Add Strength Now
Guess what?
Getting older doesn’t mean you sacrifice strength. It doesn’t need to be a battle either.
You can get older and get stronger at the same time.
Many of the new research studies boil down to one question:
How can I apply this to my life NOW?
The consequences may sound like this:
If I don’t manage to fit in resistance training, after age 50, I can expect to lose about 1.2 pounds of muscle every 3 years.
Expand that thought even more:
This is going to affect my ability to get up out of a chair, stand upright, walk across the room, climb my stairs, get in and out of my car, take the trash out, get the deck chairs out from the shed and bring grocery bags in from my car.
Those things you do everyday matter the most.
Movements that you may take for granted now may show up as a challenge anytime. Using your own bodyweight sounds easy and should be simple. But, if you’re inefficient and tired out from hauling YOU around, chances are you’ll wear down way before your time.
Moving more today will spare you the debilitating inconveniences once your body really begins to slow down. This means doing strength exercises now that will keep you strong and functional.
Current research shows us that strength is THE most important factor in daily function. No matter what your age you can get stronger beginning today.
Your best bet is to set up a progressive fitness plan.
That means including weight based exercises that increase as you become better and stronger.
If today you begin with a pair of 5 lb’ers and continue a consistent program, you’ll see a significant improvement in your capacity in 6-8 weeks. You’ll get stronger as you increase the amount of weight you use.
Layer in a variety of exercises to challenge the system you are building and changes will pop up everywhere.
Recent research shows you can increase strength by 25-30% in 5 months by including a weight based program to your fitness plan.
You’re over 50, what do you do now?
If you’ve been inactive for some time start slow by only using your body’s weight to move. No need to add weight yet. This gives your body a chance to see change coming and ease in rather than going full throttle.
Some ideas include standing squats, back lunges, door way push ups, modified arm exercises like dips and pull ups.
Do your weight based program consistently 2 days a week. You’ll see advancement, especially using a multi-jointed approach. That means instead of doing a single movement, like a row, do a combo move of a stepping row. The stepping row adds in your lower body.
Remember, as your body responds to training, and it will, make the changes in weight and intensity for optimal strength improvements.
You don’t have to enter the latter part of life weak and feeble.
Make changes now, no matter what your starting point is.
You’ll be thankful when it’s completely manageable to push yourself out of your chair and get what you need. Depending on someone to do that won’t even be a consideration because you’ve built that skill into aging successfully.
More importantly, you’ll add bone density, improve balance skills, and bolster long term weight control!
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