Want to age better? Take the first step!
To Gaining Strength Renowned nutritionist and certified personal trainer for long-term health JJ Virgin His advice is to simulate everyday activities in the gym, do fast-twitch muscle training and prioritise protein in your diet.
She shared these tips Sunday’s hour-long episode of “Mind Body Green Podcast”
“Growing older is a privilege, but growing older strong is a choice,” Virgin declared.
Simulate your daily gym routine
“I go to the gym to work out to improve my life,” Virgin explained.
She stressed the importance of training plans that work for everyday life, such as squats, which mimic the motion of sitting down and standing up from a chair; bent-over deadlifts, which practice moving heavy boxes or lifting children or pets; and weighted step-ups, designed to build glute strength and mimic hiking or climbing stairs.
Virgin, author of “Look Sexy Sleeveless in 6 Weeks,” recommends avoiding bicep curls and knee extensions if you’re training for energy or general strength.
“Unless you’re in marching band,” she wondered, “how often do you do bicep curls?”
Do fast-twitch muscle training
Virgin also recommends working the fast-twitch muscles, which are found throughout your body but are especially prevalent in your biceps, quads, and pectoral muscles.
Fast-twitch muscle fibers are responsible for quick, explosive movements, while slow-twitch muscle fibers are suited to endurance activities. Calf muscles are primarily made up of slow-twitch muscle fibers, and are also more prevalent in the back and legs.
Virgin suggests incorporating jump training, sprints, high-intensity interval training, Olympic lifting, high knees and other agility exercises into your plan to help you get better at riding your bike or chasing your dog or grandchildren in the future.
“Whatever training you do, it’s going to get you results,” Virgin said on the Mind Body Green Podcast.
Make protein a priority
Recommended Dietary Intakes That’s 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, or 0.36 grams per pound per day. For a 150-pound person, that comes to 54 grams of protein per day.
Virgin suggests eating 30 grams of protein with each meal to build muscle mass and maintain strength. Experts often Contains 15-30 grams of protein per serving.
Women’s Health It says that 1 cup of cooked ground turkey, 1 2/3 cups of cooked lentils, 1 1/2 cups of Greek yogurt, 3.9 ounces of low-fat cheddar cheese, and 1 cup of beef jerky contain 30 grams of protein.
Virgin, on the other hand, likes to get her protein from grass-fed, pasture-raised beef, wild-caught salmon, and chicken breast.
She recommends that people who follow a plant-based diet eat 40 grams of protein with each meal.
Women who are approaching menopause or who experience a natural decline in muscle mass and strength should also be especially careful about their protein intake.
“I would argue right now that we should all try to build as much skeletal muscle as we can,” Virgin said, using an investment analogy: “If there’s a really good interest rate, you want to put as much money as you can into a retirement account, because then you have more money to spend later.”
