Relevant excerpts from various sources influenced by a Septuagenarian's first-hand experience
Staying
active is not a science.Just remember that mixing different types of exercise
helps both reduce monotony and improve your overall health. Here is an overview
of the four building blocks of senior fitness and how they can help your aging body
The 1st building
block of senior fitness: Cardio endurance exercise
- What
is it:
Uses large muscle groups in rhythmic motions over a period of time. This
type of exercise increases your body’s ability to deliver oxygen and
nutrients to tissues and to remove waste over sustained periods of time.
Cardio workouts get your heart pumping and you may even feel a little
short of breath.
- Why
it’s good for seniors: Helps lessen fatigue and
shortness of breath. Promotes independence by improving endurance for
daily activities such as walking, house cleaning, and errands. Cardio
includes walking, stair climbing, swimming, hiking, cycling, rowing,
tennis, and dancing.
The 2nd building
block of senior fitness: Flexibility
- What
is it:
Challenges the joint’s ability to move freely through a full range of
motion (ROM). Can be done through static stretches (stationary), and
ballistic stretches (moving or bouncing) to keep muscles and joints supple
so they are less prone to injury.
- Why
it’s good for seniors: Helps body stay limber and
increases range of movement for ordinary physical activities such as
looking behind you while driving, tying shoes, shampooing your hair, and
playing with grandchildren.
The 3rd building
block of senior fitness: Balance
- What
is it:
Maintains standing and stability under a variety of conditions including
static (stationary) and dynamic (moving) balance.
- Why
it’s good for seniors: Improves balance, posture, and
quality of walking. Also reduces risk of falling and fear of falls. Try
yoga, Tai Chi, and posture exercises to gain confidence with balance.
The 4th building
block of senior fitness: Strength training
- What
is it:
Builds up muscle with repetitive motion using weight or external
resistance from body weight, machines, or elastic bands.
- Why
it’s good for seniors: Helps elderly people prevent loss
of bone mass, builds muscle, and improves balance—both important in
staying active and preventing risk of falling. Building up strength will
help seniors stay independent and make day-to-day activities easier such
as opening a jar, getting in and out of a car, and lifting objects.
In multiple earlier
studies, people over 50 have been found to possess far fewer muscle motor units
than young adults. But that wasn’t true for sexagenarian runners, whose leg
muscles teemed with almost as many motor units as a separate group of active
25-year-olds. Running, scientists wrote, seemed able to “mitigate the loss of
motor units with aging well into the seventh decade of life.” Similar benefits
are attainable by people who take up exercise when they are middle-aged or
older.
I can safely say that those who have been
regularly exercising from middle-age to senior age, but, for one reason or
another, are suddenly forced to stop their exercise regimen, become subject to very
fast muscle and strength deterioration. It is at this stage that it becomes
doubly difficult to regain fitness, because of the onset of age-induced fatigue
and consequent loss of muscle mass.
It is at this point where extra help to regain
vitality and self-confidence is needed. While muscle mass can only be regained through
resistance training, the easiest means to jumpstart vitality and energy for the
elderly is through what is now well known as Stem Cell Nutrition. With energy
regained, elderly exercise can continue.
What
Is Resistance Training?
Resistance
training, often called strength or weight training is physical activity
performed at a controlled speed. This training works the muscles of the body
and is most beneficial when all the ranges of motion are included.
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends
resistance training be done two-to-three times a week with an average of
8-to-12 repetitions of a series of different resistance-based exercises.
Note that while
there are basic recommendations, no one should begin resistance training
without talking it over with their doctor. People vary in their abilities, and
overdoing it or doing too much too soon can cause serious health problems and
long-term muscle injury. It's better to build intensity of weight and
repetitions gradually.
Seniors reap the
following benefits from resistance training:
- Studies show
that people over the age of 80 were able to increase muscle strength and
muscle endurance.
- Weight
training allows an elderly individual to walk longer before becoming
tired. Both leg strength and walking ability are huge indicators of an
older person's overall health. You want to be able to walk long and far
albeit slowly.
- Women of any
age can increase bone mass with regular resistance training. Research
shows that even if a woman is past menopause, strength training will
increase bone density, which can prevent breaks and pain.
- Resistance
training provides an improved overall quality of life and healthy aging
process when seniors who do exercise are compared to those who do not exercise.
- Regular
resistance training can decrease the risk for depression.
Some studies also
indicate that individuals are more prone to heart attacks if they lead a
sedendary lifestyle, but suddenly have to engage in physical exertion. It's
better for the body to stay active with regular movement and exercise to avoid
sudden shocks to the system.
