ANOTHER ESSENTIAL FAT BURNING EXERCISE
In addition to aerobic or cardiovascular training another form of exercise that has become popular in recent years is strength training: And with good reason.
Muscles, Aging and Obesity
As we age we lose muscle mass. Unless we take action to prevent it, this loss of muscle can lead to a serious decrease in strength. Loss of muscle mass is the primary reason elderly people become frail, lose their ability to perform the activities of daily living and end up in nursing homes.
Loss of muscle mass also contributes heavily to the development of obesity. Muscle is a very metabolically active tissue, so when your muscle mass declines so does your metabolic rate. This means you burn fewer calories at rest and gain weight more easily.
Fortunately, you can reverse this situation. You can increase your muscle mass by strength training, that is, by stressing your muscles through the use of weights.
Does Strength Training Really Work?
If you haven’t engaged in strength training on a regular basis you may be wondering if it really does increase muscle mass and strength, particularly in older persons.
It does.
In fact, studies have shown that strength training can virtually stop the aging process as far as your muscles are concerned. In one study, for example, 70-year-olds who had done strength training since middle age were found to have as much muscle mass as 20-year-olds who did not strength train!
Even frail octogenarians have been able to increase their muscle mass and greatly increase their strength and mobility with just a few months of strength training. A study conducted by the Human Nutritional Research Center at Tufts University looked at the effect of strength training on those between the ages of 63 and 98 and found that, within 10 weeks of starting a strength training program, not only had participants increased their muscle mass, but many who had previously needed to use walkers or wheelchairs were able to walk without these devices.
Other Reasons to Strength Train
In addition to facilitating weight loss and improving functional strength, increasing your muscle mass has been shown to have other health benefits. The Evergreen project , a study that examined the effect of muscle mass on the aging process found that for people between the ages of 65 and 94 those who had more muscle also had better mental function, less chronic illness and lived longer.
How to Begin Strength Training
For strength training you can use either free weights or weight machines or you can switch between the two. Either way I usually recommend getting some professional assistance initially to make sure you are using the equipment properly and that you are using the correct amount of weight.
Generally you’ll want to start with about 70-80% of the maximum amount of weight that you can lift. Using this amount you should be able to complete 9 or 12 repetitions before feeling like you cannot complete another repetition. Lift slowly both as you lift the weight and as you release it.
Continue with this amount of weight until you can do about 20 repetitions before stopping, then increase the weight and start once again with 9 -12 repetitions. You want to exercise each of the major muscle groups, but you only need to do one set of each exercise since one set is almost as effective in building muscle mass and boosting metabolism as multiple sets.
(Exercising with heavy weights in this manner is particularly good for building fast twitch muscle fibers, which are the ones responsible for strength. If you are interested in also building build slow twitch fibers for increased endurance you would want to include weight sets that are lighter but use more repetition. In this case you would do your initial set as before, then mix in a set or two using 40-60% less weight)
As with aerobic activity you don’t need to schedule lengthy weight lifting sessions. Small increments of weight training will do the trick. Again, I suggest keeping a set of free weights or a weight training machine at home or in the office and doing your sets during your coffee breaks. For example, you might do some bicep curls, triceps and, shoulders and chest exercises during one break and then do lower legs, abdomen and back during your next break. Remember that your upper body only contains about 15% of your body’s musculature so you’ll want to focus more on the major muscles of your body – that is your quadriceps, hamstrings and butt muscles.
** TESTOSTERONE builds muscle: For older men and women, restoring your levels of the hormone testosterone will also help increase and maintain your muscle mass. The first several chapters of this book will focus on how to measure and restore your levels of several hormones, all of which play a critical role in weight loss. Be sure to sign up for e-mail updates so you will know when these chapters are posted.
More Exercise Tps:
Need a way to motivate yourself to exercise and to really begin to enjoy the process of exercising? Become involved in a sport or recreational activity that appeals to you. Then use your desire to improve in that activity as motivation to do your routine cardiovascular and strength training exercise.
I did this myself and it really does work! I live in area particular amenable to bicycle riding, so I decided I joined a bicycle riding club. As soon as I joined it became important to me to be able to keep up with others in group and to progress to longer and tougher rides. This provided the motivation I needed to stick to my cardiovascular and strength training routines, and the rides provided a lot of fun as well as some great additional exercise.
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CHAPTER SUMMARY
1. Strength training is needed to preserve muscle and bone mass as we age.
2. Because muscle is a very metabolically active tissue, adding muscle mass will facilitate weight loss and help prevent weight regain.
3. People who have more muscle also have better mental function less chronic illness and live longer.
3. It’s never too late to start strength training!
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REFERENCES
1. Fozard J. Epidemiologists try many ways to show that physical activity is good for seniors health and longevity. Review special issue of journal of Aging and Physical Activity: The Evergreen Project. Experimental Aging Research 1999 Apr-Jun 25(2):175-182
You have a typo: "so I decided I joined". I think you meant, "so I decided to join".
Posted by: sonya | May 13, 2008 at 02:55 PM