How to regain your strength and muscle mass

When facing the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, we were able to realize how a sedentary lifestyle during quarantines has the ability to oxidize joints, increase fat and reduce muscle mass in the body.

From the age of 30-35 we begin to lose up to 8% of our muscle mass per decade! That is, about 1% annually.

With a 30% decrease in strength and physical performance, we become more fragile and vulnerable, especially once we reach the age of 50.

If a reasonably good physical condition is not maintained, the loss of muscle mass eventually degenerates into a condition called sarcopenia, which is the progressive and generalized loss of musculoskeletal mass and strength, specifically related to physical disability, poor quality of life and death.

This doesn't have to be the case. Both men and women can regain a good percentage of muscle mass and, more importantly, stay strong and active well into their later years. The key is called strength training.

Building and maintaining strength is one of the most important things you can do at any time in your life, but it takes on even greater relevance when you do it after age 50.

Why do we want to develop strength?

If your muscles are trained, you will achieve what is called “economy of movement,” meaning that the force you need to complete a task is distributed evenly not only across the muscles but also across the bones and joints involved in the movement.  This allows you to optimally use your muscles with less pain and of course, much less risk of injury.

Benefits of strength training

• Reduces symptoms of osteoarthritis, diabetes, osteoporosis, back pain and depression.
• Body weight control
• Improves balance
• Improves sleep quality
• Helps the body control glucose and prevent diabetes ( study )
• It has been proven that cortisol released by intense exercise suppresses the subsequent cortisol response to a psychosocial stressor. ( study ) That is, the cortisol released during intense exercise or fasting counteracts the cortisol produced by work reasons, socio-emotional problems, and others of that type.
• Increases strength and muscle mass while stimulating metabolism and making the body more efficient at burning fat. ( article )
• Promotes and enables you to be self-sufficient as you age.  I think that no one wants to reach an advanced age depending on medications, wheelchairs, or nurses.

Where to start

If Superman is weakened by kryptonite, we are, without a doubt, weakened by a sedentary lifestyle.  Because humans spend too much time sitting, the hip and chest flexor muscles shorten and become stiff. One of the consequences is that the antagonist muscles to these, which correspond to the glutes and lower back, atrophy because they do not have the opportunity to be activated and used.

For this reason, it is important to train the major muscles of the body such as the glutes, lower back and legs. In fact, all major muscles should be trained, including the chest, back (upper and lower), legs and glutes, because it is crucial that these muscles are strengthened as they are essential for posture, balance, running, jumping and lifting heavy objects.

 

Training

The strength training I propose is useful for both beginners and trained people.  The only thing that makes the difference is the handling of the weights.

Almost every exercise you do at the gym can be done at home, with some modifications. However, getting to the gym and your time there has its advantages:  First, because there are the machines and weights you need; and second, because you meet other people who are training and that can be motivating.

Program for a month

Please note that if you are out of training, the exercises you do over the next 4-8 weeks will serve as muscle regeneration and adaptation. That is, the real results in strength and muscle mass development will begin to be seen and consolidated after about two months of constant and conscious training .

To start, you can do two or sets of 20 reps per exercise in the first week . Once you get comfortable with them, you can add weight. The idea is to do the last 3 reps of each set with great difficulty .

In the second week , you can do two sets of each exercise , the first of 20 repetitions and the second of 15.

In the third week, two or three sets of each exercise , the first of 15 repetitions, the second of 12 and the third of 10 .

For the fourth week, two or three sets of each exercise , the first of 12 repetitions, the second of 10 and the third of 8 .

There are many exercises that can be included in a training program, but considering that we want to emphasize the larger muscles, the following exercises can be part of a workout that you do 3 times a week .

• Start by warming up , either on a stationary bike, walking or jogging for at least 15-30 minutes .

• Stretch, especially, the muscles that are going to be used.

• Exercises :

Squats (with or without weight)

Triceps Dips

Push-ups

Pull-ups

Iron

Wall squat

Extension of the trunk

Step ups or steps

Scissors with legs

• Abdominals . Although the exercises described above involve the abdominal area, it is good to do 1-3 sets of an exercise isolated from this area. There are various abdominal exercises, as well as different levels and intensities.   

• Stretching . I show you some key stretches in my video on how to run without injury, so be sure to watch it to avoid post-workout pain and prevent injuries.

According to a meta-analysis of 21 studies published in the journal Strength and Conditioning Research in 2017, people who strength trained for at least six weeks, performing exercises to exhaustion, showed similar muscle cell growth regardless of whether they did high reps with lighter weights or fewer reps with heavier weights.

By using more weight and performing fewer repetitions (of course, until exhaustion of 12, 10 or 8 repetitions) the muscle fibers suffer small tears that the body rushes to heal and rebuild, this is thanks to the stimulation of the growth hormone, and it is through this mechanism that muscle is developed and muscle mass increases . An increased muscle mass in turn stimulates the metabolism so that the body continues burning calories for up to 17 hours after finishing the workout .

Weight training strengthens bone density, which can help reduce the risk of fractures in later life. Weight training increases the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a neurotransmitter involved in the production of new neurons and in optimizing cognitive function.

The ideal is to practice strength exercises with light weights and many repetitions, as I indicate during the first two weeks of training in this protocol.

Also, train with heavier weights and fewer reps as I show you during the second two weeks of this workout. This way you give your body room to adapt, you don't risk injury, and you get the most out of both. The way your body looks and feels will show.