Developing Muscle Power with a Dumbbell Complex
The third variable in the muscle health equation
When we think about “muscle health” we traditionally think about strength and muscle mass or size. But there is a third element in the muscle health equation that is critical to overall health and longevity and that is muscle “power”. Muscle strength, mass, and power are all important for optimal muscle function which drives glucose metabolism, physical independence, vitality, and longevity. You can learn more about this in my previous blog post: Muscle Hypertrophy, Strength, and Power: The Keys to Thriving During Midlife.
Muscle power is defined as the weight that can be moved in a specified time period. For example, performing 10 repetitions of a bench press over 20 seconds requires less muscle power than performing 10 repetitions of a bench press at that same weight over 15 seconds.
Type II muscle fibers are the “power-generating” fibers that excel in rapid, explosive, short-duration muscular contraction. Translated into real life, this is what helps you recover on your feet or break a fall if you trip, lift a heavy box from the floor onto a shelf, perform yard work, or move furniture, to name a few. In sport, the action of these fibers helps us sprint out of the starting gate or at the end of a race toward the finish line. Jumping, heavy weight lifting, and other short sprint activities are also powered by these Type II fibers.
Unfortunately, as midlife approaches and hormones begin to change along the transition to menopause, there is a shift from Type II to the slow twitch Type I fibers that specialize in lower intensity, longer duration muscular work. This results in a loss of muscle power.
Fortunately, hormones are not the only things that muscles respond to. Muscles also respond to mechanical stimulation! So, by providing a stimulus to the muscles that requires power to accomplish a task, this promotes “adaptation” where the muscle retains those Type I fibers, thus stemming the tide of Type II fiber loss and loss of muscle power as a result of changing hormones. We see a similar pattern with bone density. Weight training provides a stimulus to the bones that stimulates an adaptive response to retain bone, which mitigates the decline in bone density seen as one progresses through the menopause transition.
Today’s workout is a dumbbell complex that stimulates those Type II muscle fibers by focusing on quick, powerful movements that involve the lower and upper body.
TIP! Your weight selection should focus on sound mechanics and efficient movement patterns - not on how heavy the weight is.
Warm-Up
TABATA - 20 seconds of work/10 seconds of rest for a total of 12 rounds (6 minutes). Ex- Perform 20 seconds of up-downs/10 seconds of rest. Then perform 20 seconds of push-ups and 10 seconds of rest. Continue until you have done each of the three movements in sequence 4 times.
Movement Practice
Watch the videos carefully and practice each movement. Select a set of dumbbells that allows you to do the entire complex in about 20 seconds. Do one or two trial runs of the complex to ensure you are selecting an appropriate weight and familiar with the flow of the movements.
Workout
EMOM 20 minutes - Do the following complex of movements each minute on the minute for 20 minutes.
Cool-Down
Show your posterior chain some love with this 15-minute lower back care segment!
Housekeeping…..
Now Live!
I am so excited to announce my latest collaboration with Feisty with the debut of a 4-part series for the Feisty Women’s Performance Podcast called “Hormonal”. The awesome and amazing Selene Yeager and I team up to bring you the ESSENTIALS of what women of all ages should know about how hormones impact athletic performance, how to identify when something goes wrong, and how to work WITH your physiology rather than against it to achieve your performance potential.
Subscribe now to the Feisty Women’s Performance Podcast and gear up for Episode 1 which drops on April 15th!
