The good news? Strength training doesn’t need to be complex, difficult, or even sweaty
In normal times, ‘dad strength’ (or mum strength) is one of the perks of ageing: strength takes a long time to build and almost as long to lose, meaning that a lifetime of moderately challenging physical tasks can see most people keep their strength well into middle age.
These aren’t normal times, however, and midlife strength has suffered: the coronavirus has leeched activity out of everyday life, from carrying the shopping to the car to stowing your hand luggage in an overhead locker. According to new figures published by Sport England, over a third of over-55s have seen their strength decline since the start of the pandemic, while a further 37 per cent are doing less exercise – making them the age group most likely to have lost strength during the pandemic. This is a health risk, and not just because strength protects your body from age-related decline – resistance training also
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The health world is awash with contradictory information and it can be hard to find safe and sustainable weight loss tips that work. Shedding timber ultimately boils down to eating healthy food, moving regularly, stressing less and sleeping well. Simple in theory, but often easier said than done.
As a result, many people turn to shady supplements and questionable diets to ditch the pounds, which have little scientific evidence behind them. But sustainable weight loss doesn t have to be expensive or esoteric – you just need a few lifestyle tweaks and little bit of know-how.
The Diet-Whisperer, and registered nutritionist Clarissa Lenherr share 27 easy-to-implement weight loss tips that actually work:
How to stop midlife spread – in your 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond nzherald.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nzherald.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
It used to be that middle-aged spread was just that: a noticeable surge in weight gain around midlife. But a new study has revealed that this could now be a thirtysomething spread, with people getting fatter younger than ever before. Scientists from the University of California in the US looked at the BMI of 65,000 people in four separate studies going back to before 1905 to see how weight has changed over the years – and found that this generation is getting wider, younger.
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A new study has revealed that middle-aged spread could now be a 30something spread. For people born between 1955 and 1959, for example, the average BMI of a twentysomething was 24.4, which is a healthy weight. But for people born between 1980 and 1984, the scientists found they were, on average, a healthy weight as teens, but overweight in their 20s and obese in their 30s.