These are the wise words from Dr. Kenneth Cooper of The Cooper Institute in Dallas Texas. Dr. Kenneth recognized that older adults could drastically improve their quality of life and increase their longevity through an increase in physical activity.
Some older residents of the Coachella Valley are quick to attribute their inactivity and loss of mobility to age alone. Retirement is often portrayed as a period of inevitable mental and physical decline. However, just like an automobile, the body needs regular maintenance in order to increase its longevity.
A regular resistance training routine increases lean muscle mass. This is important because for each year after the age of 25, 3-5% of muscle mass is lost. Loss of muscle tissue and tone (atrophy) causes a decrease in lean muscle mass. For most people, atrophy is caused simply by a decrease in activity levels. However, resistance training can reverse the atrophy process. In fact, studies from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) have demonstrated that individuals in their 70s and 80s were able to increase their muscle mass and strength. Regularly engaging in a strength training routine prevents the wear and tear of aging and helps maintain healthy bones, muscles and joints, which reduces the risk of everyday injury. The loss of strength and vigor largely attributed to aging is in part caused by a decrease in physical activity.
National Men's Health Week is June 14-20, 2010 and is also a great time to start an exercise program. Men's Health Week is directed at educating men of all ages about the health concerns affecting men and how proper nutrition and exercise can reduce certain health risks. A regular exercise program helps manage blood pressure, increases good cholesterol (HDL), reduces bad cholesterol (LDL) and decreases the narrowing of the arteries, thereby cutting the risks of heart attacks and strokes. It also helps to manage diabetes, arthritis, low back pain and it improves digestion. Numerous studies from the American Cancer Society have further demonstrated that exercise can even help prevent certain cancers.
Although exercise has amazing health benefits; the biggest incentive for including exercise into your life is that it simply makes you feel better. It helps you sleep better, gives you more energy throughout the day and also helps to manage stress and depression. Moreover, strength training programs are also responsible for reducing falls and bone fractures in individuals over the age of 65 thereby making simple tasks of walking and bathing safer activities. Strong muscles and bones enable individuals to perform the routine tasks in daily life and increase the ability to live independently.
Resistance training should almost always be complemented with additional exercises and programs. A light to moderate cardiovascular (aerobic) training, as well as coordination, balance, and flexibility training contribute greatly to overall health and overall success in any resistance program. Since we are entering our hottest months in the desert, activities such as walking or cycling in the early morning or swimming are low impact and are highly recommended for cardiovascular fitness. Coordination, balance and flexibility training help prevent injuries when performing strength exercises and also help make everyday tasks easier.
Before beginning any physical exercise program it is important to consult with your physician and a knowledgeable fitness professional. If you choose to hire a personal trainer, choose one wisely. It is important to hire a personal trainer that has experience training individuals like yourself and is qualified and certified by recognized institutions. Also, choose a trainer with a specialization in the training program you wish to pursue. Just as you would not hire a tax lawyer to assist you in a civil suit, do not hire a trainer with a specialization in body building if you wish to embark on a balance and coordination program.
Exercise programs for older adults should look nothing like programs for 20 year olds. To start, it is very important for older adults to perform exercises correctly and proper body alignment needs to be emphasized at all time. Since older adults generally have more back and knee issues than their younger counterparts, low to non-impact exercises are best. Correct positioning of the joints is imperative as to not further aggravate existing arthritis. Additionally, the locking of elbows or knees during an exercise is dangerous and a trainer should be constantly checking to ensure this does not occur. Furthermore, an individual with high blood pressure should breathe properly during all exercises because a failure to do so can actually elevate blood pressure.
Although everyone can benefit from a fitness program, it is the older adult that can especially benefit. Retirement can be filled with happier days, less stress and less health problems for the older adult that embarks on an exercise program specifically designed for his needs.
resource: http://www.mydesert.com/article/20100606/GETPUBLISHED/6060344/Fit-at-Fifty-and-Beyond-
Small changes work together and build on each other, carrying you on spiral upward toward new physical heights. For example:
If you eat fewer carbs at dinner, you’ll sleep much more soundly, and release more growth hormone while you sleep. Growth hormone is the most potent fat burner in existence, and proper sleep can as much as double levels in men over fifty.
Eating fewer carbs at night will also dramatically decrease your belly fat by lowering nightime insulin levels. Nightime carbs are the primary cause of belly fat, and by reducing them, you will actually lose fat while you sleep.
The increased growth hormone levels from proper sleep will also improve bedroom performance, and lead to greater energy thorughout your day. Greater energy leads to more calories burned, which causes even more fat loss.
Growth hormone is also the most potent muscle building hormone in the body. If you combine higher levels with more protein in your diet, you will effortlessly gain more muscle.
This increased muscle will make it easier for you to burn even more fat. Muscle raises your metabolism, causing you to burn more fat night and day.
More muscle will also make it easier for you to perform full body, multi-joint exercises. These exercise are the most potent in building even more muscle, and these exercises also release testosterone and even more growth hormone when you perform them properly. This will lead to even more fat loss and muscle gain.
The multijoint exercises will then make it easier for you to become even more active, will also heal your joints, not to mention improve your power in the bedroom. You’ll burn even more calories, lose more fat, and perform even better in bed.
We’re only a few steps in, but are you starting to see how the cycle works? It’s incredible isn’t it?! This is how tiny, effortless new habits can all ad up together and radically change, how you look, feel, and your quality of life.
The way people treat you, and more importantly how you feel about yourself will all start to change, and it will happen almost effortlessly.
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