Muscle and Body Composition: A Reality Check
Resistance training is for everyone, and there is no substitute. Learn the reality of muscle and body composition and how to thrive in this 30-word description.
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P. D. Mangan Health & Freedom Maximalist 🇺🇸
Microbiologist ➡️ @ManganCoaching. Get lean, fit & 2x energy in 50 mins/week without calorie counting, cardio, or keto. 800+ clients. Apply for 1-on-1 coaching:
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Reality check #1:
— P. D. Mangan Health & Freedom Maximalist 🇺🇸 (@Mangan150) June 12, 2023
There’s no such thing as maintenance when it comes to muscle and body composition.
Unless your incredibly detail-oriented, and live and train like a pro athlete or bodybuilder…
The reality is that you’re either net gaining or net losing muscle. -
This is true for both men and women from age about age 30 onwards.
— P. D. Mangan Health & Freedom Maximalist 🇺🇸 (@Mangan150) June 12, 2023
The sooner you accept this, the sooner you can thrive.
Resistance training is for everyone, and there is no substitute.
Not walking, running, swimming, playing sports or working a physical job. -
Reality check #2:
— P. D. Mangan Health & Freedom Maximalist 🇺🇸 (@Mangan150) June 12, 2023
The way most people think training works is wrong.
You don’t need tons of sets and reps.
You don’t need more than 2 workouts per week.
And you don’t need to send more than 20-30 minutes per session. -
Your muscle groups don’t “know” you are benching 100 pounds or 200 pounds or whatnot.
— P. D. Mangan Health & Freedom Maximalist 🇺🇸 (@Mangan150) June 12, 2023
It’s about applying deliberate stimuli and providing sufficient recovery for muscle tissue to grow.
I’m not going to tell you it’s easy.
But it’s not time consuming and can be done from… -
I’m not anti-cardio or against step goals, by the way.
— P. D. Mangan Health & Freedom Maximalist 🇺🇸 (@Mangan150) June 12, 2023
My point is that a busy person should prioritize a well formulated resistance training strategy first.
Anything else you want to add in order not to be sedentary is a good thing.
And if it’s outdoors with sun and fresh… -
Reality check #3:
— P. D. Mangan Health & Freedom Maximalist 🇺🇸 (@Mangan150) June 12, 2023
Without a minimum “dose” of resistance training, a large chunk of the weight loss will be muscle.
The problem with a cardio-only approach to weight loss is that it’s not optimized for fat loss. -
And if you pair a cardio-only exercise program with an unsustainable nutrition approach, you have a recipe for disaster.
— P. D. Mangan Health & Freedom Maximalist 🇺🇸 (@Mangan150) June 12, 2023
Here’s why.
Say you’re 220 pounds and 30% body fat.
And say you lose 40 pounds. -
Now you’re 180, but your relative body composition may not have improved that much because you lost a fair bit of muscle.
— P. D. Mangan Health & Freedom Maximalist 🇺🇸 (@Mangan150) June 12, 2023
Let’s say 12 pounds of muscle and 28 pounds of fat lost.
Since the nutrition was unsustainable…
You regain the 40 pounds.
Except now… -
You’re 220 pounds at a higher body fat %, because you’re down 12 pounds of muscle, gained back the 28 pounds of fat…
— P. D. Mangan Health & Freedom Maximalist 🇺🇸 (@Mangan150) June 12, 2023
And gained another 12 pounds of fat.
The scale is back in the same place.
But body composition is worse than when you started, because your bf % is up. -
When I think about Ozempic and Wegovy, where up to 40% of the weight loss is muscle…
— P. D. Mangan Health & Freedom Maximalist 🇺🇸 (@Mangan150) June 12, 2023
It’s easy to imagine a future where a segment of the population on those drugs loses mobility earlier than they otherwise would have.
And of course if you’re dialed in, you are likely to… -
So if you’re not interested in getting “jacked”, or to have any muscle definition, that’s totally fine.
— P. D. Mangan Health & Freedom Maximalist 🇺🇸 (@Mangan150) June 12, 2023
What I’m hoping to convey is that working out is not a vanity pursuit. -
Reality check #4:
— P. D. Mangan Health & Freedom Maximalist 🇺🇸 (@Mangan150) June 12, 2023
Many (most?) people see health and fitness as a false choice between
•Their current life
And
•Waking up at 5:30am, never watching TV, eating nothing but steak and eggs, going sober, quitting caffeine and saying no to all social outings. -
A better perspective is:
— P. D. Mangan Health & Freedom Maximalist 🇺🇸 (@Mangan150) June 12, 2023
The choice of your current life (do you like the way you look and feel?).
Versus a reasonable, time efficient, energy enhancing, digestion improving and stress/anxiety reducing way that doesn’t require much, if any, willpower, discipline and sacrifice. -
It’s a trade you can make at any age, no matter where you live or what you do for work:
— P. D. Mangan Health & Freedom Maximalist 🇺🇸 (@Mangan150) June 12, 2023
A few minutes per week to look and feel better fairly quickly…
Have the energy and mental clarity you need to perform at your best..
And then age gracefully.