Is Feeling Old Due To Age Or Something Else?

Aging is associated with a decrease in muscle mass especially in lower body muscle mass occurring after the fifth decade of life.

Of course losing muscle mass means we’re getting weaker.

We are not meant to become weaker and frailer as an quinquagenarian <- winning scrabble word meaning 50 year old.

Our bodies are incredibly adaptive and respond to the things that we do or don’t do on a regular basis.

We do tend to lose muscle, bone, and brain as we get older.

It doesn’t really have to be that way.

We can change course by changing our habits.

Researchers found that we’re losing muscle mass at age 50 on average.

Muscle mass to a large degree is proportional to strength of bones and other soft tissues as well as brain health.

The good news is that we can avoid or even reverse this with weight bearing exercises and things like weight lifting.

Of course it should be done safely and you should make sure you’re ready for the demands you place on your body then slowly and progressively improve your strength, conditioning, and coordination at a level appropriate for you.

Virtually daily in our clinic, patients tell us they want to exercise they just can’t because of pain and other health issues.

In most cases, we help them get over these problems and then help them move into a reasonable exercise program so that they can continue to improve and feel better.

Most people are shocked at how much better they get with the right approach to exercise when done at the right time!

 

Reference:

www.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/jappl.2000.89.1.81