ageless aerobics

The strength of your muscles is the most important health related element of physical fitness as you get older. As the body ages and once we get past 30 years we lose precious lean muscle tissue at an alarming rate of 300-500 grams per year. This loss mainly goes unnoticed as the body increases body fat levels which mask muscle tissue loss. This situation can lead to premature and accelerated aging.

The main cause of this is an inactive or sedentary lifestyle. We have been told all of our lives and we believe that we should slow down as we get older and “grow old gracefully”. This leads to our thoughts becoming old thoughts, and we become old people. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

The symptoms of accelerated aging, an growing waistline, decreasing strength and fitness, lack of energy, weakness and decreased brain power will leave you feeling old and exhausted long before your time. Restoring strength is paramount to reversing these devastating consequences of a lack of activity in our lives.

With more than 600 muscles in the human body responsible for movement keeping them strong and healthy will have amazing impact on your life. Stronger muscles contract more quickly leading to faster movement. This will enable you to walk faster, climb stairs easier, and accomplish everyday tasks quicker and with less effort.

Stronger muscles mean stronger bones, when muscles are used and strengthened they impose physical force on the bones stimulating the body to make more bone to support the stronger muscles. An increase in strength can benefit balance, as when muscle is lost balance becomes impaired increasing the risk of falling. Weakened leg muscles can cause unsteadiness leading to a bone breaking fall that can easily fracture weakened bones.

Falls can be serious as senior men are likely to die and senior women are likely to end up in a nursing home from fall-related accidents.

Strength training is the antidote to slow down premature and accelerated aging; the problems connected with muscle loss can be avoided, controlled or even eliminated by the proper exercise program that includes at least 60% strength training exercise. Decades of muscle loss can be regained in just a few months on the right program. It is important to see a Fitness Professional to set up the program and instruct you properly on how to do the exercises correctly and at the intensity level needed for muscles to be stimulated enough to grow stronger. No other form of exercise can be substituted for strength training. Running or other aerobic exercise is great for the heart/lung system but does not stimulate the strengthening of muscles in a complete and balanced manner.

We all would like to keep on feeling young and functioning youthfully for as long as possible regardless of our actual age. Restoring, building and maintaining strong muscles are a very simple and accessible way to do so. Most of what we blame on getting older has nothing with aging but simply a lack of vigorous exercise in our sedentary lives.

It is up to you to take the necessary steps to improve the quality of your life through a simple process like strength training. It is a small price to pay for the vibrant health, youthful energy and precious strength that you will receive in return. This will allow you to live your life anyway and however you please instead of being limited by the ills of aging.

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