Tag Archives: muscle loss

Body Weight: Why the Scale Wont Ever Tell You the Whole Truth

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Body weight cannot provide a full, accurate picture of your health and fitness

When a Koko FitClub franchisee in California shared these compelling photographs on facebook last week, (thanks Aman,) I knew I had to blog about body weight this week .

We have all weighed ourselves. Some of us make it more of a habit that others and multi-billion dollar companies have built successful business models on having members weigh themselves each week. But body weight and your scale alone cannot tell the whole story about your health and fitness.

For all of the people over the years who have told me they don’t need to exercise because they “weigh the same as they did in college,” a picture is worth a thousand words. And this one speaks volumes. Five women, all with different body mass indexes, different percent body fat levels, different dress sizes (UK size) and even different amounts of muscle, but all with one thing in common…anyone? They all weight the same! They all weight 150 pounds. 150 pounds can mean something completely different for every body…even your own after a couple of decades.

In this photo, for a few of the taller women, that body weight suits them well, while for others – it is too much weight. But stepping on that scale tells you none of the particulars. It tells you nothing more than the fact that you weight 150 lbs.

At Koko FitClub we take a different approach. We don’t want you to focus on “losing weight” as your primary goal. We want to encourage you to focus on getting fit and healthy from the inside out. To focus on building and preserving muscle first.

Why? Because you start to lose it after about age 35. (To the tune of 8-10 pounds a decade!) If you weight he same as you did in college and you aren’t working to maintain your lean muscle, your percent body fat has increased. Your body is not the same.

Building and preserving muscle has huge benefits:

  •  Research has demonstrated that for every three pounds of muscle I can add, I rev up my metabolism by 7%.
  • Muscle tissue burns three times more calories (pound for pound) than fat tissue.
  • More muscle changes the way you look – as you can see with our group of women –  not to mention the way you feel!
  • More muscle  means more independence as you age into your golden years.

The work I’m putting in at Koko now – in my 50’s – is already paying big dividends. And, I’m counting on it to continue into my 60′s, 70’s, 80’s and maybe even beyond.

All it takes for you to reap the same benefits is a little Koko Smartraining – 3 strength and 3 to 4 cardio sessions a week. Are you in?

Michael Wood, CSCS
Chief Fitness Officer
Koko FitClub

Koko FitClub Franchising

Turn Back the Clock with Koko

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I can’t wait for my extra hour of sleep tonight. So much so, that I could easily take this blog post down a different path, espousing the benefits of a solid 8 hours of sleep to build muscle and maintain a healthy weight. But I find the dual meaning of this phrase irresistible: Turn back the clock. Reclaim your youth. Koko Smartraining can do just that. Help you turn back the clock…
Even in the “olden days” people wanted to stay young. In 1513, legend has it that Ponce de León landed in what is now Florida, searching for the fountain of youth. The Spaniard had no luck finding the restorative waters, but his name is forever associated with the quest for youth and longevity. In modern times we are seemingly all Ponce de Leóns- seekers of youth who spend crazy money on creams and plastic surgery and antioxidant packed beverages. It doesn’t have to be so mysterious and magical. One of the best ways to get a body that can hold out against the nastiest side effects of aging is to maintain lean muscle tissue. In other words, while Koko wont let you travel back in time to your youth (though Michael Ander, owner of Koko FitClub Hoboken suggested that may be our next technological leap in this April Fools post) Koko will help you feel like you have turned back the clock by slowing down the effects of time on your body.
You might not want to hear it, but here are some cold, hard facts about your aging body.
If you aren’t doing something about it, your body loses a half pound of lean muscle tissue every year after the age of 25. This doesn’t mean you are just losing a half of pound of weight each year, (wouldn’t that be great?) your body is losing it’s most critical mass. Rapidly. This is bad. Lean muscle tissue is what keeps your metabolism high, burning lots of calories, keeping your weight under control and giving you strength and energy to go about your life. As the percent lean muscle in your body drops, you begin to notice a lot of things we write off as symptoms of “getting old.” Middle age spread, low energy, poor range of motion, lack of balance and flexibility; all can be attributed in very large part to diminished lean muscle tissue.
Now the good news: That “if” heading up the last paragraph? It’s a big one. It means you aren’t completely powerless in the face of what progressing years are doing to your body.Turn back the clock…
With strength training, you can gain back what you’ve lost and rev up that sluggish metabolism. You can also build more lean muscle tissue than you’ve lost. A 60 year old man with the same muscle mass as an average 25 year old, will have the metabolism of an average 25 year old. Isn’t that incredible? Three 30 minute trips on the Koko Smartrainer each week, consistently, is all it takes. All it takes to turn back the clock…
Strength training on the Koko Smartrainer also fights back other symptoms of aging. It prevents bone loss and improves bone density. It improves flexibility, balance and range of motion in joints and tendons. This leaves you with a much lower risk for falls and injuries and much better mobility and independence as you move through your later years. You can be the 90 year old no one believes is a day over 70. Turn back the clock…
Isn’t it a great feeling to know that you aren’t powerless against aging and the march of time?  So, don’t just turn back the clock tonight, start today. At your Koko FitClub.
A well written, informative story this topic from NPR, can be found at http://n.pr/91aLmm

Ponce de le KokoI can’t wait for my extra hour of sleep tonight. So much so, that I could easily take this blog post down a different path, espousing the benefits of a solid 8 hours of sleep to build muscle and maintain a healthy weight. But I find the alternate meaning of this phrase irresistible: Turn back the clock. Reclaim your youth. Koko Smartraining can do just that. Help you turn back the clock...

Even in the “olden days” people wanted to stay young. In 1513, legend has it that Ponce de León landed in what is now Florida, searching for the fountain of youth. The Spaniard had no luck finding the restorative waters, but his name is forever associated with the quest for youth and longevity. In modern times we are seemingly all Ponce de Leóns- seekers of youth who spend crazy money on creams and plastic surgery and antioxidant packed beverages. We are looking  in the wrong place.

One of the best ways to get a body that can hold out against the nastiest side effects of aging is not found in a jar or on an OR table; It’s maintaining lean muscle tissue. In other words, while Koko wont let you travel back in time to your youth (though Michael Ander, owner of Koko FitClub Hoboken suggested that may be our next technological leap in this April Fools post) Koko Smartraining will help you feel like you’ve turned back the clock by building and maintaining the muscle that slows down the effects of time on your body.

You might not want to hear it, but here are some cold, hard facts about your aging body.

If you aren’t doing something about it, your body loses a half pound of lean muscle tissue every year after the age of 25. This doesn’t mean you are just losing a half of pound of weight each year, (wouldn’t that be great?) your body is losing it’s most critical mass. Rapidly. This is bad. Lean muscle tissue is what keeps your metabolism high, burning lots of calories, keeping your weight under control and giving you strength and energy to go about your life. As the percent lean muscle in your body drops, you begin to notice a lot of things we write off as symptoms of “getting old.” Middle age spread, low energy, poor range of motion, lack of balance and flexibility; all can be attributed in very large part to diminished lean muscle tissue.

Now the good news: That “if” heading up the last paragraph? It’s a big one. It means you aren’t completely powerless in the face of what the progressing years are doing to your body. Turn back the clock…

With strength training, you can gain back what you’ve lost and rev up that sluggish metabolism. You can also build more lean muscle tissue than you’ve lost. A 60 year old man with the same muscle mass as an average 25 year old, will have the metabolism of an average 25 year old. Isn’t that incredible? Three 30 minute trips on the Koko Smartrainer each week, consistently, is all it takes. All it takes to turn back the clock…

Strength training on the Koko Smartrainer also fights back other symptoms of aging. It prevents bone loss and improves bone density. It improves flexibility, balance and range of motion in joints and tendons. This leaves you with a much lower risk for falls and injuries and much better mobility and independence as you move through your later years. You can be the 90 year old no one believes is a day over 70. Turn back the clock…

Isn’t it a great feeling to know that you aren’t powerless against aging and the march of time?  So, don’t just turn back the clock tonight, start today. At your Koko FitClub.

Mary Obana
President & Co-Founder
Koko FitClub

A well written, informative story on the topic of muscles loss and aging  can be found on NPR at http://n.pr/91aLmm