There's a simple secret to keeping the pounds from piling up. Maintain your muscles, and you'll keep your weight in check. After age 20, we lose one-half pound of muscle each year. Adding muscle increases metabolism and calorie requirements.
Weight training improves muscle firmness and density.
It also adds definition and enhances waistlines. Weight training can ease lower back pain, relieve arthritis, reduce blood pressure and improve bone density. It takes more calories to maintain muscle than to maintain any other kind of tissue, especially fat. As we age our metabolism slows at a rate of 3 to 5 percent per decade. After age 20, without appropriate exercise, we will lose one-half pound of muscle each year.