Turning Back the Clock

The battle with my weight started in my early 20's. I was always on some sort o f restrictive diet and I spent hours in the gym, teaching 15 to 20 aerobic classes per week.. In my 40's I took up running ... ...running every day, with little change in body shape..

At 49 I decided to get up on stage and compete for the first time in body building. This was when I had my snap moment. I realised doing hours of cardio was not the answer to changing my body shape. Resistance (weight training) exercise is the only activity capable of building muscle (lean body mass) and improving body composition ( more muscle less body fat).

FACT: "Over their lifespan, the average adult will lose 7 kg of muscle and gain 15 kg of body fat." This phenomenon accelerates the aging process . It underlies a host of conditions that we usually associate with getting old.

Building muscle provides so many health benefits, it may actually slow the aging process.

• Building muscle (lean body mass) is the only way to increase metabolic rate.

• Increasing metabolic rate addresses the core of improving body composition.

• An improvement in body composition (more muscle, less body fat) improves body shape.

• A program designed to build muscle will give you both the health benefits and the body shape improvements you want.

Resistance training is the cornerstone of my fitness program. Women particularly lose too much muscle to early in their lives and this is the key trigger of all the conditions that can rob us of our youth vitality and good looks.

It's never too late to learn how to lift weights. I have women in their 40s, 50s and 60s on my program. Lifting weights will:

• Increase your mobility

• Improve your posture

• Make you stronger, help recruit muscles that are weak

• Define and sculpt you physique

• Give you confidence AND help you turn back the clock.