Benefits of building strength - the real “anti-aging” regimen
Strength training has a bad reputation. For men, it’s a “macho man” lifestyle that leads to growing Arnold Schwarzenegger physiques. For women, it’s almost a dirty word because it’s either going to damage your reproductive organs or give you a bulky, masculine figure. Neither of these things are true in practice, of course!
The truth is that building strength is critically important to everyone to delay the symptoms of aging, symptoms like increased fatigue, osteoperosis, osteopenia, weakness in the muscle and bone, illness, and more. A good, well-rounded strength training program will prevent all these things as well as likely improve your conditioning and enhance your lifestyle. The trouble is, most people who could really benefit from building strength either don’t have the time, don’t know how, or can’t pursue it safely.
How can we build strength safely if we have an injury or limitation? Where do we find the time in our busy days to work out? How can we pursue a guided fitness routine we know will work? I’ll answer all the questions, so keep reading to learn how you can pursue fitness safely and effectively with Strength Studio Kauai!
benefits of strength training
Becoming stronger isn’t the kind of thing most of us actively think about. We notice our limits when we can’t pick up the heavy bag of groceries, when our children become too big to toss around, and when we have to stop and take a breather on a hike. In these moments, we notice we’ve lost strength, cardio, and overall fitness. It’s something we take for granted unless faced with the proof of a loss of strength and muscle.
So what can we do to build strength and regain strength, especially when we’re new to fitness?
A good place to start is to find a program that will fit your unique situation. Are you too busy with work and family to spend an hour a day lifting weights and running on a treadmill? The ADA recommends at least 150 minutes of exercise per week, whether it be running, cycling, weight training, swimming, or anything else you can think of!
Most recommendations by organizations like the ADA are certainly enough to keep you alive, but the optimal amount of exercise may end up being much more. For example, in order to build strong muscles, you need to fatigue all of your major muscle groups - legs, chest, and back muscles primarily. Using traditional fitness equipment, this could be a 3 hour per week commitment. Then, you want to make sure you get a little cardio in, which adds another hour or two. All of a sudden, you’re looking at 6-8 hours per week on fitness! If you’re already working 8 hours per day, sleeping 8 hours at night, and have a family at home to take care of on top of a social calendar and hobbies you enjoy, the math doesn’t quite work out, does it?
So, what can you do?
fitness tech for maximizing training time
Using a well-designed fitness routine can cut down on your time spent severely, but having access to cutting-edge fitness tech helps, too! That’s why we’ve spared no expense to bring ARX and Vasper to Kauai.
Technology like ARX Adaptive Resistance allows the user to maximally load the body - appropriate to skill level and modified for limitations, of course! - so a single, 30-minute session easily replaces 3 hours of work in the gym using traditional weights. By safely applying the maximum amount of user-generated force, users can quickly fatigue the muscle by doing only one, all-out set rather than having to work to failure with insufficient weights. Check out this video of ARX in action!
Vasper Systems are the natural companion to ARX. Active recovery on Vasper utilizes cooling and compression modalities to further enhance muscle growth by improving the body’s natural growth hormone response.
Carol Bikes round out our program by providing a concentrated dose of cardio for our members. Focus on short, quick sprints to improve your VO2 Max (your body’s capacity to process oxygen and use it - an absolutely vital healthmarker) and enhance your endurance and aerobic base with Zone 2 training rides. 30-60 minutes per session provides a safe, controlled, and measurable alternative to jogging.
fitness for longevity - the “anti-aging” approach
Fitness isn’t just for aesthetic purposes (although that is absolutely one of the benefits!) and truthfully, it isn’t all fun and games, either. Some fitness classes might feel fun while you’re doing it, bouncing around to loud music, but what are you really getting out of that other than a mood boost and some sweat stains? While I have no problem with a fun workout class, I want to challenge you to think about the big picture: how does that move the needle for you in the long term?
I want my members to think of fitness primarily as their key to a long and healthy life. Enjoying yourself is a bonus, of course, and we do have lots of fun in the studio, but you don’t have to be the person who enjoys working out to experience the benefits a well-designed training program can afford you.
I hope you’ll book yourself a session soon and take the first step towards thinking about your future. Do you want to be active and mobile in your 80s or 90s? The time to start working for that is today. For more reading, check out Dr. Peter Attia’s Outlive.