⭑ For strength gains do cardio second ✔ It's a metabolic fact
⭑ If you want to lose calories faster avoid the fat-burning zone ✔ Here's why
⭑ Healthy fats are an essential part of a healthy over-50's diet ✔ Research
⭑ Build fast reflex and big muscle strength with this one exercise ✔

All strength to Ukraine 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦

Hello,

I trust you are well and active.

Item #1: A newspaper article prompted me to respond to their click-bait "revelation" that doing cardio before strength training was a better way to exercise than the other way around. Don't be misled, if you want to build strength and muscle mass you do your strength training first. I explain why.

Busting the myth in item 1 put me in the mood to bust another myth - the ubiquitous "fat burning zone" myth. The fact is that exercising at say 80% of your maximum effort will burn 50% more calories than being in the "fat burning zone" for the same period of time, see item #2.

After 50, both weight loss and good health require that we eat fats - healthy fats - and not revert to low calorie low fat diets, which is item #3.

Then, in item #4, build explosive power safely with this simple exercise. It will boost your posture and greatly help prevent you falling.
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01 Which To Do First, Strength or Cardio Exercise?

Periodically this topic of the sequencing of exercise pops up across news and social media channels, as it did recently in the New York Times. The pronouncement was that doing aerobic training before strength training results in increased fat utilisation during the strength training phase.

Considering that it is metabolically impossible to restore muscular glycogen stores when hard strength training follows hard aerobic training I doubted the findings.

When I dug into the cited research I found that a group cycled at 65% VO2max for 30 minutes and then did 3X10 sets of "strength" exercises at 70% of their maximum weight capacity.

So this means essentially that the entire exercise regime was moderate intensity.

⇒ Cycling at 65% VO2Max is not enough to fatigue most people and its demands do not deplete the muscular glycogen stores (it will deplete 30 to 40% of the glycogen).

What this means for you: The specific exercise sequence used in the study primed the body for a continued burn of carbs/fat as the participants transitioned from the aerobic phase into the "strength" phase.

The reality remains that if building strength and building muscle mass is your goal then metabolically you have to do strength first. Doing aerobic exercise first depletes muscle glycogen, reducing the energy available for heavy lifts and fast twitch lifts.

The best order depends on your primary goal:

1. Strength/Power Goals: Strength training first.
2. Endurance Goals: Aerobic exercise first.
3. General Fitness/Weight Loss: Order matters less; consistency is key. Some prefer alternating focus (e.g., cardio days vs. strength days).

⇒ If combining both, strength first is better for maintaining strength gains.

Related: ​​​​​​How to Break Through Your Exercise Plateaus​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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02 Fat Burning Zone: Does Not Burn The Most Calories

Did you know that you don’t burn the most calories by exercising at the "fat burning zone"?

The fat burning zone is where fat provides the highest percentage of energy (relative to carbs).

⇒ But total energy burned per minute is lower than at higher intensities.

In other words the myth is "you burn more fat in the fat-burning zone" - implying more calories in total, but the reality is that the total energy burned per minute is higher at higher exercise intensities.

What this means for you… For the same amount of time you spend in the fat burning zone you will burn:

• 20% more calories at 70% max effort,
• 50% more calories at 80% max effort, and
• 80% more calories at 85% max effort.

In addition, exercising at 80% max effort, and above, stimulates an elevated calorie burn that continues after exercise as your body works to restore itself to a resting state. This "afterburn" effect contributes to additional fat and calorie loss beyond what you burned during the workout itself.

⇒ If you are metabolically fit and up to it exercising harder will burn more calories than being in the fat burning zone for a similar time. And it will contribute to an extra 10% of workout calories lost after exercising due to the "afterburner" effect.

Related: ​​Does Running Burn More Calories Than Walking? Yes, unless ...​​​​​

@Medium - Follow me on Medium ↗, covering ⭑food, ⭑brain, ⭑body, ⭑life

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03 Healthy Fats: The Smart Way To Lose Weight After 50

For decades, low-fat diets were marketed as the gold standard for weight loss, especially for older adults. But emerging research flips this script: restricting healthy fats can backfire, leading to muscle loss, nutrient deficiencies, and even worse metabolic health. Here’s why:

• Fats are essential for producing testosterone, estrogen, and other hormones that regulate metabolism and muscle maintenance—both of which decline with age .
• Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble. Skimping on fats means your body can’t use these critical nutrients, even if you eat them .
• Low-fat diets often replace fats with refined carbs (e.g., white bread, sugary snacks), spiking blood sugar and accelerating insulin resistance—a key driver of belly fat .

⇒ A 2024 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition review found that adults over 50 on moderate-fat diets (35% of calories from fats like olive oil and nuts) lost more belly fat than low-fat dieters, despite eating the same calories.

What this means for you: We older adults need 30–50% more protein than younger adults to combat sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss).

Yet, most of us eat the bulk of our protein at dinner—too late to maximise muscle synthesis because protein synthesis peaks 4–5 hours after eating and slows overnight due to lower growth hormone secretion and reduced blood flow to muscles during sleep.

Thus, we need to be eating more protein earlier in the day:

• 20–30g protein at breakfast: Think 2 eggs + Greek yogurt, or a smoothie with whey protein and almond butter. A 2023 Nutrients study linked this habit to 12% greater muscle retention over 6 months .
• Leucine Leverage: Include leucine-rich foods (cottage cheese, salmon, lentils)—this amino acid triggers muscle growth, especially post-50 .

⇒ Pair protein with healthy fats (e.g., avocado on whole-grain toast) to slow digestion and stay full for hours.

Related: ​​​​​​​Energise Your Golden Years: Boosting Your Desire to Exercise with Gut-Healthy Foods​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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04 Explosive Power, Better Balance, Fewer Tripups

Our exercise of the week is ... step-ups with knee drive.

Step-ups with an added knee drive will not only strengthen your glutes, hamstrings and quadriceps, but also improve your balance AND improve your explosive power.

What this means for you: Better balance, better posture, and explosive power means you are more likely to react to a stumble in time and prevent yourself from falling.
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See this video which in 44 seconds shows you the technique and good form.

Related: ​​​​​​​Keep Your Tendons Healthy And Your Balance Will Look After Itself​
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Thanks for reading!

>> My Latest Blog Post: Energise Your Golden Years: Boosting Your Desire to Exercise with Gut-Healthy Foods​

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