Aging like Wine or Milk?
Is it still a new school of thought that exercise is good for you? Regardless of age? I think by now the benefits far outweigh the cons. Cons being time, and money. But, exercise gives people more time, and saves money in the long run to not pay so many medical bills.
So other cons being, sweating and muscle soreness? That is a small price to pay for healthy movement, muscular longevity, and sailing into the golden years feeling like you could whoop your grandchildren’s ass at a game of basketball.
How does resistance training help in the aging process? What benefits does it have? Besides the obvious of keeping an active lifestyle…
Resistance training promotes healthy muscle tissue growth/maintenance
Bone density is a big one here - Resistance training aids in the maintenance and in some cases growth of bone density. Although bone density changes over time and degrades, continuous ‘good’ stress promotes healthy bones and helps to fend off osteoporosis
That was only one benefit to the muscular system, and the skeletal system. What about benefits to the nervous system?
One problem we run into are the ‘slip and fall’ accidents. Whether that is walking in the kitchen and slipping on the rug, or falling in the driveway during the winter because of the ice, falling accidents can be less detrimental or in some cases prevented.
Resistance training and specialized training promotes reaction time, coordination, and unilateral stability. All of these components make up the simple task of walking. If we can train to balance and move in lateral plains as well, we can help minimize fall risk. Yet another reason to continuously train well into your 80’s and 90’s.
We can talk about training methods until I get carpal tunnel from typing this. By now, I should not have to describe all of the benefits of maintaining or even starting habits to promote a healthy lifestyle. Find yourself a legit trainer, and just get going. It is never too late.
Moving on though. After talking about the physical benefits, what about the mental ones? Kids move away, or go to college. All of a sudden they are ‘too cool’ to call their parents. Grandkids only want to participate in family gatherings when it is forced, or they only want presents when they go to their grandparents house. (I am assuming based on movies and television. I do not have grandkids so how the hell would I know.)
Having a routine, having a place to be somewhat social can do wonders for mental health. Yes, we are paid to talk to you, but that doesn’t mean we don’t care. Having a trainer or a place to workout promotes a place of safety and timed socialization. Whether your trainer is listening or communicating, chances are you will become friendly with other people on the training floor during your training time as well.
Unfortunately, there will be setbacks and challenges too. In aging populations, or just going through life in general regardless of age - shit happens. Injuries happen all the time. Whether it is acute (the moment of injury) or chronic (a long time coming), injuries happen. The goals are not necessarily to keep you built like a brick shit house, but to better prepare for a possible injury. That being said, utilizing healthy motion and training promotes a greater healing time in the event of an injury. We train for injury prevention, but also train for a shorter recovery time.
Routines are hard to stick to. Life has its ups and downs. I need to install a new water filtration system. I don’t have the time. I’m tired. I’m sore. My family is coming into town this weekend. I stayed up too late watching the Argentina game.
Blah….blah….blah.
Point being, the benefits of a healthy and active lifestyle start silencing all of these excuses. The best thing to do is just keep going, or even just start. Preferably with a trainer, at least to get you started, and then it’s up to you to keep it going.
If you are interested in starting, adjusting, or keeping things moving, reach out to our experienced staff of coaches to chat about your fitness goals, no matter where in life you happen to be.
