According to the American College of Sports Medicine, by the year 2030, the number of individuals in the United States people 85 years and older will be the fastest-growing segment of the population and 65 years and over will reach 70 million. Some of you may already be there, while others may be approaching. The aging process affects differently to individuals. Some individuals are blessed with good genes, and no matter how many unhealthy lifestyle habits they have, they’re going to live into old age. But it is undeniable fact that exercise brings a different level of quality of life. Many may ask is it ever too late to start? Research proves it’s not. In this article, I’ll discuss the benefits of exercising into old age and then give you some tips on how to get started no matter how old you are.
Related post – How to aging well with a healthy and fit you?
What happens to our muscles with aging?
You may notice that muscle mass decreases as we age. Once you reach 40, your muscle mass decreases 3%-5% of muscle mass per decade, and the decline increases to 1%-2% per year after age 50. What does muscle do for our body? It keeps us strong, burns calories, and helps us maintain our weight. Besides, it is also an essential contributor to our balance and bone strength. Without it, we can lose our independence and our mobility
Is it ever too late to build muscle?
The good news is that it is never too late to increase muscle mass. You can increase it at any age in response to exercise. In an important study of weight lifting and older adults conducted with 100 male and female residents of a nursing home in Boston (age range: 72 to 98 years of age; average age 87), subjects lifted weights with their legs three times a week for 10 weeks. At the end of the study, there was an increase in thigh mass of 2.7%, walking speed increased 12%, and leg strength increased a whopping 113%! In a similar study of adults 65-79 years old, subjects who lifted weights three times a week for three months increased their walking endurance by 38% (from 25 minutes to 34 minutes) without appreciable increases in mass. Ida Weiss, a 91-year-old participant in the Boston study, had the following to say after the study, “It’s very beneficial for me. Things that I couldn’t do when I came here, I can do now. I didn’t think that I was going to live anymore, but I feel different now.” Exercise can be invigorating and help build muscle mass at any age.
Source – https://www.medicinenet.com/
Why strength training is important with aging?
Endurance decreases as we age. In one extensive study of more than 3,000 70-79-year-old men and women, researchers investigated the relationship between the speed at which they walk with the risk of cardiovascular disease, premature mortality, and mobility limitation. The results showed that those who walked at the slowest rate had a higher risk of death, cardiovascular disease, and mobility limitation than those who walked the distance in less than four and a half minutes. In fact, every additional minute of walking time was associated with higher and higher degrees of risk; approximately 13% of the participants could not even complete the distance due to fatigue or symptoms such as breathlessness, cramping, etc.
There’s good news that should serve as an encouragement to all of us when it comes to fitness, walking endurance, and health. In a classic study of walking and mortality in 700 men enrolled in the Honolulu Heart Program, the mortality rate among the men who walked less than one mile per day was near twice the rate of those who walked more than two miles per day. (Studies of women showed similar results). In another study, data collected on more than 41,000 men and women from 1990 to 2001 were analyzed to find the relationship between walking and mortality. It was reported that men and women who walked 30 minutes or more per day during the study period had fewer deaths than those who walked less than 30 minutes. Interestingly, even men and women who smoked or were overweight were protected from early death if they walked more than 30 minutes per day.
Source – https://www.medicinenet.com/
What happens to balance as we age?
Balance decreases as we age, and consequently, falling is a major concern for the elderly. The good news is that physical activity can improve balance and reduce the risk of falling. The results of a study of 256 older adults (70 to 92 years of age, average age 77) who participated in tai chi for six months found that there were 52% fewer falls in the individuals who did tai chi compared to those who didn’t.
Combining the results of many studies on the same subject, it was reported that muscle strengthening and balance retraining exercises in 1,016 older men and women (ages 65 to 97) reduced the risk of falls and fall injuries by as much as 35%-45%.
One of the important conclusions of the research is that it’s important to select balance-training exercises that are specific to activities you are likely to do during the day. For instance, you might want to do balance exercises on one leg that mimic the act of walking if you are unsteady while you walk). Tai chi is excellent for this because it involves slow, coordinated movements, and is particularly beneficial for balance since you lift one leg frequently while doing it.
Exercise helps cognitive function too
Does exercise improve cognitive function among the aged? This is one of the most exciting areas of exercise research. What scientists have learned so far is that brain neuron, the special cells that help you think, move, perform all the bodily functions that keep you alive, and even help your memory, all increase in number after just a few days or weeks of regular activity. In a study in which researchers used an MRI machine to measure the amount of brain tissue in adults 55 years of age and older, they found results, consistent with other studies of aging and brain volume, showing there were substantial declines in brain tissue density as a function of age in areas of the brain responsible for thinking and memory, but importantly, the losses in these areas were substantially reduced as a function of cardiovascular fitness. In other words, the fittest individuals had the most brain tissue.
How might fitness and more brain tissue help you? Researchers have found that the fittest elders had the highest scores on tasks like coordination, scheduling, planning, and memory. And in a recent study of 1,740 adults older than 65, researchers found that the incidence of dementia in individuals who walked three or more times per week was 35% lower than those individuals who walked less than three days per week.
How much exercise do I need to do for health and fitness?
The American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association recently published guidelines for physical activity in older adults. Here is a summary of the recommendations.
Aerobic exercise (walking, jogging, dancing, biking, swimming, etc.): To promote and maintain health, older adults need moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity for a minimum of 30 minutes five days each week or vigorous-intensity aerobic activity for a minimum of 20 minutes three days each week. (Moderate intensity is when you feel “warm and slightly out of breath,” and vigorous is when you feel “out of breath and sweaty.”)
Resistance exercise (weight lifting, calisthenics): To promote and maintain health and physical independence, older adults will benefit from performing activities that maintain or increase muscular strength and endurance for a minimum of two days each week. It is recommended that eight to 10 exercises be performed on two or more nonconsecutive days per week using the major muscle groups.
Flexibility exercise: To maintain the flexibility necessary for regular physical activity and daily life, older adults should perform activities that maintain or increase flexibility at least two days each week for at least 10 minutes each day.
Balance exercise: To reduce the risk of injury from falls, older adults with a substantial risk of falls (those with frequent falls or mobility problems) should perform exercises that maintain or improve balance.