PODCAST EPISODE 161: The Importance of Resistance Training for Women Over 50 with Mike Pullano

According to Mike Pullano, our podcast guest today, resistance training might be an aging girl’s best friend. The Chief Product Officer at ARX (Adaptive Resistance Exercise) recommends resistance training as a key part of aging gracefully—and for good reasons. Mikes insists that resistance training is a fundamental part of health. It is arguably the first line of defense against muscle loss. Strength training also builds resilience, reduces your physical vulnerability to injury, helps ease the management of chronic conditions, boosts your cognitive health, and even impacts gene expression to reverse the progression of aging. 

A Few Takeaways from Our Interview: 

This discussion covers a wide range of topics surrounding the use of machine-driven resistance to create an adaptive resistance training program to help optimize the physical and mental benefits of exercise—especially for aging women. It’s a conversation that is sure to pique your interest if you enjoy strength training or slowing down the aging process. 

Benefits of Resistance Training 

Mike: There are so many things that can come from one good bout of resistance exercise… If you do enough resistance training, your body will build bone and bone mineral density—which after the age of 30, pretty much is a downward trend. It depends if you do any exercise, whether or not that trend is off a cliff, or a nice, slow, and gradual one until you're age 80… it promotes tendon and ligament integrity… there are genetic expression improvements…hormonal improvements…I mean, the list just keeps going…It's essentially the fountain of youth. 

Injury Prevention and Fostering a Favorable Exercise Environment 

Kim: What are some of those things that people do that caused them to get injured? And how does your equipment help eliminate that thing that they might be doing? 

Mike: With an ARX workout, there's no setting for the resistance. You as the user are the one that is creating the resistance. And that's a complete flip compared to if I lift the weight over my head and I need to be able to lower that weight because gravity is acting on it at all times. That's cool for reps, 1 through 5, but maybe 6,7,8 get really difficult, and you can't hold that same amount of resistance anymore. It's not adapting to you. Something that was completely fine for reps, 1 through 5 becomes inappropriate—and then that's where the potential for injury can happen. 

Keeping Good Form When Resistance Training 

Mike: The number one thing that people don't recognize is: What is an actual safe range of motion, and what is the safe speed at which to operate in that range of motion?... So, we set your range of motion that’s unique to you, and customized for your body, and what you feel comfortable with... We also set the speed at which the ARX machine moves. 

Exercise for the Brain 

Mike: I'll challenge anybody to go type in whatever you're afraid of in your family – cardiovascular health, Alzheimer's, etc. – type that in and add exercise in there (e.g., Alzheimer’s and exercise). And I promise you, you're going to find a connection. There's so much information right now about the value of exercise, and yet, people still don't do it, or they don't do it to the level that they're supposed to. 

“Driving the Ferrari” 

Mike: If you just do that [resistance training] and you get the bone mineral density or the muscle-building, then go ride your bike, go run with your running group, go swimming, do whatever you want to do. If you have a Ferrari or if you build a Ferrari, go drive it once in a while. Don't let it sit in the garage all day. You spent time and effort to get this thing working correctly, go use it. 

Kim: The point isn't to spend your life in the gym, it's to use the gym so that you can do the other things – at least that's how I feel. 

We talked about SO. Much. More!

Listen to the full episode in the player above, or any other platform you listen to podcasts. Or search for Power Up Your Performance on your favorite podcast player.

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Connect with Mike Pullano 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikepullano/  
• Website: https://arxfit.com/  
• Instagram: @arxfit 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Arxfit/videos 

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