Everyone wants to age gracefully. With that graceful aging process comes a host of benefits: performing daily tasks better, enjoying recreational activities and the ability to take care of oneself. You can stay fit, mobile and strong as you age. Even if you have restrictions!
The Facts
Everyone has been told that they must accept fragility as they get older. Your muscle starts to waste away, you lose strength and fat loss is impossible.
Sound familiar?
The reason for the issues highlighted above is not due to the aging process…it is due to the lack of activity levels of most individuals. When we age/retire, a lot of people choose to sit around and enjoy their new found time off. Which is fine to do for the short term however, staying inactive will cause your bone density, muscle mass and work capacity to decrease substantially. So much so that falling is enough to cause accidental deaths amongst the elderly.
Enter Strength Training
There is no such thing as the fountain of youth. No magical elixir that will turn the clock back 25 years. Strength training however, is the closest thing that we have to it. We have numerous clients in their 70’s and 80’s at the gym and all of them weight train. They warm up like our athletes, deadlift kettlebells, push sleds and do forms of conditioning.
We do this to slow their decline in bone mineral density, help increase the cross sectional area of muscle and regulate their metabolic rate.
Bone Mineral Density
Due to the aging process, we lose the density in our bones. Women tend to have a more difficult time with this as well…with weight training, we can not only slow the decline of bone mineral loss but we can add density back to their bones. In return, we can live our lives without the worry of mobility or the strength to do so.
Increased Muscle Mass
This one is simple. The more muscle mass we can put on the better our body functions. With that increase in muscle mass, independence is maintained and the ability to live your every day life as you want is preserved. Being strong is one of the few things you can do that does not have a negative side effect.
Arthritis
One of the best ways to combat arthritis is to lift weights. Movement baths the joints and will help nourish them. Adding strength training to your weekly regime will create more stable joints as well. In return, we can achieve long term pain reduction and decrease the likelihood of falls.
Of course, the guy who owns a gym is telling everyone to lift weights. But, we do not have to age the way we think we should. You can go into your elderly years stronger than you were at middle age. You can still run around with your grandkids and not get winded or jog up a flight of stairs without the worry of falling.
Are you looking at getting into the gym for the first time?
We have a great track record working with all demographics and we would love to help you!
Click this link to schedule you consultation and we will get you started!
