Aging

The aging process is an inevitable part of growing old - right? Actually, wrong! Recent research is demonstrating that so much of what we consider to be inevitable aging is in fact the result of what we do and don't do - specifically, our exercise and nutrition.

If you don't exercise you can expect the following to occur:

• Loss of 3-5% of muscle mass per decade after 30, up to 10% per decade after 50
• Corresponding loss of strength.
• 20 to 30% loss of bone thickness.
• Decline in base metabolic rate.
• Steady increase in body fat.

The remedy? Exercise. This is not just recreation - taking the dog for a stroll, doing the housework - but vigorous exercise. This vigorous exercise stimulates the body sufficiently to result in improved functional ability, strength, flexibility, and cardio-respiratory conditioning.

On a practical basis, it will mean that your later years in life will be free of the aches, pains, stiffness, and lack of mobility too often seen, while you will maintain your independence and ability to do the things you currently take for granted.

The biggest part of this is strength training. Strength training helps you to maintain a good quantity of muscle - this is crucial for moving the body and supporting the skeleton. Quite simply, the stronger your muscles, the better and more efficiently you will move.

But there's more to it than that. New research has shown that regular strength (resistance) training can actually turn back the clock. In a just published study, researchers found that elderly subjects (70+) who began weight training showed a "reversal of most of the genes affected by age" in muscle tissue.

Scientists looked at 596 genes expressing themselves with "aging" and found that over the six months, they literally "reverted back" to the same markers as "younger" genes. In addition, their strength increased by over 20%.

This was in just six months - over a longer period they would have continued to gain strength. Additional benefits of strength training include a reduced risk of osteoporosis, heart disease, back pain, and diabetes.

This was in just six months - over a longer period they would have continued to gain strength. Additional benefits of strength training include a reduced risk of osteoporosis, heart disease, back pain, and diabetes.