Build strength and bone density

By Patricia Nugent

As a post-menopausal woman with a family history of osteoporosis, when Laurel Babcock turned 60, she began looking for a plan to amend the writing on her wall.

“My primary care physician, Dr. Joan McDonough, suggested strength training as a viable means of proactively preventing bone density loss,” recalls Laurel. “She told me about the studio where she trains, MaxStrength Fitness, and with the mindset of ‘if it’s good enough for her, it’s good enough for me,’ I decided to check it out last March.”

Though she had previously worked out in big box gyms, Laurel never felt she was pushed to do more. When she didn’t see results, she lost interest and quit. What she likes best about MSF is the professionalism and expertise of the trainers.

“They push me to the point of exhaustion,” she says. “The workouts are challenging, always changing, never boring. I walk out of here energized. And since the studio temperatures are kept in the 60s to make for no-sweat workouts, I’m fine to go to work without bothering to shower, which is game-changing.”

The Myriad Benefits
In addition to peace of mind that she’s protecting her bone density, Laurel reports there have been other benefits to her lifestyle after training at MaxStrength.

“As a vocalist in the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, I have to stand for hours at a time while holding my music in front of me,” she says. “This often caused me lower back and shoulder pain. I would need to take pain pills and apply pain patches before each performance. After exercising here for a month or two, that went away.”

Though she is retired from her career in teaching, Laurel still works at her family’s funeral home. With she and her husband both fully retiring at some point on the horizon, she’s happy to envision a brighter future.

The osteoporosis experience that Laurel’s grandmother had—shrinking, becoming somewhat debilitated and fearful of falls—is not one she plans to share.

“We currently enjoy travelling in our RV and hope to trade it in for a better one and travel the country when we retire,” she explains. “Since training here, I’ve gone from someone who liked to sit and read sitting next to the RV, to someone who loves to hike and explore. My energy has increased significantly along with my muscle tone.”

Safe, Slow, Controlled Movements
MaxStrength founder Jeff Tomaszewski says that when he was researching the science that eventually led to his unique protocol, he began to appreciate the key role lean muscle played in a person’s overall strength and ability to thrive while aging.

“People should be as wary of losing muscle mass over the years as they are maintaining a healthy weight,” he says. “Muscle loss can trigger a decline in bone density, which can lead to fractures and falls. Fortunately, in the past our clients with osteoporosis have either significantly slowed the progression of bone loss, stopped it, or reversed it, which is encouraging.”

The goal of MaxStrength’s slow, controlled equipment is to completely fatigue the muscles in a shorter amount of time than traditional training.

“Our trainer-led workouts take only about 20 minutes, twice a week, and people say they feel invigorated afterward,” Jeff says.

MaxStrength Fitness is located at 4212 State Route 306 in Willoughby. Call 440-226-8080 at 2211 Crocker Road in Westlake, 440-835-9090 and at
13500 Pearl Road in Strongsville, 440-467-0700 or for more information or to view more testimonials, visit MaxStrengthFitness.com.