Normal Health Kills Too Many of Us
We know that as we age, we lose both speed and strength.
But this doesn’t happen at a steady rate, it happens in stages, in sudden quick drops in performance as the result of some injury or disease. If you have been training and you have built some reserve of strength and mobility, you can recover, but too many people have little reserve health and never recover once those declines happen.
If you engage in activities you enjoy, particularly if they are social activities, you are likely to keep that activity going long into your old age. Focus on the quality of the effort. You need to maintain speed, strength and stability as much as you can, by constantly training for that.
Whatever exercise you choose it must be a positive experience. Create a habit of exercise and incorporate lots of variety if you can. Get outdoors. Ride a real bike, on a real bike track. Seek places to walk that are hilly, and tree lined. Or if you are confined to a flat walk, make an intense effort to walk as fast as possible in short bursts.
It’s possible for people over 80 to build muscle by regular weight bearing exercises. After 6 weeks training on bicycles, a group of 80+ participants increased their workload by 34%, and their endurance 2.5 times.
Don’t imagine that you are going to get fitter; and in a few months you can stop. This is your life, when you STOP, that sends a signal to your whole body, so set long term goal about how to continue.
If you have not exercised before, you need to build a BASE, of aerobic activity, by walking up hills or on stairs or by jogging or cycling or swimming. Try at regular intervals to go fast and hard, and then return to your more relaxed pace. Over time, you will be able to do more and more.
Peter Attia believes that EVERYBODY should be lifting weights, because that not only increases your muscle strength and stability, but it also signals your bones that they need to be strong too.
You need to be as fit as possible when you enter your final decade.
Start using weights you can shift say 15 times in the beginning. Then do two and later three sets. That will build a strong base. 25% of people over 65 report falling each year. For people over 80 that rises to 80%. About half of those over 80 who fall and break a hip, never recover and die within a year.
We develop maximum bone strength at about age 30, and unless we subject bones to weight and strain, put them under pressure, they get weaker. Bone isn’t static it’s living tissue, and it’s responsive to the stress you put on it.
Falls are also a leading cause of brain injury.
The best predictors of falling are lower limb weakness, lack of toe strength, visual problems, poor balance and uneven surfaces. Too many of us lack strength in the lower leg, and ankle flexibility.
Most people today, especially older people, eat too little protein. Protein stimulates muscle building and if you are training you will add muscle mass and strength. Buy the best quality protein available.
