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LenDentonThrive Letter #39

Welcome to the LenDentonThrive Letter!

My mission is to help Guys over 50 to build their ThriveLives!

This week, I’m going to hit the ADVANCE button and move into an area that I haven’t spent much time talking about. In this edition of the LenDentonThrive Letter, I want to talk about the importance of weight training and building muscle mass. In past editions of this newsletter, we’ve talked about how to Eat Smarter, and how to Move Smarter. So, this week, we’ll open the discussion about the ThriveLife approach to building muscle the smarter, not harder way!

ThriveLife Phase 2

When I started my journey to the ThriveLife 10 years ago, I was trying to save my life…literally!

I was 70 pounds overweight, eating too much, working too much, and not exercising enough. My doctor warned me that I was a serious candidate to become a cardiac statistic! Just like my Dad and my little brother. They both died in their 30s - from heart attacks!

The ThriveLife changed all of that for me. I lost the weight and got into the best shape I’d experienced since my 30s. Now, 10 years later, I’m leaner and healthier at 65 than I was at 35!

And, over that time, my ThriveLife has transformed as well. What began as an effort to save my life has become an ongoing mission to extend my life.

My original goal was to not die early. My goal today is to live a long, healthy, and vigorous life.

Today, I think of the ThriveLife in 2 distinct phases.

• Phase 1 helps Over-50 Guys to become lighter, leaner, and healthier as quickly as possible. (This also reduces their risks of dying early.) The fastest and most effective way to do this is to tune up our daily diets (Eat Smarter) and burn body fat with Zone 2 cardio (Move Smarter).

• Phase 2 is all about living longer by maintaining that level of health and fitness you achieved in Phase 1, as well as adding longevity-enhancing daily practices. To build our longevity in Phase 2, we’ll focus on building muscle mass (Train Smarter) and adding some science-backed activities to our daily practices (Age Smarter).

Figure 1 illustrates the two phases of the ThriveLife.

Train Smarter

As we start to focus on longevity, strength training becomes an important part of our ThriveLives.

Surprised?

Our strength plays a major role in our overall health and well-being as we age. And our strength is closely correlated with our muscle mass. Researchers have referred to muscle as the organ of longevity!

A 2018 NIH study (Note 1) points out several ways that strength and muscle contribute to a long and healthy life:

1. Reduction in all-cause mortality - muscular strength is associated with lower All-Cause Mortality (ACM), as well as a lower incidence of deadly diseases such as cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke, hypertension, and Type 2 diabetes. (These are all considered to be diseases of aging. CVD is the leading cause of death in American men!) Muscular strength lowers these risks. One interesting measure of potential longevity is your grip strength. The higher your grip strength, the lower your risk of mortality.

2. Combats sarcopenia - Sarcopenia (muscle wasting) is a natural occurrence for men as we age. Typically, men begin to lose strength and muscle mass at a rate of around 1% per year starting at age 40. This leads to frailty over time and a general loss of health. Strength training is the best way to combat this natural decline.

3. Mitochondrial biogenesis - mitochondria are the power plants within our cells that produce the energy we need to carry out our essential biological functions. Strength training encourages our bodies to produce more mitochondria!

So, strength training and building muscle is an important aspect of maintaining our overall health and fitness as we age. But how much muscle is enough and what’s the best way to train? Let’s look at that next.

We’re living in a time where big muscles are in! The media and social influencers are telling us that big muscles mean big levels of fitness. But, that’s not necessarily really true.

Muscle mass is but one component of long-term fitness. Equally important are cardiovascular fitness, and low levels of body fat (especially abdominal fat). A more well-rounded approach that also includes proper diet and cardio exercise is a better, and more sustainable approach. The key is to consistently do resistance training to build your muscle mass over time.

With this in mind, the next question is: What’s the best way to build strength and muscle mass?

The answer depends on you and your specific lifestyle. There are basically 3 approaches that you can choose to pursue your muscle-building objectives:

1. Go to the gym - a popular way to weight train is to join a gym. Gyms are typically well-equipped and often offer trainer assistance as well. Lots of guys choose this approach.

2. Create a home gym - If you’re not into gym culture, or your schedule makes going to a gym difficult, consider creating your own gym at home. For a couple of hundred dollars, you can get a set of weights and a bench that will allow you to do a basic, but effective, weight-lifting workout at home on your own schedule.

3. Bodyweight exercises - also known as calisthenics, are also an effective way to do resistance training. There are dozens of exercises (such as push-ups, situps, etc.) that you can do to build muscle without weights or devices. This approach is especially useful for Guys who are on the move with travel.

Strength training is essential to improving our health and fitness as we age. To Train Smarter, it’s important to keep these two points in mind:

1. Choose an exercise approach that fits your lifestyle today.

2. Choose an approach that you can do for the rest of your life.

Training Smarter is more about long-term success than short-term gains!

What I’m Doing Now

Building muscle mass is a focus area for me in my ThriveLife journey. I follow a combination of bodyweight exercises augmented by barbells in my garage-based home gym. When I travel, I’m able to do my bodyweight routines wherever I go.

Here’s a quick summary of my weekly workout routine:

 Monday-Wednesday-Friday: 20-30-minute workouts focused on chest, arms, shoulders, and back.

Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday: 20-30-minute workouts focused on legs, abs, and core.

This fits my lifestyle now and over the long term.

In Closing

The ThriveLife is a sustainable, healthy lifestyle built on healthy daily practices. Training Smarter is the ThriveLife way to build strength and muscle mass to power our long, healthy, and vigorous lives.

Smart, not harder!

Thanks for your time and attention.

Thrive and prosper,

Len

Notes

1. National Institute of Health - Role of Dietary Protein and Muscular Fitness on Longevity and Aging https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5772850/

I write this newsletter hoping to make a positive impact on the lives of Over-50 Guys and and their families. If you found this information useful, please consider subscribing to receive new editions each week.

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