Seniors and Muscle Strength Training

 

Randy Raugh, in his book “Prime for Life” talks about muscles as being the things that power us through life.  Without muscles you would just be a bag of bones, water and chemicals, which isn’t exactly an appealing picture.

 

You have all hear the old saying about using it or losing it.  Well this is a good example; the average adult can lose a half pound of muscle each year.  Now, this is a scary thought, so couch potatoes beware.  The good news is that muscles do regenerate if they are used on a regular basis, which means that you can do something about it.  Muscles can be increased and strengthened throughout your lifetime; but it is going to require some work on your part.

 

Muscle contraction allows action to take place.  As you get older your muscles tend to lose the ability to contract at a strong and efficient level.  Atrophy (reduction in muscle size) occurs, which means your muscle mass has decreased and you may even lose a significant range of motion.   It is a bitter pill to swallow but between the age of 30 and 80 most people experience a 30% decline in physical strength. It doesn’t occur over night and you may not notice it until something as basic as walking up a flight of stairs becomes work.  The bad news is that when this happens, people often respond by doing less work instead of more, just because it is easier. You don’t have to live with feeling weaker, but you have to work harder to maintain and increase your strength. With training and exercise you can increase your strength even as you get older.

 

Strength training is good and it is safe to do, but you need to have a physical examination and you need a safe and an effective program.  Your doctor will refer you to a therapist or recommend a game plan.  If you haven’t exercised much in the past it is a good idea to learn from an expert so that you don’t hurt yourself in the process.  Start slowly, increase gradually, and monitor your performance.  This is serious business now.

 

You are already aware that studies have been done to show that when people increase their strength a lot of the conditions associated with aging significantly decrease.  It isn’t all about muscle you know, but when you build your muscles you automatically strengthen your tendons and ligaments (sort of a package deal that reduces the chance of injury).  Metabolic changes are real bugaboos when you get older so you will be pleased to know that strength training increases your metabolism and as a result you burn more calories. 

 

Okay, you know the reasons why you need to strengthen your muscles in order to power you through your days, but how much time is this going to take anyway?

Therapists recommend strengthening exercises be done on a regular basis, which means I should be in the living room right now doing my strengthening for dummies video.  By regular they mean two or even three times a week (a day of rest in between each workout).

 

The intensity of your workout means how hard you are working to perform the exercise or how many repetitions you can do to make your muscles feel tired.  Your last repetition should be the last one that you can do with good form and your muscles feel tired.  Poor form is defeating the purpose of the exercise.

 

Strengthening exercises can be done using dumbbells, resistance tubes, weight-training machines or using your own body weight to provide the resistance (calisthenics).  Strengthening exercises can be done at home or at the gym.  Remember: we aren’t talking about body building or six pack abs here, we are talking about remaining independent for life.

 

Comments

[Whey Protein Benefits]

Nice to see your blog regarding Muscle Mass & Strength. I am sure this will help the people who are searching ideas for that. You really have good information. I will like to visit this blog again.

[somanabolic]

Take care of your joints. Don’t over-stress the joints if you have existing or past problems, especially in exercises like the squat and the lunge. This means using lighter weights and not extending the joint through its full range of motion in the early stages of your program. Weight training can improve your joint health, so build up to the full program specifications when you feel strong enough.

* Overhead press

[Tacfit Warrior Review]

Regular physical activity is not only fun and healthy, but scientific evidence strongly shows that it's safe for almost everyone. And the health benefits far outweigh the risk of injury and sudden heart attacks, two concerns that prevent many people from adding more physical activity to their lives.

[no nonsense muscle building review]

I'm not over 50, but I admire your commitment! I work at a hospital and recently, we've been thinking about ideas on how to motivate women in your age range to get fit without overwhelming them. Do you have any thoughts?