None of us are getting any younger. That doesn’t mean we can’t age better.
I have had the misfortune of watching my father age badly. He was diagnosed with diabetes in his 40s, and life from there became a steady decline for him. Each time we talk he seems to have a new list of ailments from aches and pains to depression and indifference.
I don’t want that for me and I don’t want it for you either. So I set about finding the best way to slow or even reverse the ageing process. Conventional science was all leaning towards cardiovascular endurance, but I didn’t like running that much and I’ve seen far too many runners with joint pains and still suffering from age related loss of muscle and function.
As a Strength & Conditioning Coach I felt there was a better way to train than pounding the roads or sitting on a bike for hours on end, and there is.
I choice this combination due to its effects on all the individual markers of sick ageing. Those being:
Poor Body Composition (Too much fat or not enough muscle, resulting in a decline in general health)
Increase Risk of Inflammatory Diseases (Diabetics, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, raised cholesterol)
Loss of Strength (and independence when you can’t get yourself out of a chair and self-esteem with it)
Reduced Flexibility (further loss of independence due to inability to dress yourself)
Inadequate Cardiovascular Endurance (unable to play or meaningfully interact with the grand children)
While indeed cardiovascular training deals with the first and last of these, it not only fails to improve flexibility and strength it actively reduces both of them. Even body composition change is only fat loss and no increase in lean muscle.
A prescriptive strength training programme on the other hand has a positive effect on all these factors, even some positive effect on cardiovascular endurance. Add to this HIIT Training and all factors are well covered.
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