Exercise To Age Well

By Gloria Kamil

What is your excuse for not exercising? The one I hear most is "I'm too busy." But the time you spend exercising will give you more years, and healthier years to boot! Don't pass up this bargain!

Exercise is structured physical activity. Everything that gets worse with age gets better with exercise. Actually, many age associated declines (weight gain, cognitive decline, muscle weakness) are really the result of a sedentary lifestyle.

Want to lose weight faster? Exercise can increase your metabolism and make your body turn fat into energy. A total exercise program consists of strength and/or muscular endurance, aerobic and flexibility training, along with agility and balance.

Strength training involves working against resistance from your body or some other source such as weight machines, free weights, barbells, a body bar, resistance bands, and stability balls, etc. Strength training prevents loss of muscle mass related to shrinking of muscle fibers due to lack of use. Muscular endurance is your ability to persist and is defined as repetition and/or holding time of an exercise.

Aerobic training includes the capacity to take in, transport, and utilize oxygen. Exercises such as brisk walking, jogging, running, rebounding, jumping rope and the usage of cardio equipment for 30 minutes or longer are excellent aerobic exercises. Flexibility is the range of motion through which the limbs are able to move and/or through an exercise. Excessive body fat can restrict your range of motion and can be associated with acute and chronic injuries and low back problems. Agility is your ability to change position and direction quickly, with precision and without losing your balance.

Balance is both static and dynamic. Static balance can be performed while standing stationery on one foot with hands on hips and eyes closed. Dynamic balance is being able to maintain your equilibrium while in motion.

Older individuals who continue to exercise over the years have increased muscle tone, strength, balance, agility, and aerobic and muscular endurance. This also helps protect joints from injuries. Muscle strength can be greatly improved by as little as eight weeks of strength training, even in 90-year-olds.

Your strength peaks around 25 years of age, plateaus around 35 to 40, and then shows an accelerating decline, with a 25 percent loss of force by age 65. However, a physically active older person can often outperform a sedentary 25-year-old and have greater bone density, muscle mass, muscle strength, agility and balance. Live long and live well by weaving daily exercise into your life!

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