Ok, here's the problem. Your body is smart... and it's lazy. You see, having muscle is metabolically expensive. It burns more calories. So, to be efficient, your body will lose muscle mass if it can.

Your job is to trick your body into thinking that it needs the muscle. And that's not too hard. Just "need" the muscle. You do that by working out, lifting heavy things, etc. You know how to do it.

Now, when I'm talking about muscle, I'm not meaning you're trying to look like Arnold. But you do need a healthy amount of muscle to keep your body working as it should. Numerous studies have shown that exercise is not a luxury, something to use to get you that beach body. It's something that our bodies need in order to function at near full potential. Left to its own, the body will do nothing but decay.

The next thing to go, after your muscle, are your bones. Your bones are also smart and will only maintain enough strength to do the minimum job. So if you have less muscle, you don't need as much bone. And you know what will happen then. Bones become brittle, they break, they hurt.

Exercise also keeps the fluid in your joints flowing. If you don't move, you don't need fluid in your joints. More pain, more injury.

It's all downhill from there.

So, you know what you need to do. Keep that body moving. There are lots of things you could do, and most of them will be good. But try to make it intense, and use your whole body. Multi-joint exercises are much better, having a higher metabolic cost(burns more calories), and uses your body the way it's meant to work. Don't waste your time doing curls and kickbacks. Not too much, at least.

I hope you'll keep your New Year's goals intact and keep working towards them. Just a few more months until summer time activities will be starting. Be ready.

Andy Alexander
PT, RKC2
Parker Boot Camp