When you don鈥檛 listen to what people tell you that you should do as you get older, you can be strong and active at any age.
What does healthy aging mean to you? Changes to your body as you get older are inevitable, but that does not mean you cannot enjoy an active, independent life. Modern medicine has done a wonderful job at keeping people alive longer, but equally important is the quality of life that can be enjoyed with those extra years.
While there are certain things that everyone can expect as they age, these do not happen at the same rate or to the same extent in each person. And, many of these processes can be slowed with purposeful exercise at any age. What can you do to get yourself ready for a better future?
One of the most important things you can do for your health as you age is resistance training. This involves strengthening your muscles and bones by moving your body against some sort of resistance such as resistance bands, weights or machines.
The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology recommends resistance training for major muscle groups at least two times per week. At age 30, we begin to gradually lose muscle mass, and when we reach 60, the rate at which we lose mass increases (Fragala et al., 2019). We lose strength three to five times faster than we lose muscle mass.
This is part of the aging process, but it doesn鈥檛 have to be this way. Resistance training can help slow losses of muscle mass and strength. Upper and lower body strength can be improved by nine to 174 per cent, and power can be improved by 14-97 per cent with a properly designed resistance training program.
These may just look like numbers, but can have a huge impact on an adult鈥檚 ability to be independent. Most activities you do every day require a certain amount of strength to do them.
Resistance training can give you the boost in strength you need to do activities that you love and those that are necessary for daily life. Training can also reduce the risk of falling and the risk of 小蓝视频 injured if you do fall, and has psychological benefits such as improved mood and sleep in older adults. Plus, lifting weights can help you feel strong and capable.
And, it鈥檚 not just for the youngin鈥檚! We have clients who are 80 years of age who train at Encompass to maintain their strength and quality of life so that they can live independently and continue to engage in hobbies that they enjoy 鈥� like gardening, golfing or just getting around without the use of a mobility device.
What could you do if you stopped 鈥渁cting your age?鈥�
