Should You Be Building Lean Muscle Over The Age Of 60?

The answer is yes!

Don't Lose Your Muscle

The older we get the more important it is to maintain or increase our muscle mass and strength through regular resistance training. As we age, sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass, will make living difficut. We lose muscle starting in our 30s and up to eight percent a year after age 50. Crazy, right?

This all leads to weakness, frailty, lack of mobility, and increased falls and fractures. Not good.

Adequate strength, mass, and power are needed to perform functional tasks in our daily lives. Walking, lifting packages, taking out the garbage, shopping, picking up the grand kids are all a lot easier with good muscle tone. Preventing falls and maintaining balance are added benefits of regular exercise.

Maintaining muscle is essential to healthy aging. That's a good thing.

The best way to maintain or increase muscle mass is through resistance training exercises and diet. I'll cover exercise in this post and diet in a later one.

How To Maintain Your Muscle: Exercise

You can build muscle by various means: exercise bands, free weights, exercise machines, and body weight exercises. You only need to workout 2 or 3 times a week to benefit. Use movements that mimic everyday activities like pushing and pulling or standing up from a chair. These are known as functional movements.

Be sure to choose a form of exercise that you like. You are more likely to keep at it if you enjoy it. You can join a gym to learn the basics and avoid injury. A personal trainer can be very helpful and motivational, if you can afford it.

If you prefer to exercise alone, there are ways of equipping a home gym that are inexpensive. All you need is a pair of dumbbells and exercise bands. It's up to you if you want to go all the way and establish a total home gym.

Finding friends and companions to join you in exercising can be helpful in keeping up the motivation to exercise. There are always times when our enthusiasm wanes. Exercise buddies can see you through those times. Just don't spend your time talking instead of working out.

Additional Benefits Of Exercise

Besides building muscle mass, resistance training is good for your brain (it fights dementia, and improves memory), improves heart health, reduces the risk of some cancers, and leads to overall metabolic health.

Exercise is the closest thing we have to a cure all.

Helpful Websites

The web is filled with information about keeping fit, leading a healthy lifestyle, and performing resistance training.

A great site for seniors is Senior Exercise Central. It will take you through every aspect of staying in shape, how to perform exercises, as well as provide inspirational discussions that will continue to motivate you.

Go4Life will take you through nutrition, exercise, and safety aspects of getting and staying in shape as a senior. Lots of good information.

If you really want to regain lost strength and revitalize you life, Elder Gym may be the site for you. It's purpose is to get you back on your feet and regaining the strength you need to live an active life.

Want to go the next step and become a senior bodybuilder? Here are some guys and gals who are really doing it.

Always consult your health practitioner before beginning an exercise program.

Power on!

Let me know if you have any questions.