many calories do you burn mowing the lawn or doing yard work?

For a 175-pound person, mowing the lawn with a push mower burns around 318 calories an hour (2). Focus on keeping your body in line with the mower. If you notice you’re using one side of your body more than the other, make the appropriate corrections.

Doing light to moderate yard work such as raking and bagging leaves will burn around 317 calories an hour. You can expect to burn around 436–477 calories an hour doing strenuous yard work such as digging, shoveling snow, and pushing a snowblower (2, 5).

How many calories do you burn gardening?

Gardening activities such as pruning, weeding, and planting are moderate intensity exercises that burn around 398 calories an hour (2). Remember to balance in a comfortable squat position instead of bending over, which can cause low back strain. Use a cushion under your knees if you garden in a kneeling position.

Research shows that gardening has a positive impact on mental and physical health (8Trusted Source). A review and meta-analysis from 2020 suggests that community gardening is linked to a significant reduction in body mass index (BMI) (9Trusted Source).

How many calories do you burn doing laundry and folding?

For a 175-pound person, doing laundry and folding clothes for one hour will burn around 159 calories. If you have a front-load washer and or dryer, try squatting to move your clothes in and out, rather than bending from your back. When lifting heavy baskets, be sure to push through your legs and keep your shoulders stable.

The bottom line

The next time you want to burn calories without doing a typical workout, do some housework. Maintaining a clean, orderly home and garden can help to enhance your fitness level and overall wellbeing.

Engage the appropriate muscles and maintain good form as you go about your chores to prevent injury and get the most out of your session. Be creative and find different ways to add exercises or movements to your regular chores. Your house, body, and mind will thank you, and you may feel inspired to continue regularly.

Medically reviewed by Jared Meacham, Ph.D., RD, PMP, MBA, CSCS — Written by Emily Cronkleton on April 27, 2022

Lea Wagner No Comments
November 25, 2021

All Exercise is Good, and Vigorous Exercise is Better

 December 4, 2020 – article taken from Dr Mirkin’s website

A new study suggests that the more intensely you exercise, the less likely you are to suffer a heart attack. Researchers followed 403,681 U.S. adults for an average 10 years and found that those who spent a greater proportion of their exercise time exercising intensely had a significantly lower risk of death from heart attacks than those who exercised for the same amount of time but at lower intensity (JAMA Intern Med, Nov 23, 2020). Those who exercised more vigorously also had a lower risk of death from cancer and lower all-cause mortality during the study period.

Other studies show that people who exercise intensely are significantly less likely to die prematurely than casual exercisers (JAMA Intern Med, 2015;175(6):970-977), because vigorous exercise is more effective in:
• preventing weight gain (Prev Med, 2014;60:131-133),
• preventing heart disease (Am J Cardiol, 2006;97(1):141-147),
• preventing diabetes (Int J Epidemiol, 2012;41(4):1132-1140), and
• promoting fitness and the ability to process oxygen (Med Sci Sports Exerc, 2002;34(1):152-157).
The HUNT study from Norway found that the more fit people are, the less likely they were to develop a first heart attack (JAMA, April 19, 2019). The SUN study from Spain found lower heart attack rates in those who exercised intensely compared to those who exercised less vigorously (Am J of Cardio, Dec 1, 2018;122(11):1871–1878).

Any Level of Exercise is Healthful
A regular exercise program of any intensity is associated with reduced death rate (Int J Epidemiol, 2011;40(5):1382-1400), because a regular exercise program is associated with reduced rates of:
• cancer (JAMA Intern Med, 2016;176(6):816-825),
• diabetes (Endocrine, 2016;52(2):226-230), and
• heart disease (Br J Sports Med, 2019;53(22):1405-1411).
Spending long periods of time sitting or lying in bed increases risk for heart disease (Prevent Med, May 02, 2019).

Benefits of Intense Exercise
Intensity makes all muscles stronger, including your heart muscle. All people lose heart muscle as they age, which increases risk for frailty and heart failure. Strengthening your heart muscle helps you to live a more vigorous lifestyle and to protect you from heart failure. Intense exercise stabilizes plaques in arteries and widens heart arteries to help protect you from a heart attack. One study showed that men with the highest levels of VO2max (a test of oxygen use that is a measure of fitness) were least likely to have high blood pressure, high HBA1C (a test for diabetes), high fasting blood sugar levels, obesity, an abnormal treadmill exercise test, and a high 10-year risk for heart attacks (American J of Cardiology, March 2012;109(6):839-843).

Starting a New Exercise Program
I think everyone should have a regular exercise program, and it is never too late to start. First check with your doctor. If you are not a regular exerciser, you should spend your first few months exercising in your chosen activity at a very casual pace. Stop when you feel tired, your muscles feel heavy, or you feel any discomfort, even if you have only exercised for a few minutes. When you can exercise every day for about 30 minutes at a casual pace, you are ready to try exercising at a more intense level. See my article on How to Start an Exercise Program.

Increasing the Intensity of Your Current Exercise Program
All exercise training is done by stressing and recovering. To increase the intensity of your exercise program, start by taking a harder workout on one day and expect to feel sore the next morning. This is called delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS. Go slow and easy for as many days as it takes for your muscles to feel fresh again. You should not take your next hard workout until the muscle soreness is gone. You may need to take from one to five or more easy recovery days before you do your next intense workout.
• When you are training properly, your muscles may feel sore every morning. If they don’t feel better after a 10 minute warm-up, take the day off.
• If you feel pain in one spot that does not go away after you slow down, stop that workout immediately for that day. Otherwise you are likely to be headed for an injury.

Your Intense Workout Days
Always warm up your muscles before you exercise more intensely. Start out by going very slowly for the first 10 or more minutes of your workout. To make a muscle stronger, you have to exercise intensely enough to feel a burning or tightness in your muscles. For non-competitive athletes, you should slow down immediately when you feel this discomfort. Most people will start out by picking up the pace for only about 10 seconds. If you are a runner, cyclist or skater, pick up the pace for a few strides or pedal strokes. Then go slow and easy, and when your muscles feel fresh again, pick up the pace and then slow down. Repeat these alternating bursts of intense exercise (called “intervals”) until your muscles just start to feel heavy and tired, then slow down. When your muscles continue to feel heavy and tired after you slow down, you are through for that day. In the beginning, you may be able to do only a few intervals in a workout. However, with practice you will improve until you can do lots of intervals, perhaps 15-20 or more. Then you can extend the time that you stay in each hard interval, gradually going from a few seconds up to about 30 seconds. If you are not a competitive athlete, there is no reason to stay in an intense interval longer than 30 seconds. Most healthy exercisers will be able to work up eventually to 10-20 repeats of 20-30 second intervals. For non-competitive athletes, there is no need to do more than that.

Your Recovery Days
Expect your muscles to feel tired and sore when you get up the morning after an interval workout. You can try to exercise that day, but you should do so at a slow pace and stop when your muscles start to feel heavy and fatigued. If your muscles don’t feel better after a five-minute warmup, or if you feel pain in any area that does not go away when you slow down, you should stop your workout for that day. Do not take your next intense workout until your muscles feel fresh after you warm up for 5-10 minutes. Most people who exercise for fitness will follow each hard day with one or two recovery days. Competitive athletes are likely to take such intense workouts on their hard days that they may require up to five recovery days before their next hard day. See Recovery: the Key to Improvement in Your Sport

CAUTION: Intense exercise can cause a heart attack in a person who has blocked arteries or heart damage. Check with your doctor before you start a new exercise program or increase the intensity of your existing program.

Lea Wagner No Comments , , , ,
November 5, 2021

Could you be chronically stressed? Is your high cortisol ruining your ability to lose fat as your nervous system is spending too long in a sympathetic state?

Are your high cortisol levels sabotaging your fat loss efforts?

😲The Sympathetic autonomic nervous system or state is our “Fight or Flight” or “Stressed Out” state.
💣It of one of the two autonomic nervous systems which control specific body processes, such as circulation of blood, digestion, breathing, urination, heartbeat, etc.


🧠If in this state for an extended period of time, you could experience:

❌ poor digestion/indigestion

❌constipation

❌diarrhea

❌anxiety

❌ shallow breathing

❌increased heart rate

❌poor quality sleep

❌restlessness

❌ night sweats

❌ decreased libido

❌fatigue

❌nervousness

❌ increased agitation/irritability

❌increased muscle tension

❌increased inflammation and

❌increased susceptibility to infections (i.e., frequent illness).


♨️This will all then derail your fitness goals of weight loss and muscle gain, if not controlled. So we need to manage our stress hormone “Cortisol”.


✅Studies have shown that there is an inverse relationship between Cortisol and Testosterone. Yes, ladies, we need testosterone too. If due to chronic stress, our Cortisol is consistently elevated then our average testosterone levels will then decline. 💯👉This in turn would see you struggling to build muscle and lose fat. 👎 😲

Cortisol draws glucose into the blood, and it just sits there. This triggers the pancreas to release insulin. Usually, this insulin would cause our muscles to draw up the glucose, but in our modern world of non-physical stressors, our muscles don’t need the glucose.

This excessive exposure to unneeded insulin makes chronically stressed people increasingly insulin resistant, and the more insulin resistant someone is, the harder it is for them to burn fat (1,2). Finally, cortisol inhibits the process that creates essential neurotransmitters such as serotonin (3,4). Serotonin is the “feel good” molecule most commonly associated with that feeling of euphoria you get after a good workout. The challenge is that with consistently elevated cortisol levels, the body loses its ability to regulate this and other neurotransmitters properly.

This is why people suffering from depression often show both low serotonin and high cortisol (3,4). This is a dangerous place to be when they need to lose fat because when someone feels stressed out and unhappy, a common solution they look to is to eat.

It doesn’t end there. Serotonin not only helps us feel happy, but it’s also a necessary precursor to melatonin, an important signaling molecule in the sleep cycle. When your body loses its ability to regulate serotonin, it also impacts its ability to make melatonin, and then not only is your stressed-out client unhappy, they can’t sleep either.

THERE IS HOPE – our goal is to get you out of a chronically stressed sympathetic state where cortisol is high all the time and into more of a stress rhythm where cortisol is limited to the mornings and around training sessions. The rest of the time you should be in a parasympathetic state to give your body the opportunity to build and recover.

✅ You need to engage in more parasympathetic (resting) activities. Try yoga, pilates, a massage, meditation, walk in nature. Try Dr Joe Dispenza, Mooji, or John Vincent on YouTube, they have excellent guided meditations.

✅ Aim to get 8 hours of deep, uninterrupted sleep. Start a wind-down routine, turn off sources of blue light (phones, tablets, computers) or put on a filter.

✅ Eat a good anti-inflammatory diet. Some foods that may help to keep cortisol levels stable include dark chocolate, bananas and pears, black or green tea, probiotics in food such as yogurt, and probiotics in foods containing soluble fiber. Don’t forget to stay hydrated.

✅ Exercise -Being physically active is beneficial to health and can improve a person’s mood. The appropriate amount of exercise depends on various factors, including a person’s physical fitness, and these factors play a part in how much cortisol the body will release during exercise. Not intense exercise.

✅ Supplements – Both fish oil and an Asian herbal supplement called ashwagandha have shown the ability to reduce cortisol levels, so taking these supplements alongside a healthful diet could be beneficial.

  1. Geer EB, Islam J, Buettner C. Mechanisms of glucocorticoid-induced insulin resistance: focus on adipose tissue function and lipid metabolism. Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am. 2014;43(1):75-doi:10.1016/j.ecl.2013.10.005
  2. Kersten S. Mechanisms of nutritional and hormonal regulation of lipogenesis. EMBO Rep. 2001Apr;2(4):282-6. doi: 10.1093/embo-reports/kve071. PMID: 11306547; PMCID: PMC1083868.
  3. Tafet GE, Toister-Achituv M, Shinitzky M. Enhancement of serotonin uptake by cortisol: a possible link between stress and depression. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2001 Mar;1(1):96-104. doi:10.3758/cabn.1.1.96. PMID: 12467107.
  4. Tafet GE, Idoyaga-Vargas VP, Abulafia DP, Calandria JM, Roffman SS, Chiovetta A, Shinitzky M.Correlation between cortisol level and serotonin uptake in patients with chronic stress and depression.Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2001 Dec;1(4):388-93. doi: 10.3758/cabn.1.4.388. PMID:
    12467090.

Lea Wagner No Comments , , , , , , ,
July 5, 2021

Menopause Tummy

😒The average woman gains about 2kg as she starts the transition to menopause in her 40s. And it’s a trend that doesn’t slow down, either:
Women continue to put on about 680grams each year in their 50s and 60s, according to a review published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

😱After menopause, your ovaries stop producing estrogen, and the only place where it can be generated is in your ABDOMINAL FAT CELLS.

Your body naturally gravitates towards storing fat in that area, in an effort to get estrogen. The stomach’s been called “the third ovary.”
But this type of fat, known as visceral fat, is toxic. It produces hormones such as the stress hormone cortisol as well as inflammatory proteins known as cytokines.

These chemicals force your body to churn out more insulin, which not only ramps up your appetite but also increases the storage of fat in fat cells. This, in turn, causes you to put on even more belly weight and also sets you up to develop insulin resistance, a key factor in the development of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Women face menopausal-induced physiological changes, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and osteoporosis. Amongst many others. ☹️
⬇️Due to the decline in estrogen levels our muscles💪, bones, adipose tissue & liver are also adversely affected. And our body composition suffers negative modifications (more fat, less muscle)🚫


✅It is VITAL, I will say it again, ✅VITAL, and again if you didn’t hear me,✔️ VITAL. This is not negotiable, that women must incorporate resistance training weekly into their routine, ESPECIALLY when they reach their menopausal years.

👉There’s no such thing as being “too old” for strength training or starting “too late.”👈

💪Building muscle can increase what’s known as your basal metabolic rate, the amount of energy your body needs to keep working when you’re not moving. This energy is used for things like maintaining your 🌡️body temperature, ❤️keeping your heart beating, and 🙂breathing. 👌So, building muscle can help you burn more calories, which can help with weight control.


A 2016 study of post-menopausal women in their late 50s and 60s found that those who did an hour of strength training twice a week for eight weeks not only significantly reduced their body fat compared to a control group, they also reported less physical pain and felt better overall. If you’re resistant to pumping iron, consider yoga or pilates.

🙏Women need to gain back the muscle they have lost. Try to get at least 3 weight training sessions a week. 🙏

🙋You will feel appreciably stronger, more capable, more confident in your body and your abilities, and more in control of your overall health after adopting strength training. Particularly in a time in your life when you may feel as though your health is a bit out of your control.

Effects of progressive resistance training on growth hormone and testosterone levels in young and elderly subjects. Mech Ageing Dev. 1989 Aug;49(2):159-69.
#Hormonal responses and adaptations to resistance exercise and training. Sports Med. 2005;35(4):339-61.
Sternfeld ie KA, Ensrud KE, et al. Efficacy of exercise for menopausal symptoms: a randomized controlled trial. Menopause. 2014;21(4):330-8. See Less

The facts stated above have been obtained from:
Jo Ann Pinkerton, M.D., executive director of the North American Menopause Society and professor of obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Virginia Health System
Deborah Clegg, M.D., a professor of internal medicine at the Diabetes and Obesity Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles
Pamela Peeke, M.D., professor of medicine at the University of Maryland

#menopause #womenshealth #perimenopause #menopausesupport #hormones #menopauserelief #menopausesymptoms #health #women #pcos #womenover #wellness #selfcare #menopausehealth #hotflashes #hormonebalance #womensupportingwomen #pms #healthylifestyle #weightloss #fitness #menopauseweightloss #hrt #menopausematters #hormonehealth #midlifewomen

Lea Wagner No Comments , , ,
May 15, 2020

Cluster Set Resistance Training

A systematic review & meta-analysis of 25 studies was published on the 11th September 2019, the objective was to determine the efficacy of a single session of cluster sets on force, velocity & power compared to traditional set training.

Lea Wagner No Comments
January 19, 2020

What happens to your body when you exercise?

taken from BBC Science Focus Magazine


Exercise diverts blood from your liver and digestive system to your skeletal muscles. Hormones tell the body to convert fat into glucose, reduce the pain you feel and improve your mood. Muscles generate lactic acid as a by-product of intensive exercise and, as this builds up, the pH of the blood around the muscles drops. This drop in pH eventually prevents the muscles contracting further. At this point, you need to rest to allow the lactic acid to be metabolised.

1. Brain

What happens to my body when I exercise?

© Raja Lockey

The brain makes neurotransmitters, like serotonin, dopamine and GABA. This is part of the reason why the brain consumes more energy during exercise.

2. Heart

What happens to my body when I exercise?

© Raja Lockey

Adrenaline levels rise, which stimulates the heart to beat faster. Capillaries in the muscles open wider, increasing blood flow there by up to 20 times.

3. Lungs

What happens to my body when I exercise?

© Raja Lockey

The muscles of the ribcage assist the diaphragm to pull in up to 15 times more oxygen than at rest. Breathing gets faster but also deeper.

4. Skin

The muscles of the ribcage assist the diaphragm to pull in up to 15 times more oxygen than at rest. Breathing gets faster but also deeper.

© Raja Lockey

Your two million sweat glands can produce 1.4 litres of sweat per hour. Waste heat is carried away by the latent heat of evaporation as it dries.

5. Muscles

What happens to my body when I exercise?

© Getty Images

As you exercise, the large muscles in your arms and legs squeeze the veins running through them, pumping blood back to your heart.

6. Bones

What happens to my body when I exercise?

© Raja Lockey

High-impact and weightlifting exercises stimulate bone formation and reduce the rate of calcium loss as we get older.

Lea Wagner No Comments
September 12, 2019

New Service – Pilates

Discussing Starsha’s next Pilates Reformer session

I am very proud to add Pilates mat & reformer to the list of services I can offer clients here on the Redcliffe Peninsula.

  • 1 on 1 Pilates Mat
  • 1 on 1 Pilates Reformer
  • Small groups up to 5 for Pilates Mat

The Pilates exercise system was developed by Joseph Pilates in the 1920s. He created a unique sequence of movements that worked the mind and muscle in harmony. The traditional method is low-impact, focusing on flexibility, muscular strength and endurance. The exercises are performed with an emphasis on precision technique; balanced postural alignment; core strength; controlled, flowing movements; and using the breath to centre the mind.

The Pilates Reformer evolved from Joseph working as an orderly at an infirmary. He engineered a way to rig springs on hospital beds to offer light resistance exercise to bedridden patients. His first exercise studio was opened in 1926, New York. Ballet dancers loved it as it helped create long, lean muscles and a strong, streamlined physique.

Pilates Mat and Reformer are now very popular with top athletes and Hollywood stars. Also, most Physiotherapy offices now use Pilates as a rehabilitation tool as more research finds how important core stability & strength is in injury management.

I obtained my Pilates qualifications from Studio Pilates International. They emphasis that Pilates helps improve your mental stamina and releases endorphins, helping you feel positive and energised. It helps improve concentration, stress management and relaxation. 

Pilates Reformer

Pilates = Endorphins = Happiness.

Contact me now to schedule your private Pilates session
Lea Wagner No Comments , , , ,
April 16, 2019

Prolong your life by increasing your muscle power

Lisbon, Portugal – 12 April 2019: Prolong your life by increasing your muscle power. That’s the main message of a study presented today at EuroPrevent 2019, a congress of the European Society of Cardiology.1

“Rising from a chair in old age and kicking a ball depend more on muscle power than muscle strength, yet most weight bearing exercise focuses on the latter,” said study author Professor Claudio Gil Araújo, director of research and education, Exercise Medicine Clinic – CLINIMEX, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “Our study shows for the first time that people with more muscle power tend to live longer.”

Power depends on the ability to generate force and velocity, and to coordinate movement.2 In other words, it is the measure of the work performed per unit time (force times distance); more power is produced when the same amount of work is completed in a shorter period or when more work is performed during the same period.3 Climbing stairs requires power – the faster you climb, the more power you need. Holding or pushing a heavy object (for example a car with a dead battery) needs strength.

Professor Araújo said: “Power training is carried out by finding the best combination of speed and weight being lifted or moved. For strength training at the gym most people just think about the amount of weight being lifted and the number of repetitions without paying attention to the speed of execution. But for optimal power training results, you should go beyond typical strength training and add speed to your weight lifts.”

Muscle power gradually decreases after 40 years of age. “We now show that power is strongly related to all-cause mortality. But the good news is that you only need to be above the median for your sex to have the best survival, with no further benefit in becoming even more powerful,” said Professor Araújo.

The study enrolled 3,878 non-athletes aged 41-85 years who underwent a maximal muscle power test using the upright row exercise between 2001 and 2016 (see photo). The average age of participants was 59 years, 5% were over 80, and 68% were men. The highest value achieved after two or three attempts with increasing loads was considered the maximal muscle power and expressed relative to body weight (i.e. power per kg of body weight). Values were divided into quartiles for survival analysis and analysed separately by sex.

During a median 6.5-year follow-up, 247 men (10%) and 75 women (6%) died. Median power values were 2.5 watts/kg for men and 1.4 watts/kg for women. Participants with a maximal muscle power above the median for their sex (i.e. in quartiles three and four) had the best survival. Those in quartiles two and one had, respectively, a 4-5 and 10-13 times higher risk of dying as compared to those above the median in maximal muscle power.

Professor Araújo noted that this is the first time the prognostic value of muscle power has been assessed. Previous research has focused on muscle strength, primarily using the handgrip exercise. The upright row exercise was chosen for the study because it is a common action in daily life for picking up groceries, grandchildren, and so on. The researchers are currently examining the link between muscle power and specific causes of death including cardiovascular disease and cancer. He added: “Doctors should consider measuring muscle power in their patients and advise more power training.”

How to train to increase your muscle power:

  • Choose multiple exercises for the upper and lower body
  • Choose a weight with the load to achieve the maximal power (not so easy to lift and not so heavy that you can barely lift it)
  • Do one to three sets of six to eight repetitions moving the weight as fast as possible while you contract your muscles (slow or natural speed in returning to initial position)
  • Rest for 20 seconds between each set to sufficiently replenish the energy stores in your muscles to start the new set
  • Repeat the above for the other exercises (biceps curl, etc.).

How to progress:

  • Start with six repetitions in each set and when the exercise becomes easy, try to increase to eight
  • If it becomes easy again, increase the weight and go back to six repetitions
  • If you unable to complete the repetitions with the proper technique, avoid “cheating” and go back to less repetitions or less weight. This is important to prevent injuries.

Lea Wagner No Comments , , , , , ,