|
There overwhelming evidence now that strength training exercise offers men and women a way to battle some of the negative consequences of aging. Much of the problems faced as humans grow older stems from our increasingly sedentary and inactive modern world. Human beings have evolved so that behaviors that helped our ancestors survive such as vigorous physical activity - send growth and renewal signals to our most basic biological systems that say grow, heal, and thrive and survive. Being sedentary and inactive the way many adults live their lives today tells those deep wiring and plumbing operations to wind down, shut down, decay and die. After we reach our mid to late twenties, our bodies begin a long and gradual degenerative process. This is hastened when we are sedentary. If we do not do enough muscle building and maintaining activity we lose around one half pound of muscle tissue each year. The consequences of this are that the metabolism (the body's engine) slows down. As muscles shrink, body fat takes their place, and that process leads to weight gain even if caloric intake and expenditure remain the same. Although a half a pound of muscle tissue does not sound a lot it adds up and over a decade amounts to some 5 pounds of precious muscle tissue lost during the mid life years. This also means that an adult enters the senior years with too little muscle and too much fat. While these undesirable body composition (muscle/fat ratio) changes should be obvious, most adults are much more aware of the fat gain than the muscle loss. They typically use restrictive food dieting to try and lose excess weigh. And, unfortunately this further reduces their muscle mass, as about 30 percent of the weight lost through dieting is muscle tissue. In turn, this slow insidious change in body composition (less muscle and more fat) reduces our capacity to function effectively, making it more difficult to perform our daily physical activities. This situation also increases our risk of life threatening degenerative diseases such as the 'big three' heart disease, cancer and diabetes along with at least 50 others and increases risk of injuries (including falls and back pain). Most adults do not understand the cause and the solution to the weight gain problem and certainly most do not realize that the loss of muscle leads to the addition of body fat. They are even less aware that the loss of muscle is related to and increased risk of a variety of degenerative disease. They also do not associate that the way we look and perform can be improved by muscle gain or hampered by muscle tissue loss. Fortunately, it is possible to replace much of the muscle tissue that has been lost through a sedentary lifestyle. Strength training exercise can reverse this entire process, putting back lost muscle tissue (which uses more calories and takes up less room than fat) and diminishing fat stores. So, even if you lose no pounds on the scale, by strengthening your muscles you can lose inches and become a smaller body size. Every part of your body becomes stronger, every cell, system and process including the immune system to help protect your from disease. Seek the help of a fitness professional so you get the very best results from your strength training program. In just a few months of regular strength training you can recover years (even decades) of lost strength so you can take on the last third of your life in the best possible shape to deal with the challenges you will face. Do you want to discover the secret to rejuvenating your body and improving the quality of your life? Download my free ebook Ive Found the Fountain of Youth- Let Me Show You Too! here: Reverse Aging For Free Fitness Report here Fitness Weight Loss Carolyn Hansen is a certified fitness expert and fitness center owner who coaches clients to look and feel younger.
Related Articles -
Reverse Aging, Fitness Weight Loss,
| 
