We all have muscles no matter how weak or frail you might feel right now. Without muscles we wouldn't be able to move around, take care of ourselves and we'd soon perish so the muscle system is one of the most important physiological systems in our body that often doesn't get the credit and care that it truly deserves...

Building more muscle is always a good thing whether your are young, old, male or female (by building muscle I'm not necessarily talking about getting jacked but if that's your goal then great, I can help you get jacked!). It is a big misconception, especially amongst women, that resistance/weight training will bulk you up and make you look like a female version of Arnie. This couldn't be further from the truth so let's put this myth to bed once and for all... the picture below shows a great example of how your body will look when only performing cardio exercise vs when performing weight training (it's the same girl by the way). If you want a butt you've gotta train it! That involves squatting, lunging and deadlifting to name but a few (no pun intended).

Photo courtesy of Rebecca Smith

Having said all that, building more muscle isn't just about looking good, it's about increasing your longevity and quality of life as you age...

By the time you're in your 70's, your muscle strength and tone will have declined by roughly 25 percent from what you had in your mid-30's.

You'll lose up to 50 percent once you approach your 90's!

Light walking will not suffice if you want to preserve muscle, bone health, balance and posture as you age. If you're not engaging in strength or resistance training, chances are you'll become increasingly less functional with age, which can take a toll on your quality of life and reduce your life expectancy.

The benefits of building more muscle tissue through a well structured resistance training program are:

1. Increased life expectancy

2. Improved physical strength and endurance

3. Increases in joint range of motion, mobility and flexibility

4. Reduced occurrences of back pain

5. Increased bone mineral density and reduced risk of osteoporosis

6. Increased capacity to store more energy, within the muscles

7. Increased insulin sensitivity (or reduced insulin resistance/Type 2 diabetes)

8. Aesthetically sculpting the body to enhance the natural curves of the body

9. Increased metabolism; the more muscle you have the more energy your body burns at rest

10. Improved balance, coordination and motor skills

11. Improved posture

Ryan has been a dedicated student of the Resistance Training Specialist® (RTS®) training programme for over 10 years and continues to study to further his knowledge in this highly specialised field.

"It's only once you have begun to study through the RTS® programme that you quickly realise that this level of education should undoubtedly be the norm for ALL Personal Trainers, not the exception few! If you find a Personal Trainer who has studied RTS® - sadly only a tiny minority of the UK's Personal Trainers - then you know for sure that they take you, your health and your goals very seriously and that you'll be in very safe hands." Ryan Phillips.

Let Personal Trainer Ryan Phillips design you a safe and effective resistance training programme like you've never experienced before and start improving your muscle strength, tone and health ASAP.