20 Minutes to Fitness Logo Icon
20 Minutes to Fitness Logo Icon

Category: Bone density

What’s your reason to get fit this year?

 • 

People exercise for all sorts of reasons.

Everyone who trains at 20 Minutes to Fitness is here for a reason.

Of course, everyone wants to improve their physical fitness. They love that 20 Minutes to Fitness makes it possible to build strength and endurance with just ONE 20-minute session a week. They also appreciate the encouragement they receive from their personal coach, who stays by their side, setting each machine and making sure they use safe, proper form.

 Dig a little deeper, and you will learn that everyone who trains at 20 Minutes to Fitness has a reason why they want get fit. These reasons usually fall into one of several categories. What is YOUR reason? Or reasons? Many people have more than one!

  •  To meet a goal.

Some people want to be more competitive in sports. Or perhaps they want to be able to finish nine holes of golf without back pain. Or to walk three miles without fatigue. Some want to build strength so they can keep up with their children. Or their grandchildren. Or their great-grandchildren. For all these people, exercise is part of the solution.

  • So you can maintain your independence.

Most advertising for “people of certain age” focuses on senior living communities, reverse mortgages, medical alert devices and other reminders of their mortality. Some people don’t give up so easily. They exercise because it helps to keep them young. Building strength helps live independently, travel and check off items on their bucket list long into their golden years.

  • To look better.

There is often a bit of vanity behind the decision to get fit. Some people want to lose weight. Others want to maintain the weight they are at. Some want to build muscle because makes their clothes fit better. By helping to shape and tone the body, strength training does all these things.

The truth is people tend to carry themselves more confidently and have a better self-image when they look and feel strong. Strength-training also supports a healthy metabolism, helping efficiently burn fat long after a workout is complete. It’s the gift that keeps on giving!

  • To feel better.

Exercise increases the flow of oxygen in the brain and releases positive, mood-altering chemicals. Both can help reduce pain and increase brain function, as well as help combat anxiety and depression. Some people exercise to relieve stress and manage anxiety. Or because it improves the quality of their sleep and memory.

Regular exercise also boosts endurance and overall energy levels. Some find that can enhance their ability to cope with life’s challenges. In addition, meeting milestones provides a sense of accomplishment. Training at 20 Minutes to Fitness, some say, just feels good!

  • Because someone told you to.

Sometimes, the motivation to exercise comes from an outside source. It could be a doctor who is concerned about your blood pressure or bone health. Or a rehabilitation specialist who says you need to rebuild muscle following a surgery or illness. Or a physical therapist who thinks exercise will help reduce pain and improve mobility.

That “someone” could be a friend or relative who has reaped the benefits of exercise and wants you to experience them, too. Or it could be a stranger who opens a door or offers to carry a package, reminding you that you aren’t as young and strong as you once were. Some people listen to this advice because, deep down, they know the person giving it is right.

  • Because you’re looking ahead.

Unless we exercise our muscles properly, we can lose five to seven pounds of muscle tissue each decade of our adult lives. We also tend to gain fat as we grow older due to the slowing of our metabolisms and a decline in activity. The good news: strength-training can reverse muscle loss.

Exercise also helps maintain flexibility and reduces the risk of age-related joint issues. It may even contribute to a lower risk of cognitive decline in older adults. It can help stave off osteoporosis and control diabetes. In fact, next to quitting smoking, doctors say that building muscle is the best thing you can do to give yourself the best chance for a long and healthy life. For many, exercise is a long-term investment that delivers excellent return on their investment.

  • Because exercise is fun!

We hear from plenty of people who admit that they don’t like to exercise. At least they didn’t like it until they came to 20 Minutes to Fitness. Now they see getting fit in a whole new light. It’s not easy. But because the entire workout takes just 20 minutes, start to finish, they know they can do it.

Plus, some people say they enjoy the social interaction they find here. They get to know their coaches, most of whom have worked here many years and have a knack for making each 20-minute session fly by. Some become friends with other people who train at the same time as they do, week after week. Training at 20 Minutes to Fitness, they decide, makes exercise fun.

—

Want to learn more about the people who build strength and fitness at 20 Minutes to Fitness? Check out this article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which profiles three great examples. 

What’s your reason for getting fit in 2024? (stltoday.com)

Joyce Wright at 20 Minutes to Fitness in Chesterfield

By adding a special back exercise to her 20 Minutes to Fitness routine, Joyce increased her spinal bone density by 9 points in less than a year.

Joyce Wright began training at 20 Minutes to Fitness in Chesterfield in 2010 with two goals in mind: (1) to increase her overall fitness level and (2) to improve her bone density. Here is her story:

“I have been receiving Prolia injections for osteoporosis in my spin and hips from 2008 to the present. I get a bone scan each year. Since taking Prolia, my bone density increased slightly each year — until 2018, when it stayed the same.

“I explained this to Casey, my trainer at 20 MTF, and she added a back exercise to my weekly workout. At my yearly bone scan in 2019, the bone density in my spine increased by 9 points.

“Since I made no other changes in calcium, vitamin D3 or other medications or exercise routines, I attribute this gain to 20 MTF — and the added back exercise in particular.

“My doctor was very pleased and said to keep doing whatever I had been doing, which means continuing Prolia and 20 MTF. She (my doctor) added very positive comments about 20 MTF.”
—
Are you over 50 and at risk of osteoporosis? If so, please let us help. Our regimen can not only help improve bone density, it provides a host of other health benefits as well!


Shirley Jorgenson of St. Louis celebrated a major health win this year: a 2% increase in her bone density, which she achieved WITHOUT prescription medication.

The news came just 2 years after her doctor initially diagnosed her with osteopenia, a precursor to osteoporosis.

The secret to her success? Once-a-week strength training at 20 Minutes to Fitness, along with over-the-counter calcium supplements.

“After weekly workouts with Cathy at 20 Minutes to Fitness, it was confirmed to me that this workout produces results,” said Joregenson. “My doctor told me, keep doing what you’re doing!”

Joregenson’s results confirm what research from Harvard Medical School and others has said all along: strong muscles lead to strong bones.

Most of us know that weight-bearing and resistance exercises build muscle mass and strength, but few understand what’s happening inside of our bones. Like muscles, our bones are living tissue that require exercise to become stronger, and numerous studies support that strength training plays a crucial role in slowing bone loss.

According to a Harvard Medical School Special Health Report, “Activities that put stress on bones can nudge bone-forming cells into action–the result is stronger, denser bones.” Strong bones can help minimize the risk of fracture due to osteoporosis.

After the age of 30, we lose more bone mass than we gain. A combination of age, sedentary lifestyles and poor nutrition deplete bone mass, leaving us fragile and at-risk for fracture. Harvard Medical School reports that an estimated 8 million women and 2 million men in the United States now have osteoporosis.  As the number of people with osteoporosis rises, so does the number of osteoporosis-related fractures.

These numbers point to an epidemic that requires life-long intervention. Once-a-week strength training at 20 Minutes to Fitness is just that.  Performed under the watchful eye of a physical therapist or personal trainer, workouts are safe for all ages — including people in their 80s and 90s.

Our medically based, load-bearing workouts help prevent osteoporosis by reducing bone loss and increasing bone density. Offsetting age-related decline in bone mass encourages power and balance and enhances strength and stability. They provide a host of other health benefits as well.

The proof is in our results.  Just ask Shirley.

To schedule a free consultation and first workout, find a location near you at 20MinutesToFitness.com

A New York Times report looks at the impact of muscle loss as we age — and how to rebuild it.

If you are a woman over age 50, this NYT article may be the most important article you read all month. It explains the impact of muscle loss on functional decline. The good news is, the article reports, it is possible to regain lost muscle mass through strength training. And 20 Minutes to Fitness can help — no matter how old or out of shape you may think you are!

Some excerpts on muscle loss:

“I, like many people past 50, have a condition called sarcopenia — a decline in skeletal muscle with age. It begins as early as age 40 and, without intervention, gets increasingly worse, with as much as half of muscle mass lost by age 70.”

“As Dr. Jeremy D. Walston, geriatrician at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, put it, “Sarcopenia is one of the most important causes of functional decline and loss of independence in older adults.”

“But — and this is a critically important “but” — no matter how old or out of shape you are, you can restore much of the strength you already lost. Dr. Moffat noted that research documenting the ability to reverse the losses of sarcopenia — even among nursing home residents in their 90s — has been in the medical literature for 30 years, and the time is long overdue to act on it.”

Read the entire New York Times article here.

20 Minutes to Fitness builds muscle strength

20 Minutes to Fitness has clients in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. All have benefited from our safe, supervised strength training program.  Our workouts are performed one-on-one on MedX physical therapy equipment under the guidance of a personal coach.  Our staff includes physical therapists and PT assistants and other highly trained professionals.

As the NYT reports, “Proper technique is critical to getting the desired results without incurring an injury.”  Contact us today about a free consultation and workout.

Sue Matlof

“My bone density had been decreasing, and I decided I had to add strength-training to my exercise. After 14 years, I keep coming because it’s fun, and I can do a lot for my health in just 20 minutes.”

Sue Matlof 14-year client of 20 Minutes to Fitness St. Louis

Have you been wanting to learn more about 20 Minutes to Fitness? Here’s your chance! Show Me St. Louis recently stopped by our studio in Clayton and spoke with Megan Arney, PTA, one of our fitness coaches, as she led a training session.

Do you realize we are allotted 10,080 minutes each week? And all we’re asking is for you to spend 20 of them with us. That’s it. Twenty measly minutes a week! In exchange, we will help you build your strength, burn fat, increase your bone density, improve your flexibility and balance, stave off the consequences of aging AND look better in a pair of jeans. Not a bad trade-off, is it?

Here’s to a happy and and healthy 2018!

Worried about osteoporosis? Then you should read what 20 Minutes to Fitness client Dorothy Menetre has to say!

I came to 20 Minutes to Fitness because I was bored with the routine of a “regular” gym. It had become monotonous, and I was totally “burned out.”

I enjoy the fact that I can now do 20 minutes, once a week, and I am finished. The benefit I was not expecting is that a recent bone density scan showed a slight improvement in my bone density over the past two years. That is really exciting for me, and it will keep me returning for my 20 minutes.

Thanks very much, 20 Minutes to Fitness!

Dorothy Menetre
St. Louis, Missouri