Strong Muscles as We Age

Why do we need to stay strong?  For the rest of our life?

How many of us actually understand that need and do something about it?

As the time does inevitable damage to our hair, skin, teeth, bones, arteries, internal organs…ugh…we may panic or plainly give up.  So what, so we are just getting older, right?  Not in my book.  You will not catch me blaming any problems on my age.

There are obviously some health conditions that we cannot control – at least not without the doctor’s help.  But most of our daily aches and pains can be quite successfully limited or even eliminated just by keeping our muscles strong.

Did you know that muscles stop “growing” and start deteriorating at the young age of 30?  We start losing our muscle mass, and it is replaced by fat.  Of course, at that age, we don’t pay attention.  We notice some changes around 40, and 50  is usually a rough wake-up call.  (For those of us who want to stay active, that is.)  The funny part is that even if we don’t notice the weight gain right away, the change is happening and all of a sudden:

Your back hurts after 20 minutes of garden work;

You dread climbing the stairs;

You can’t walk and talk at the same time;

The clerk at Binny’s has to load that holiday case of wine into your trunk…etc., etc.

But muscles are amazing: they love to be active and they remember how to do it – even if we don’t use them for a while.

So it’s our choice: stay on the couch or keep up with the younger crowd – which usually is way, way more fun.

With just two sessions of strength building exercises per week – with some fun cardio activity of your choice added here and there – you can become strong again.

You can go for a hike with people half your age – and set the pace;

You can travel and not worry about dealing with luggage;

You can run up and down the stairs multiple times (because now we forget something from the upstairs more often :)).

And on a more serious note: there are indisputable and proven health benefits of strong muscles:

They support our spine;

They help our balance;

They protect our bones;  and…

They allow us to be more active and workout harder, which means burning more calories (anybody interested in dropping those 10 pounds quicker?).

It’s a great feeling to be strong.  For the rest of your life.

To your fitness & health,

Elisabeth Sochacki

Partner, Strand Fitness