Finding Your Personal Strength
Age Is Not The Enemy
Ageing is a universal phenomenon that affects us all. To many, the word “ageing” is synonymous with low physical energy, slowed thinking, fragile bones, stooped posture and debilitating diseases…in short, decline.
You don’t have to accept that ageing means becoming the shadow of your former self. In fact, as you age you DON’T have to get old.
Research has shown that, with the right lifestyle intervention, you can eliminate, prevent, delay or even reverse the process of ageing and prevent age-related diseases, thus dramatically lowering your mortality risk. Though none of us can guarantee how long we can live, but you will be adding much more life to the days, months and years you have ahead of you.
What Is Stopping Us From Getting Better?
The new realm of thinking towards the later years will be that of a complete shift to the definition of being ‘robust, energy, movement, adaptation and growth”. A great deal of attention has been focused on the importance of physical activity as means of enhancing health and effective functioning in old age, assisting in avoiding or minimizing many of the physical, psychological and social hazards that come with advancing age.
Society’s stereotype is a deterrent for many who wish to change their fitness level, including the expectation that one should “act their age”, that growing older should go hand-in-hand with decreased activity and older adults should “slow down and take it easy”, as such, restricting the scope of exercise options for those who are motivated to be physically active.
Lifestyle Choices Dominate
The lifestyle choices you make every single day- the type of food you eat, the time you set aside a week for exercise, the types of exercise you choose- affect your health right now and the way you will live in the future.
It takes far less to prevent diseases than it does to treat it.
Take the analogy of an automobile, and it is true that a properly maintained vehicle that has been driven at reasonable speeds can perform well for much longer than a poorly maintained vehicle that was pushed beyond its reasonable limits. Cars driven regularly also tend to remain in better condition compared to those left unused for years.
Physical capabilities are similar: to maintain or improve a skill or function, you must utilize it. Exercise programs can improve or maintain current physical capabilities, even leading to a positive self-image, decreased blood pressure, better sleep and weight control.
Sarcopenia is a consequence of growing older, and if nothing is done about it, it can inflict an enormous decline in our quality of life and cause disability. Sarcopenia, or muscle atrophy and loss, begins in the 30s, and it progresses at the rate of 3-5% with each decade, escalating to 25-30% after the age of 50 and 75. Train to keep your muscle and regain life
Strength Training With Resistance Exercises
Resistance exercises, when appropriately prescribed and supervised, have favorable effects on muscular strength, cardiovascular endurance, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and psychosocial well-being.
Strength Training with resistance exercises has value in the treatment of orthopedic injuries, osteoporosis, lower back pain, obesity, sarcopenia, and diabetes mellitus. In addition, strength training has also been shown to improve myocardial efficiency by reducing cardiac demands during daily activities, such as lifting/ carrying heavy objects and carrying groceries. Known health benefits also include enhancement of basal metabolism, decreased resting diastolic blood pressure and improved serum lipid profile.
Strength Training is the most effective method available for improving muscular strength and endurance through progressive overload, and there is a need to develop resistance exercises for various and specific segments of the population.
For the healthy adult population, there will be a need to induce health and fitness related adaptations in the musculoskeletal systems. For those in the middle age and above, Strength Training is well-established as an essential training modality for proper musculoskeletal development and maintenance, and improves physical functional capacity and quality of life, which is especially critical for the elderly and less fit individuals.
Preventive Care Is In Your Hands
The key to successful preventive care is to adopt a sustainable regime that can take you through the years.
No matter what level of fitness you are currently at, and even if you have not exercised for years, there is always an entry point for you to start, with clearly outlined progression stages ahead. With the right Strength Training program prescribed for you, you will enter a dimension of fitness and well-being you never knew existed.