Exercise of The Week

Alli is doing a bent-over, one arm bicep curl with a kettlebell. This exercise uses balancing to engage the stance leg outer glute and core.

Exercise of the Week

Our owner Kara Sterner demonstrates a static lunge with a stability ball. The key to this exercise if to keep the front knee behind the front toes when raising and lowering body. Great exercise for combination of balance and strength.

Raising Metabolic Rate

Welcome to All New Readers,

I came across a very relevant article yesterday while cleaning out my wife's and mine second bedroom.

The article was from a February 2003 Daily News Health & Fitness article from Kara's and my time in Brooklyn, NY. The articles relevance has not changed in the six years since its publication. The metabolic rate-- a measure of how many calories your body needs to function-- is rarely responsible for losing/gaining weight. William Evans, director of the Nutrition, Metabolism and Exercise Lab at the University of Arkansas School of Medical Science states that "the single most important factor in metabolic rate is lean body mass. The more lean tissue your have, the higher your metabolic rate. Muscle mass boosts metabolism because muscle is active tissue that helps convert food into water, heat and energy. Fat is more passive, acting primarily as a stored form of body energy."

Starting around age 30, muscle mass in sedentary people declines by about 2% to 5% per decade. This is a major reason to begin or maintain a resistance exercise program throughout your lifetime. Wayne Westcott, noted author on fitness and strength training states that "every pound of muscle we lose lowers our metabolic rate by about 30 to 50 calories per day, and every pound of muscle we gain raises our metabolic rate by about 30 to 50 calories per day.

So why only diet, which actually slows down the metabolic rate, when you can add strength training to your workouts? One can actually reverse the seemingly inevitable aging process with two to three strength training workout per week.

So why wait another day to boost your metabolic rate and self esteem. Father time waits for no one and will likely be kinder to you in your 80's, 90's and maybe even centenarian years if you begin by increasing your own lean muscle mass. Stop procrastinating while achieving overall better health in your 50's and 60's than you had in your 40's. Don't wait another day to take control of your life and your habits. You can only control certain aspects of your life and your health should rank in the top 3. You cannot control the economy, another persons emotions, your occupational duties, or genetics. Take control over your body, what fuels it and how it runs. You do this with your car, doesn't your body deserve the same love and care?

Yours in Health,
Greg Sterner, Owner, Physical Therapist
Fitness Together- Point Loma
619.756.7500