My name is Olaf Sorensen, the founder of 30 Minute Strength.
I started 30 Minute Strength, because I discovered that staying strong and lean, only requires one short strength training session per week, in fact if exercise is overdone, it becomes detrimental to our bodily function and wellbeing, which I personally discovered the hard way.
As we approach and enter middle age, it has unfortunately become common to accept the occurrence of an expanding waistline, a decline in strength and in some instances, the inability to move about independently without some sort of mobility aid, as a normal part of getting older.
My aim with 30 Minute Strength, is to show you, that what is common in today’s society is not necessarily normal and with a smart approach to exercise and diet, you can stay strong and lean at any age.
The danger of too much exercise
As a long distance runner throughout my thirties, I competed in races from half marathons (21 km) to ultra marathons (85 km) and maintained a training schedule of running up to 150 km per week.
I also believed, that the more battered and sore I felt in the days after a training session, the stronger and leaner my body would become.
This No Pain No Gain approach to exercise is unfortunately far from optimal for obtaining a lean and strong physique, as I would discover.
At the age of 40, I estimated my fitness to be as good as ever and underwent a VO2Max test, to have my fitness level scientifically tested.
With a test score of 70, it did seem to confirm, that I was in fact at the fittest point in life.
Because I was fit and looked lean, it came as no surprise that my body fat percentage was at the very low end of what is considered normal.
Everything I was doing, seemed to be leading in a positive direction, until I learnt that many long distance runners end up with heart disease later in life, due to the excessive stress, which high volume training can inflict on the body over time.
Becoming leaner with less exercise
Over the next three to four years, I reduced my physical training to long slow leisurely walks, plus one or two short strength training session per week, a far cry from running 150 km weekly.
Following this time saving and low volume approach to exercise, allowed me to obtain a leaner physique at the age of 44, than four years earlier at the peak of my running fitness.
Continuing my own self experimentation and further study into diet and exercise since then, it has become quite clear, that stressing our body with a prolonged high volume of hard exercise, can in some instances, yield negative results in the form of increased body fat, along with a loss of muscle, bone and connective tissue.
Eat more fat and less sugar to become lean
It goes against common societal belief to exercise less in order to lose body fat, just as eating more fat to achieve this objective. However, in my personal experience and those of my clients, these beliefs are continuously shown to produce desirable results when it comes to staying strong, losing body fat and staying lean.
My clients are made aware of this dietary approach and that it does contradict the official dietary guidelines. I encourage them to make an extensive informed decision and consult with their doctor first, should they wish to adopt this way of eating.
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