Wayne Westcott - Get Stronger, Feel Younger: The Cardio and Diet-Free Plan to Firm Up and Lose Fat

GET

STRONGER,

FEEL

YOUNGER

THE CARDIO- AND DIET-FREE PLAN TO

FIRM UP AND LOSE FAT

WAYNE WESTCOTT, PHD,

AND GARY REINL

Notice

This book is intended as a reference volume only, not as a medical manual. The information given here is designed to help you make informed decisions about your health, diet, fitness, and exercise program. It is not intended as a substitute for professional fitness and medical advice.

If you suspect that you have a medical problem, we urge you to seek competent medical help.

As with all exercise programs, you should seek your doctors approval before you begin.

Mention of specific companies, organizations, or authorities in this book does not imply endorsement by the publisher, nor does mention of specific companies, organizations, or authorities imply that they endorse this book.

Internet addresses and telephone numbers given in this book were accurate at the time it went to press.

2007 by Wayne Westcott, PhD, and Gary Reinl

The recipes in Chapter 11:

2003 and 2004 by Rodale Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any other information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.

Rodale books may be purchased for business or promotional use or for special sales.

For information, please write to: Special Markets Department, Rodale Inc., 733 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017.

Printed in the United States of America

Book design by Christina Gaugler

Interior photographs by Thomas MacDonald

Illustrations by Karen Kuchar

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Westcott, Wayne L., date

Get stronger, feel younger : the cardio- and diet-free plan to firm up and lose fat / Wayne Westcott and Gary Reinl.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN-13 9781594866890 hardcover

ISBN-10 1594866899 hardcover

eISBN-10 1594866899 ebook

1. Exercise. 2. Physical fitness. 3. Muscle strength. I. Reinl, Gary R. II. Title.

RA781.W417 2007 613.7'1dc22 2007023661

Distributed to the trade by Holtzbrinck Publishers

With great appreciation for their love, support, and assistance,we gratefully dedicate this book to our wives, Claudia Westcott and Susan Reinl.

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

W e have been privileged to work with two outstanding Rodale editors, Courtney Conroy and Kevin Smith, and we are indebted to both of them for their excellent work. We are most grateful to Lois De La Haba for making this book possible, and to Buzz Truitt for his invaluable personal assistance and professional leadership with this project. We are particularly thankful to Jamie Robinson and Simone Strouble, our administrative associates, for their exceptionally fine work in preparing our manuscript.

Our extremely fit model, Olivia Chamberland, and our excellent design team of Marc Sirinsky, Christina Gaugler, Tom MacDonald, and Colleen Kobrick provided the superb exercise photos and book layout. We greatly appreciate all of the Rodale and Prevention team members, especially Michele Stanten, our fitness role model, Liz Vaccariello, Liz Perl, Nancy Hancock, and Francesca Minerva.

We also gratefully acknowledge Gregg Hammann, Tim Hawkins, Jim Brenner, Ron Arp, Bret Blount, and Kari Schunk at Nautilus for their expertise and for providing all of our exercise equipment. We also remember Arthur Jones and Dr. Ellington Darden for pioneering the strength-training techniques featured in our book.

We thank Ralph Yohe, Mary Hurley, Natalie Sheard, Mark Free, Rita La Rosa Loud, and Susan Stoddard at the South Shore YMCA for enabling us toconduct our extensive exercise studies. Finally, we could not conduct our research or write this text without Gods grace and the support of our wonderful wives, Claudia Westcott and Susan Reinl. We thank you above all for your love and assistance.

FOREWORD

I f you want to get stronger and feel younger, pick up some dumbbells. As Preventions fitness director and an exercise instructor for the past 15 years, I have seen strength training, or lifting weights, turn back the clock and give many women just like you slimmer, firmer, healthier bodiesat any age. Now the Get Stronger, Feel Younger Plan, developed by Wayne Westcott, PhD, one of the top strength-training researchers in the country, gives you all the information you need to see fabulous resultswhether you are picking up your first weights or have been lifting for years.

Strength training works because it targets one of the primary culprits of all those undesirable changes that occur as we agemuscle loss. Beginning as early as your twenties, you start to lose muscleabout pound a year. While that may not sound like much, when you consider all the roles that muscles play in your life, these little changes can have some big impacts.

Muscles fuel your bodys metabolism the amount of energy or number of calories your body uses every day to survive. The less muscle you have, the fewer calories your body burns, making it harder to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight. And muscle loss accelerates as you get older if you dont take action now.

Muscles make everyday activity easier . Im sure youve seen a grandparent or other elderly person whos had trouble getting out of a chair or climbing stairs. The problem in many cases is a lack of muscle strength. Strong muscleswill keep you moving with ease and most likely help you increase your everyday activity, which means youll burn more calories. As you start to rebuild lost muscle, you may even feel so good that youll be inspired to get back to activities you used to enjoy, such as cycling or dancing, or try something new like hiking, kickboxing, or tennis.

Muscles strengthen bones . As you get older, your bones start to weaken, increasing your risk of having a fracture. But the stronger your muscles are, the stronger your bones will be. Muscles pull on bones when you move, and the more powerful this action is, the more it will stimulate bones to get stronger. A strong skeletal system will also keep you standing taller and looking slimmer.

Muscles protect your joints . Back, knee, hip, and shoulder pain are common complaints as we age. By strengthening the muscles that surround and support these joints, youll reduce your risk of injury, be more likely to remain pain-free, and feel younger.

Muscles give you a firmer, fitter-looking body . Because its more compact than fat, muscle takes up less space. By losing fat through a healthy diet and exercise and building firm, calorie-burning muscle, youll lose inches and be slipping into smaller sizes in no time.

And the benefits dont stop there. Strength training has also been shown to lower cholesterol, reduce blood pressure, decrease the risk of diabetes, improve moods, and raise confidence levels.

Now if youre like most womenmyself includedyou probably gravitate toward aerobic types of exercise, like walking. And thats good because cardio exercise is important for staying fit and slim... but it doesnt provide the muscle-building benefits that strength training does. If you really want to look and feel younger, you need to include weight lifting in your routine, and the Get Stronger, Feel Younger Plan can help.