What clients are saying - I don’t think I would be alive today.

Number eight in a series about what clients have to say about their workouts.

I recently received a call from a client who has been exercising at our facility for ten years and before that he trained with me at another facility. In regard his mortality and exercise he told me, “I don’t think I would be alive today. It is the best 40 dollars I spend in a week. I can easily spend that on a night out or on video poker.”

He is 57 years old and he is significantly stronger than he was more than a decade earlier. The average stay with a personal trainer is less than six months. He has stuck to the program. How is that possible? There is a simple strategy that works, read on.

As adults we lose a little muscle, flexibility, and bone density each year. Our metabolism slows and we become a little more insulin resistant. We become a little less active and more prone to injury. Inactivity and chronic injury encourages a further downward spiral. Type-2 diabetes, heart disease, joint replacement and other maladies loom as a possible life altering events.

As we get older we don’t participate in the sports we did when we were younger. If you are no longer playing soccer or basketball there is less of a need to go out and run. If you are no longer playing rugby or football there is less urgency to strength train. There is a tendency to exercise less.

I talked to a perspective 50 years old client the other day. I asked him when was the last time he had exercised regularly he said 2001. I ask this question to every new client; his response was typical. He said he was in great shape and he just stopped. Eight years without exercising – that is quite a stretch considering he was exercising religiously before that.

We are going downhill a little each year. With the right program you can reverse that direction and make a profound difference in your quality of life.

Here is a strategy for sticking to a program that will change your life:

1. Make modest changes in eating habits and have a simple eating plan – this you are are more like to stick to.

2. Engage in activities you enjoy – again, this you are are more like to stick to.

3. Start a strength training program – strength training reverses more bio-markers of aging, and to a greater degree, than any other form of exercise.

Regarding the strength training this will not be enjoyable. In order to stimulate the body to change the body must be exposed to more demands that it is used to handling. This means hard work, but you will stick to it for the long term when you see the results.

You need not spend hours in the gym to make a profound difference. Studies have shown that significant strength increases result from high intensity interval training as little as once a week. This type of training produces the highest marginal return for the time spent exercising

As you become stronger you will find you will be able to engage in more activities, and this will further enhance your health. It all starts with strength. Just improve a little each week and over time you will feel years younger. High intensity interval training is the type of personal training we do at Austin Fitness Training and at New Orleans Ultimate Fitness.