Preserving Muscle While Protecting Joints

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I spent the last week teaching at Rancho La Puerta, a Fitness and Wellness Retreat in Mexico, where people go to focus on their physical and mental health, nutrition, and clean living. I taught about the importance of muscle as we age while also protecting our vulnerable joints.

The key message: “Muscle is Medicine”!

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Takeaways:

Always Warm Up

Motion is lotion to your joints. Focus on low-intensity, low-impact movements that prepare your muscles, fascia and joints for the upcoming workout. Likewise, after your workout, spend time stretching, releasing, and recovering. The warmup and cooldown phase of your workout is a way to be kind to your body so it will continue working for you for decades to come. 

Train Your Core From a Standing Position…

…not just from the floor. Most of our day-to-day activities and sports require our core to be strong in a standing position so we have to remember to train the core in that manner. 

Train in 3D

Our day-to-day activities and recreational pursuits require us to move our entire body in many planes of movement so remember to train this way also. Don’t only train in isolation or only use linear movements. Include compound, multi-joint, multi-muscle movements. Work the entire kinetic chain. 

Train Your Balance System

It is critical as we age. If your balance deteriorates, it will affect your ability to move well and increase your chances of falling and suffering bone breaks or fractures which can be debilitating. It can be as simple as standing on 1 leg while performing upper body strength moves or incorporating balance tools such as BOSU trainers or balance boards.  

Train Your Weaker Areas

When training your upper body, prioritize strengthening your back. When training your lower body, prioritize your hamstrings and glutes. 

Train All Sides of Your Spine

To develop a healthy, strong back, train the front, side and back of the spine. Remember to train your hip stabilizers. When all the muscles that surround your spine are strong, they act as an internal brace to help support your spine and minimize your risk of back pain. 

Protect Your Joints

Sequence your exercises so you don’t overload or tax a vulnerable joint such as your lower back, knees, or shoulders too much. Customize your workout and modify your range of motion, intensity, and depth of movement to strengthen your muscles without feeling pain in your joints. Balance out your program so you feel great after a workout and not beat up!  

Train Squats and Lunges…

…or you lose the ability to get out of chair or off the toilet, climb stairs or bend down to pick something up. Modify your depth of squat or lunge as needed but don’t avoid the movement. If you don’t use it, you lose it. 

Do Some Fast Movements…

…or you lose the ability to move fast. You must maintain your fast twitch muscle fibers and nervous system or they will atrophy. Agility drills moving quickly front, side and backward are great to maintain your fast twitch fibers.   

Continue to Dance to Stay Young

Dance trains your body and mind. You don’t get old and stop dancing, you stop dancing and get old.

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Yours in health & fitness,
Sherri McMillan