Exercise isn’t just for the young, its ideal for keeping anyone young at heart. You can do more than just hope for a strong, mobile body as you age. It is possible to turn back the aging clock.
The myth is that as we grow older we get much weaker and suffer more aches and pains. We’ve been told that losing muscle and gaining fat are just part of the natural aging process.
The fact is that many of the symptoms of old age are really the symptoms of inactivity, of using our muscles less. Muscle weakness, bone loss and sluggish metabolism are changes that accompany aging but are not solely caused by it.
Use it or lose it. No doubt you have heard this phrase before. I can’t think of a better one to describe what happens to our bodies as we age. By increasing your strength and flexibility, you can slow and possibly reverse many of the symptoms associated with aging.
Strength training is the primary weapon against aging. They still haven’t found the fountain of youth, but this is close. There’s a lot of research saying that strength training is a potent age eraser.
More and more fitness experts are recommending strength training for health reasons, for women as well as men, older adults as well as younger adults. Strength training is extremely important in combating the age-related declines in muscle mass, bone density and metabolism.
It is an effective way to increase muscle strength and to shed unwanted inches. Strength training also helps to decrease back pain, reduce arthritic discomfort, and help prevent or manage some diabetic symptoms.
At Tufts University, researchers found that strength training can add bone density. Prior to this research, it was thought that women might be able to slow their bone loss, but not increase their bone density.
This new study shows that strength training at any age can actually add bone, not just slow its loss.
It can decrease arthritic pain or improve diabetes symptoms and lots of other benefits like mobility and being able to do tasks that require a bit of muscle or coordination. So whatever your age get a bit of resistance training in and watch your new body transform!
