Most people believe that a significant loss of muscle mass (sarcopenia) and bone density is inevitable as one ages, leading to decreased strength, mobility, and flexibility. This is not so. According to a recent article published in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, most age-related changes in muscle and bone can be reversed through an appropriate exercise program incorporating both aerobic and resistance/strength training (working with weights or objects one has to push against).
Individuals suffering from sarcopenia and bone loss experience a significant decrease in energy levels and strength. A special issue of Newsweek focusing on longevity reported how a seventy-six-year-old woman, Barbara, was finding it more and more difficult to do simple things such as getting up out of her favorite easy chair. Bending over to make her bed was so painful that she had to get down on her knees to do so. At 140 pounds, Barbara was not overweight, but her fat to lean muscle ratio was extremely high. She described herself as “mostly flab and mush.” This is not surprising, since people who lose muscle as they age also gain body fat—and most of us do. Remember, a greater body fat to lean muscle ratio also means a less efficient metabolism, since fat is not metabolically active. It just sits there on your body, pulling you down.
When her doctor told her that she was suffering from low bone density as well, Barbara knew she had to do something to help herself. She enrolled in a study at Oregon State University that was researching the effects of exercise on bone density in women over fifty. The study was exploring the hypothesis that gradually reintroducing women to exercise would increase bone density and muscle mass. The women began by wearing weighted vests and practicing everyday movements such as standing up, walking, and stepping from side to side. They gradually moved on to more strenuous activities, such as four-inch high jumps. Once Barbara began to gain back some of her lost bone and muscle mass, she started exercising regularly with her husband and now says she is more fit at eighty-one than she was at forty. “I can’t describe the feeling—it’s a sense of being stronger and more accomplished and less afraid. You can’t just give up and go downhill. Life is just too precious.”
It used to be that men and women past the age of fifty were expected to be flabby. For many, that attitude is changing as they discover that even a moderate amount of exercise makes muscles stronger and joints more flexible and arrests the loss of bone density (a problem in aging men as well as women). In fact, the Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology reports that studies on sarcopenia unequivocally show that older muscle tissue has the same, if not an even greater capacity, to respond to a vigorous bout of resistance exercise than younger muscle does.
Women: Defeat Osteoporosis through Exercise
Of special interest to women is the fact that osteoporosis can be either prevented or slowed by the consistent practice of a good resistance exercise program. In fact, the older a woman gets, the more important exercise becomes to her musculoskeletal health and strength. Think how many women you know who can barely get around in their seventies, eighties, and nineties. Since women live longer than men, it is especially important for them to keep relatively fit so that their quality of life does not degrade in their later years.
Individuals suffering from sarcopenia and bone loss experience a significant decrease in energy levels and strength. A special issue of Newsweek focusing on longevity reported how a seventy-six-year-old woman, Barbara, was finding it more and more difficult to do simple things such as getting up out of her favorite easy chair. Bending over to make her bed was so painful that she had to get down on her knees to do so. At 140 pounds, Barbara was not overweight, but her fat to lean muscle ratio was extremely high. She described herself as “mostly flab and mush.” This is not surprising, since people who lose muscle as they age also gain body fat—and most of us do. Remember, a greater body fat to lean muscle ratio also means a less efficient metabolism, since fat is not metabolically active. It just sits there on your body, pulling you down.
When her doctor told her that she was suffering from low bone density as well, Barbara knew she had to do something to help herself. She enrolled in a study at Oregon State University that was researching the effects of exercise on bone density in women over fifty. The study was exploring the hypothesis that gradually reintroducing women to exercise would increase bone density and muscle mass. The women began by wearing weighted vests and practicing everyday movements such as standing up, walking, and stepping from side to side. They gradually moved on to more strenuous activities, such as four-inch high jumps. Once Barbara began to gain back some of her lost bone and muscle mass, she started exercising regularly with her husband and now says she is more fit at eighty-one than she was at forty. “I can’t describe the feeling—it’s a sense of being stronger and more accomplished and less afraid. You can’t just give up and go downhill. Life is just too precious.”
It used to be that men and women past the age of fifty were expected to be flabby. For many, that attitude is changing as they discover that even a moderate amount of exercise makes muscles stronger and joints more flexible and arrests the loss of bone density (a problem in aging men as well as women). In fact, the Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology reports that studies on sarcopenia unequivocally show that older muscle tissue has the same, if not an even greater capacity, to respond to a vigorous bout of resistance exercise than younger muscle does.
Women: Defeat Osteoporosis through Exercise
Of special interest to women is the fact that osteoporosis can be either prevented or slowed by the consistent practice of a good resistance exercise program. In fact, the older a woman gets, the more important exercise becomes to her musculoskeletal health and strength. Think how many women you know who can barely get around in their seventies, eighties, and nineties. Since women live longer than men, it is especially important for them to keep relatively fit so that their quality of life does not degrade in their later years.
Get the RSS feed