Lean body mass comprises bone and muscle. You begin to lose muscle tissue around the age of 30 and bone tissue around the age of 40. This loss of lean body mass increases your risk of injuries from falls and decreases your ability to perform your everyday activities. Reverse the loss of muscle and decrease the rate of bone loss by regularly engaging in an intense weight-training program using moderate to heavy weights.
Step 1
Perform weight-training exercises two to three days per week. Use dumbbells and barbells to work the major muscles of your body by doing exercises such as bench presses, dumbbell rows, squats, lunges, shoulder presses, dumbbell curls and triceps dips. Hold a weight plate against your chest as you do crunches on an exercise ball.
Step 2
Complete weight-bearing endurance exercises such as a walk and jog interval. Walk for two minutes, then jog for one minute, continuing to alternate the intervals until you have completed 30 to 60 minutes. Vary your routine by running up a hill, then walking down a hill.
Step 3
Include plyometric exercises such as squat jumps for three sets of 10 repetitions. Lower your body into a squat and quickly jump up; sink back down into a squat to rapidly jump up again. Change this plyometric exercise by jumping up to a step-aerobic bench, then jumping down into a squat position.
Step 4
Use a lot of force to throw a heavy medicine ball against a rebounder from above your head; catch the ball and powerfully throw it back to the rebounder, completing one set of 10 reps. Throw the ball from your right side, then catch it on your left side, alternating sides for one set of 10 reps per side. Do one set of overhead throws then one set of side throws to complete three total sets per throwing direction.
Step 5
Eat plenty of calories to support your exercise routine and build lean body mass. Consume a combination of carbohydrates and protein, such as in a protein shake, an hour before your exercise session then eat immediately after your workout. Extreme dieting will force your body to break down your lean body tissues in order to fuel your exercise.
Tips and Warnings
- Keep a log of your workouts to ensure you are progressively increasing the intensity.
- Do only one day of highly-intensive aerobic exercise per week; intense exercise places a tremendous amount of stress on your joints. Prevent over-training injuries by performing your weight-training routine every other day or with two days between each session.
Things You'll Need
- Dumbbells
- Barbells
- Step-aerobic bench
- Medicine balls
- Rebounder
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