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Use It or Lose It
By Jim McDonald
When it comes to your muscles the old adage, 'use it or lose it' says it all. But looking after your body requires more than keeping your muscles strong. This is true for everyone, but especially seniors.
Have you ever been confined to bed for a week or two? If so, you'll remember how weak and rubbery your legs were when you attempted to stand up. That's what happens when you don't use your muscles, they get soft and flabby.
Research shows that we retain most of our muscle strength until about age 45, and then we gradually lose about 40 percent of our muscle strength and size. When that happens, it gets more difficult to carry out the normal functions of daily living. Even a short walk, getting up from a chair, or carrying groceries becomes a major chore. But it doesn't have to be that way. The experts tells us that most of our muscle loss occurs because we stop doing active things that require muscle power, not because we age. The good news is that regardless of age, you can strengthen your muscles by putting them to use.
There are three general 'types' of physical activity. A good exercise program should contain a mix of activities from each of the following three categories:
Endurance or aerobic activities keep your cardiovascular system in good condition. The Mayo Clinic Family Health book describes an aerobic activity as one that requires your heart and lungs to function at an increased rate supplying your cells with more oxygen (aerobic means 'exercise with oxygen'). Your main activity should be an aerobic exercise such as swimming, cycling, walking, hiking, skating, canoeing, x-country skiing and dancing. These activities improve the health of your heart, lungs and circulatory system.
Flexibility or stretching activities should be a part of any fitness plan. Stretching or flexibility exercises prevent muscles from becoming short and tight. Activities such as bowling, yoga, curling, tennis, dancing, gardening, and house work all help to stretch your muscles. Flexibility exercises keep you limber and help prevent falls. Once you have learned the techniques of stretching from a qualified instructor you can establish your own routine and stretch at home. My favorite reference book is Stretching by Bob Anderson. His book also provides specific stretching recommendations for those over fifty.
Strength or resistance activities will strengthen your muscles and help your bones stay strong. You need strong muscles to do the carrying, lifting, pushing, and pulling required to get through a normal day. Weight training is ideal for building muscles, but other exercises such as swimming, walking, hiking, and cycling will also improve your muscle strength. In other words, some activities fall under more than one category.
Senior centres and community centres provide top-notch instructor led workout programs with catchy titles like Sweat & Stretch and Cardio Tone. And they incorporate a healthy mix of all three activity categories during a one-hour group workout. A typical one hour session may be: 10 minutes for warm-up, 30 minutes for the main aerobic activity, with the final 20 minutes allocated to strength activities, stretching, and cool down. Join an exercise group and you'll get a good balance of the three activity types.
While discussing active living with a group of adults one day, I asked them what they did for exercise. Most responses were fairly typical and some even confessed to leading a sedentary lifestyle, totally devoid of any kind of body movement. But one lady's reply deserves mention here. She said, "I do my exercises first thing in the morning while I'm still in bed." That triggered a bit of a chuckle, but of course we knew that she was talking about stretching. However good her intentions, this lady was not providing her body with a balanced workout. Without aerobic activities her cardiovascular system suffers, and without strength activities her muscles will deteriorate.
Prolong your independence with an active lifestyle that includes a balance of the three activity types: endurance, flexibility and strength.
Learn more about the joys of keeping mentally active and physically fit by reading Jim and Olga McDonald's inspiring book Get Up and Go, Strategies for Active Living After 50.
It's available wherever better books are sold or click on the link below to buy it from Amazon.ca.
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Learn more about the joys of keeping mentally active and physically fit by reading Jim and Olga McDonald's inspiring book Get Up and Go, Strategies for Active Living After 50.