Health&Wellness Magazine January 2015 | Page 47

For advertising information visit www.samplerpublications.com or call 859.225.4466 | January 2015 COACH continued from Page 41 maintains, depending on your diet/intensity) muscle mass. Push-ups and weight lifting are two good methods of gaining and preserving muscle in the arms. Push-ups also preserve muscle in the chest area. Do about 15 reps about three times a week for best results. Start with using 5-pound dumbbells, then increase the weights as your muscles become used to the workout. Crunches and sit-ups are time-honored abdominal exercises that will allow you to maintain muscle mass as you burn the excess layers of fat from around your belly. Do about 20 to 30 reps at least three times a week. Maintain muscle in your lower body by doing squats, lunges and leg lifts. About 15 reps of each should be enough to keep your natural muscle mass intact. Hold 5-pound dumbbells in your hands while you do these exercises for added resistance. To make sure you are losing the “right kind of weight”, chart your progress. It’s a little more complicated than just watching your total weight change on a scale. In fact, you don’t even really need to the scale anymore. You can use an entirely different set of barometers to monitor your weight loss: eyes, ears, belts, and weights. Eyes: Check yourself out. Without hovering in front of the mirror, strip down to the bare essentials and tak