Hi Fabulous Friends!

Before I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving filled with memories and the best pumpkin pie you have ever had, I want to share what is happening inside our Aloha Alyssa Fit community. Consider this your pre holiday cheat code to building muscle in midlife!

This week we are getting laser focused on building muscle better and faster. It took me years and a whole lot of investment in coaches to learn what I am about to say in three simple points. If you want more strength, better shape, and a body that feels athletic again, skip the internet noise and start here.

1. Stop doing mindless tempo reps​
There is a time and place for tempo and bouncing in and out of reps and it is called cardio! I love cardio! I love to walk, surf, even taught step aerobics daily back in the early 2000s. But cardio with weights will not stimulate your muscle fibers the way they need to grow.

Start owning the end of your range in your squatting, pressing, lunging etc. Pause for half a second ... Feel where the muscle is supposed to work. Then, drive out of that position with power!! You are forcing full recruitment of the fibers that build strength, stability and actual shape. This is grown woman lifting. 😉

2. Stop limiting your range of motion​
Yes, if you are injured or your mobility is genuinely limited, you should never force tissues past their safe boundary. But some women are either choosing weights that are too heavy or not moving into their full range potential which results in cutting their reps short and teaching their joints and connective tissue to be more fragile. Weak things break. We are not doing that.

Start training through full range so the muscle, tendon and ligament system learns it can support you. Injury risk goes down. Muscle shape goes up. Your glutes and hamstrings will be very happy you stopped cheating them out of their potential. Your posture will thank you too.

3. Stop stopping too early​
If your last two reps do not slow down, if you do not have to make at least one unattractive face, and if you can breeze into the next set after a quick thirty second rest, you are nowhere near the stimulus required to grow.

Start training so that most of your working sets end with one or two reps left in the tank. Good form, but genuinely hard. That is where the magic happens. And if you do not believe me, ask yourself honestly how the opposite approach has worked so far for shape and strength. I say that with love and a sprinkling of attitude. 😘

When you train this way the volume goes down, the quality goes up, and the time you free up can go toward the things you actually love. Better energy. Better mood. Clothes that fit the way you want. Hair, skin and nails that stop being collateral damage.

Happy Thanksgiving and cheers to more strength, more muscle and less nonsense.

If you have FOMO or just wanna learn how to eat and lift in a fun and no risk environment, you can join us here: AAF Community + Strong + Lean Resource Hub. Invite your friends or forward them this email!

Cheers to pie, hugs and strong glutes,
​Alyssa Furukawa, PharmD​
CSCS | Precision Nutrition Certified | Women’s Coaching Specialist, GGS