aging

Slowly the parameters of our world of physical abilities creep in on us. Each year we have a little less strength, stamina, flexibility, and ability to withstand infection and trauma.

We lose a few ounces of muscle, a little range of motion each year, and a few seconds off our personal records. This process will occur more quickly if we are not active. When we exercise we are placing demands on the body that send a message to the body that the stamina, muscle, and flexibility are needed for survival. The body will do what it can do accommodate those demands as an act self-protection.

How often does the body need to be exercised? Too much exercise can result in taking steps backward when there are repetitive-use injuries or when there is insufficient recovery from the stress of exercise. The body need not be constantly stimulated to retain or add to our physical abilities. In one flexibility study one group stretched three days a week and the other group stretched five times a week. At the end of the study both groups increased their flexibility by an equal amount.

Every new year we have great expectations of improvement in our well-being, but few achieve those improvements. One man did:

At 72 years old Marcus was slowing down; he could no longer play golf every day. He could play nine holes but lacked the stamina to pay eighteen holes. He began strength training at New Orleans Personal Trainers (our other location – Austin Fitness Trainers). He strength trained for about 30 minutes once a week for a year.

A year later Marcus would play 18 holes of golf, and the next day he would play 18 holes again. He was hitting the ball farther and enjoying golf again. Marcus had added quality years to his life, and it took just 30 minutes a week.

Several years ago I was working out a doctor who described to me the phenomenon of creep. As we get older our physical abilities diminish. Each year we have a little less strength, stamina, flexibility, and ability to withstand trauma and infection.

Slowly the parameters of our world of physical abilities creep in on us. I researched the phenomena of creep and found nothing that was similar to what the doctor described. I think the phenomenon was one the doctor himself coined. Nonetheless, it is very real. We lose a few seconds off our personal records, a few ounce of muscle, and a little range of motion each year. This process will occur more quickly if we are not active. When we exercise we are placing demands on the body that send a message to the body that the muscle, flexibility and stamina are needed for survival. As an act self-protection the body will do what it can do accommodate those demands.

From this Science News article Muscles remember past glory:

"Muscles hold memories of their former fitness in nuclei (green, shown on muscle fiber) that help the muscle bounce back to fitness when training begins after a period of inactivity.

Pumping up is easier for people who have been buff before, and now scientists think they know why — muscles retain a memory of their former fitness even as they wither from lack of use.

That memory is stored as DNA-containing nuclei, which proliferate when a muscle is exercised. Contrary to previous thinking, those nuclei aren’t lost when muscles atrophy, researchers report online August 16 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The extra nuclei form a type of muscle memory that allows the muscle to bounce back quickly when retrained.

The new study suggests that pumping muscles full of nuclei early in life could help stave off muscle loss with age."

From this article Older women married to younger men die sooner: study these bullets:

• Women who marry younger men actually lower their life expectancy.

From this NYT article Even More Reasons to Get a Move On:

It is time for New Years’ resolutions. Every year we have great expectations of improvement in our well-being, but few achieve those improvements. Here is the story of one man who did make significant changes:

Marcus was 72 years old. He could play nine holes but lacked the stamina to pay eighteen holes. He was slowing down; he could no longer play every day. He began strength training at New Orleans Ultimate Fitness Trainers (our other location - Personal Trainers Austin). He strength trained for about 30 minutes once a week for a year.

A year older one would expect a 73 year old to be doing less not more. That was not the case for Marcus. He would play 18 holes of golf, and the next day he would play 18 holes again. He was hitting the ball farther and enjoying golf again. Marcus had added quality years to his life, and it took just 30 minutes a week.

Marcus had increased strength, stamina, flexibility, and very importantly added protection from injury. He was playing hell of a lot more golf creating a virtuous cycle of increasing well-being.

Number eleven in a series about what clients have to say about their workouts.

From this Science Daily article White Tea Could Keep You Healthy And Looking Young: