The right answer is related to a very specific type of muscle fiber.It's the first to decline with age – unless you specifically remember to train it!These often-overlooked muscle fibers have the greatest potential to:

- change their shape (and thus shape your body).
- regulate your blood sugar and improve your insulin sensitivity.
- produce anti-inflammatory molecules that keep your immune system in tip-top shape, and your metabolism adaptable.

And how about the stubborn belly fat?
Gone!

These muscle fibers have been consistently neglected by most training programs, especially the so-called "women's fitness programs", and when it comes to women's health, the price of this neglect is simply too high. It has to stop!

Had enough of the suspense yet?

It's the fast-twitch muscle fibers that decline drastically when you hit the 50 mark.

And along with a significant percentage of your muscle mass, you will also experience a reduction in your ... SPEED!

You will feel a reduction in your ability to:

• Sprint across the pedestrian crossing when the traffic light changes to red as you approach midway.
• Hit the brakes fast on your bike when a driver hasn't seen you.
• React quickly so you don't fall when you stumble on your way down the stairs.

The fast-twitch muscle fibers are called "fast" because they generate a lot of power quickly!

You'll begin to lose speed, then strength, then stamina, and then finally your overall fitness will decline.

Armed with this knowledge, it might surprise you to learn that the primary focus of the vast majority of training programs for women is cardio and endurance.

From classic aerobics to circuit training to holding isometric exercises like planking and its variations for the longest period of time... None focus on what really matters most!

While training the (small) slow-twitch muscle fibers will enable you to live life in 1st and 2nd gear, training the (large) fast-twitch muscle fibers will give you access to 3rd, 4th, 5th, and even 6th gear. You'll be faster with every fiber of your being, literally and figuratively!

So these are the muscles youneedto activate and train in order to reshape your body, develop strength, and get that high-level burn both during and after exercise.

They also keep insulin resistance at bay, which is the reason why fat accumulates around your waist, especially during menopause.

What you should know about your fast-twitch muscle fibers:

- they have the greatest concentration of the enzyme myosin ATPase, which converts chemical energy into directed movement

– it's like your molecular motor.- they can counteract both the acute inflammation associated with infections as well as the chronic inflammation caused by stress, a sedentary lifestyle, aging, and various lifestyle diseases. Because contraction of the fast-twitch muscle fibers produces high concentrations of myokines (anti-inflammatory molecules).

- they are most effective at stimulating new bone formation and preventing (or counteracting) osteoporosis. Contraction of the fast-twitch fibers stimulates the production of osteocalcin, a hormone that plays an important role in regulating our energy intake in line with our energy consumption, insulin production, and carbohydrate management.

It is a HUGE problem that most training programs marketed for women focus on heart-rate training and fat-burning cardio, instead of power- and muscle-building exercises - thus neglecting the fast-twitch fibers and losing out on all the amazing benefits they offer!

There's just one small "but"…

The slow-twitch muscle fibers have a low activation threshold, while the fast-twitch fibers have a much higher threshold value.
Simply put: It takes more to get them working.

Essentially, you will almost always use slow-twitch fibers to perform an activity. To activate the fast-twitch fibers, the load has to be high enough to induce the brain to trigger the fast-twitch muscles. And the brain prefers not to do that!

It's important to note that "load" is not necessarily about lifting the heaviest weight possible. It is about strengthening the signal from the brain to the muscles by first strengthening the brain's sensitivity to internal signals (interoception).It's also about the rapid acceleration of lighter weights (lifting explosively). And about creating a large amount of tension inside the muscle.

Does it sound a little daunting? Don't worry.

You can learn how to do all this and more with my strength method THE 5.

I'll guide you through the process of making contact with your fast-twitch muscle fibers and together we will get them working like never before!