Published in June 23rd, 2010
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It is not unusual for many folks in their mid years to complain that they are eating less and weighing more. For many it is also more difficult to find the time to exercise because of one chronic pain or other that is draining energy.
The good news is if you have an hour a week you actually can reverse this attitude and other challenges that creep up as you get older. Strength building exercises build more than strength. They boost bone density, metabolic rate, balance and self confidence. What is even better than trimming some flab is that strength training can also help to curb depression, reduce sleep problems, high blood sugar, arthritic pain and the risk of heart disease. Besides that it does not cost very much to do.
There are not many solutions this good in life so pay attention!
First you need to know that we start losing about a quarter pound of muscle every year by the time we are in our late 30s. By the time we are 80, we have lost about a third of our muscle mass. Sarcopenia is the name given for loss of muscle mass. The debate about whether it is natural due to the aging process or caused by poor nutrition and inactivity remains active.
We need muscle to keep us strong and mobile. Muscle tugs on bone to help bone stay young. It also burns more calories than fat burns so our metabolic rate should increase which makes it easier to keep our weight on target.
Muscle is also where most of our blood sugar or glucose goes. When we eat food, glucose goes into the bloodstream and most of it gets deposited in the muscle as stored glycogen. When we do not activate our muscles because we are not moving around, the muscle cells become resistant to the insulin that the pancreas secretes. In other words, insulin cannot do its job. What makes matters worse is if our muscle cells are resistant to insulin we are at higher risk of heart disease. To cap it all off, if resistant leads to more glucose moving around in the bloodstream, we probably have diabetes.
Just as important, especially for women, strength training improves balance significantly. When muscle mass is lost, bone density also decreases and it becomes obviously rather quickly that living independently as you age is at risk because lack of balance usually indicates taking falls. The typical woman who lives into her 80s, for example, will need anywhere from five to ten years of assistance because she is too frail. The same is true for men who live into their nineties.
The sad note to this is that some elderly stop their activities because they are afraid of falling. As a result, their ability to perform their daily activities and to take care of themselves starts spiraling down. At the same time, gaining muscle strength can reduce arthritis pain and keep the elderly more active. For instance, those with moderate to severe arthritis have weak muscles. Therefore, if they have arthritis in their knee joint it is likely that the hamstring is weaker than their quadriceps making the muscles out of balance. When the hamstring gets strengthened through exercise, the knee works better because the muscles can help absorb more of the shock when walking. The result is less pain.
The fact is strength training is important for everyone. By their 40s, as women approach menopause, they start to lose some of their bone and muscle. Men start to lose, also. The beauty is that strength training can actually increase muscle mass so that if you are exercising you are going to be like a younger person who has not been exercising that much. Strength training is one way to push back the clock.
Ruthan Brodsky is a health and business writer with particular interest and expertise in healthy aging. You are invited to claim her Special Report on finding reliable health information on the Internet. Visit Healthy Aging Success Guide
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