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Muscle Tone

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Muscle tone and strength is a virtue that has no age, gender, or occupation.  I receive requests to get stronger and improve body composition (replace fat tissue with muscle tissue) equally from men and women and there is a large variation in end goals: from having  more toned arms or thighs to being able to lift grocery bags or a child car seat without experiencing back ache. 

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There is rich data on the benefits of muscle tone beyond physical appearance and strength. Those positive gains include:

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1. Health benefits including reducing the likelihood of cardiovascular diseases, obesity, diabetes, improving digestion, and bone density, among other health benefits.

2. Reducing the likelihood of injuries in everyday life (lifting heavy weights while doing housework, twisting ankle while going down the stairs, etc.), as well as sports-related injuries and falls in elderly population.

3. Improving mental health through regulating emotions.

4. Improving mental focus.

5. Improving performance at jobs requiring physical strength or in active hobbies.

 

Putting those muscles to work is important at any age, however, people older than 50 years are at high risk of loosing muscle mass. Per National Academy of Sports Medicine, 1,5-5% of muscle mass is lost yearly after 50 year old, which means that a higher intensity of exercise is needed to be able to just maintain the existing muscle mass, not to mention any type of growth. 

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