Here's the bad news: most people will get fatter and less healthy as they age. One ginormous reason for this is that for every decade over the age of 25, resting metabolic rate (the body's ability to burn up calories while at rest) drops by 2-4%. If you follow this trajectory, this means that someone who is able to torch 1500 calories a day by just sitting on a sofa and doing little else at 25, will only be able to burn about 1200 calories a day doing the same activity at 55. Yikes!

And now the good news: you don't have to be like most people. It turns out that a huge factor in this metabolic decline is due to the loss of lean body mass, specifically, muscle. Calorically speaking, muscle is extremely expensive to create and maintain. By gaining and preserving muscle mass, resting metabolic rate improves. A lot. Yay!

And why do you want to maintain a lean, fit body? Well, besides looking good naked, you will gain these benefits:

• Improved heart health
• Reduced risk of stroke
• Improved blood pressure
• Prevention or reversal of type 2 diabetes
• Reduced risk of certain forms of cancer
• Increased energy
  
• Elevated mood
  
• Improved hormone function
• Improved sex drive and function(!)

And this is just a partial list!

(Laird Hamilton: 49 y.o.; Gabrielle Reece: 43 y.o.)

If you are wondering how to start building and preserving that muscle, here is your answer: muscle is most effectively and efficiently created and maintained through intense exercise such as resistance training, circuit training, interval training (like my 15 Minute Fat Burner Workout!), sprints and basically any exercise that works a bunch of muscles done near your maximum heart rate. Of course, if you're new to exercise, you will want to ease into an exercise program and work your way up from lower intensity exercise to more intense levels of exercise.

In addition to stimulating your muscles for growth through exercise, you will need proper nutrition in the right portions at the right times to build and fuel these new muscles under construction. This means eating protein, veggies and some healthy fats with every meal and limiting starchy carbs to meals right after these intense exercise sessions.

(Ernestine Shepherd: 77 y.o.)

Aging does not have to be a drag!  In fact, it can motivate and inspire you to be your best physically, mentally and emotionally. You now know the secret to aging like a badass and creating a physique like the one you had when you were 25 . . .or better!