Will two 20-minute workouts a week help someone get toned? According to the scientific definition, toneness refers to the level of tension in a muscle at rest, but most people refer to being toned as being lean. In that regard, strength training will absolutely help you get leaner and build firm muscles.
Research shows that sarcopenia is a function of the loss of and weakening of fast-twitch muscle fibers. Loss of fast-twitch muscle fibers directly correlates to a weakening metabolism, weaker bones, less energy, and worse health as we age.
To reverse the usual aging process and restore muscle mass you need to do exercises that are focused on building fast-twitch muscle fibers. This means the exercise needs to be intense enough to recruit those muscle fibers
The ideal exercise to target those muscle fibers is science-based strength training. When we work our muscles in exactly the right manner to actually use our fast-twitch muscle fibers, it’s intense and therefore needs to be brief. That’s why the workout at The Exercise Coach is only 20 minutes.
The 20-minute workout is not the bare minimum you can get away with, it’s actually the specific length of time you need to optimally recruit, stimulate, andfatigue the right muscle fibers.
One researcher looked at several studies on exercise programs and concluded that all that was necessary to get the majority of the benefits that people want from a health and fitness standpoint was to perform a strength training workout for about 20 minutes no more than twice per week.
The best workout with the most health benefits is the one that is necessarily brief. The higher the intensity of the workout, the less time you need to spend doing that workout.
No amount of exercise, in volume or minutes, can bring about the most important results from a fitness endeavor that people are after. The key is to work at the right intensity level and engage the fast-twitch muscle fibers to reverse the aging process and restore optimal health and fitness.
See for yourself how you can improve your muscle quality using our unique hi-tech process that helps our clients get the results that matter most to them at The Exercise Coach. Visit exercisecoach.com/north-mesa or call (480) 716-6080 for two free sessions