SACROPENIA - MUSCLE - ATROPHY THAT AFFECTS EVERYONE
You’ve noticed recently, or perhaps for a while now, that you don’t have the stamina, strength or endurance that you once had. Taking the stairs leaves you more winded than you remember; carrying groceries; shoveling snow; mowing the lawn; lifting your children or grandchildren is now a task that sometimes leaves you feeling just plain old. You may even still be active.
You are between the ages of 40 and 75 years old.
Playing sports, walking, swimming, travelling, biking. But, you can’t help but feel like these things take more out of you now than they once did.
Why? Is it just because you’re ‘getting older’? What does time have to do with it? What has happened within your time to make you now feel this way?
It is a condition that every human being on our planet suffers from as we age, and it is named
SARCOPENIA
Sarcopenia is the slow and inevitable loss of muscle, bone and other soft tissues in our bodies as time passes. Believe it or not, this also includes our organs (including our brains). This process starts between the ages of 25 and 35 years old. It accelerates after the age of 40 and further again after every decade at roughly the pace of 1-2% per year!
The prescription is simple, the practice is challenging (in a good way). Simply by performing 2 full body weight training sessions per week, we can significantly slow and even reverse, (meaning gain that lost muscle back), the process of Sarcopenia and all of the health complications that are impacted by this condition.
While doing yoga, as one example, may make you more limber and reduce stiffness, aches and pains (all very good things of course!), beyond the initial strength improvements starting this regime, it will do little to build back that 16 lbs of lean tissue you’ve already lost.
For simplicity sake I’ve put a bullet list of how to do it below:
Each workout should contain and upper body push (like a chest press); and upper body pull (like a pulldown); and lower body push (like a leg press); a back extension, and 2 or 3 other exercises that will address muscle groups across two joints (like the knee and the hip).
Each exercise should be performed slowly and thoughtfully
The exercise should be performed to a deep level of fatigue and get progressively harder every workout *this principle is called the ‘overload principle’ and is essential to gaining back lost muscle
There should be no pain, but you will need to endure muscular discomfort (AKA: ‘burning’)
You must breathe constantly and freely; no breath holds!
After your first workout, you should wait 2-3 days before performing your next strength training workout to ensure that your body recovers and adapts properly.
You may still be active during your recovery process, performing activities that give you joy and make you feel good. However, don’t over do it. Stressing the body too quickly after a challenging workout will interrupt the recovery process and will slow down your results.
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