With age comes wisdom—and a loss of strength and muscle

By Patricia Nugent

At 74, Ann Martin says she plans to follow in her father Hilton’s footsteps and stay active up until the end of her life.

“He lived a happy, active and mobile life until he passed away at 96,” she says. “He always attributed it to staying strong.”

Five years ago, when she wasn’t feeling her sporadic exercise routine was enough, she read a story in Mimi about MaxStrength Fitness.

“The program looked like it was nicely geared toward safety and success,” she says. “What I was doing before coming here had no real structure or plan. I wasn’t really pushing myself and it showed.”

Combating Decline
“My goal was to combat decline in aging, to avoid health issues that come along with loss of muscle strength,” she says. “I’ve achieved that and more. I’m sleeping better and even carry myself better and straighter.”

The trainers at MaxStrength planned a program around Ann’s goals and capabilities and modify it when needed.

“I receive constant feedback on my form and what I need to do push through and reach my goals,” she says. “It never feels like I’m risking injury. I have sciatica and spinal stenosis and the exercise has really helped with those.”

According to her trainer, Cassie Pryor, “Ann is remarkably consistent, focused, determined and always gives everything she has during our sessions. Not only has Ann become stronger and built muscle mass while training at MSF, but she has also maintained strength and muscle while losing over 20 pounds. Often, weight loss is accompanied by muscle and strength loss as well, but Ann was able to prevent that loss by staying consistent with her strength training.”

Outside the studio, Ann says she’s motivated to do more than ever, such as walking and yoga. She also enjoys spending time with her husband, five kids, 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

“I cannot recommend MaxStrength highly enough,” she adds. “It’s important to invest in yourself.”

Triggering Change
MSF Founder Jeff Tomaszewski is a “numbers guy” in every sense of the word. He’s spent decades constructing and perfecting the protocol for which MSF has become so well known, based on science and research.

This former professor and athletic trainer at Case Western Reserve University uncovered the threshold point for triggering adaptive change in the body—two weekly 20-minute sessions led by personal trainers on specialized equipment—and then brought it to life in his studios.

In addition to the charts, graphs and studies, you can’t discount the human factor of accountability and motivation provided by the dedicated professional trainers that make MaxStrength unique.

“The loss of muscle mass as people age causes a cascade of negative health effects in the body,” says Jeff. “Our goal is to reverse that, for our clients to actually gain muscle mass as they age gracefully. The results are transformational and profound.”

MaxStrength Fitness is located at 13500 Pearl Road in Strongsville. The new studio joins other locations in Westlake and Willoughby. Call 440-835-9090 or visit MaxStrengthFitness.com for more information.