Osteopenia The precursor to osteoporosis, osteopenia is a lower than average bone density but not to the point of osteoporosis Fractures are uncommon in osteopenia as the bone isn’t usually brittle enough to break It can be a natural effect of aging; total bone mass...

Sarcopenia is a specific term used where there is an involuntary loss of muscle mass and strength, usually occurring with advancing age. This is usually progressive, with a whopping 50% of muscle mass being lost by the time we hit our 80s.  This progressive loss of...

Is muscle soreness good? It’s more common to experience some muscle soreness especially when starting out with strength training, and it may be more noticeable within the first 48 hours. Initially you may find you’re more tired for 1-2 days, but then...

Strength training can provide a physiological reserve for times of stress; e.g. times of illness, times of inactivity, after surgery, being on a beach holiday etc. If we keep taking from those reserves e.g. by being sedentary, then we’re going to have an adverse...

We all get older. Our whole bodily systems age as well, including our muscles. The initial decline in strength is caused by denervation of the nerves that drive muscle i.e. this occurs at a brain level. There’s a preferential loss of fast twitch fibres which are...

I’m not kidding when I say strength saves lives! A lack of strength is highly correlated with limitations in daily living and chronic disease (Sharples et al, 2015), with movement being highly correlated to life expectancy. Muscle mass, i.e. being strong or...