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Sarcopenia is a gradual wasting of muscle tissue that for most people begins shortly after age 20 and continues for the rest of life. By age 75, a typical adult has lost 10 to 20 kilos of the total muscle he or she had at age 25. Hence, a person that has undergone this degree of lean muscle mass loss no longer has sufficient strength to maintain good health. An accelerated decline is experienced in functional ability to perform the required and desired physical acts of daily life. This detrimental result of muscle wasting is premature frailty and is not the result of aging but the result of disuse. Human beings right from the origins of our species have had to exert themselves physically in order to survive. Until as little as 100 years ago most people had to perform hard physical work nearly every day. The arrival of the 20th Century bought with it automation which rapidly replaced the physical demands of every day life. Within the short time of a few generations most people in developed nations no longer had to perform any demanding physical work in order to survive. Most of us now, every single day do almost nothing that requires vigorous physical exertion. Our bodies are built to work hard for survival reasons and the primary way they renew themselves is with challenging physical activity every day. Disuse tells the body to deteriorate and decay, a human body not used will waste away into a frail, weak shell. When you exercise vigorously, your muscles release specific hormones that travel throughout your bloodstream, telling your cells to grow. Sedentary or inactive muscles, on the other hand, let out a steady trickle of chemicals that instruct every cell to decay, day after day, week after week and year after year. But we have a choice here, when we chose to exercise, that process of growth spreads throughout every cell in our bodies, making us functionally younger. You can live out your life in a powerful, healthy body if you are willing to put in the work and effort. You choose whether those new cells that are being constantly replaced come in stronger or weaker. You choose whether they grow or decay each day from then on. Your cells don't care which choice you make. They just follow the directions you send. Exercise, and your cells get stronger; slow down, sit down, and they decay. With proper exercise, you can maintain your strength and vitality throughout your entire life. Exercise is best thought of as physical medicine and should be prescribed by a Fitness Professional. This will give the best results in the shortest time frame while ensuring progression for ongoing results, safety and to help motivate effort. Adequate resistance is required for meaningful stimulus and intensity to increase strength. Other types of exercise do not take the place of strength training, for instance, aerobic activity such as running, cycling or swimming cannot be substituted for strength training. Although these types of exercise are beneficial to the heart and lungs they will not prevent Sarcopenia. Similarly, strength training with weights that are too light, even when performing high repetitions, will not build muscle effectively. The weights must be heavy enough to challenge your muscles appropriately and stimulate them to grow. If you are 50, 60 or 70 and have not been exercising don't stress about it because here is the good news. It is never too late to start strength training and you can rebuild decades of lost strength in just a few months. As we get older let's choose to not take our strength for granted and always be working to protect and preserve it. After all length of life is insignificant without quality of life!
Do you want to discover the secret to rejuvenating your body and regaining lost vitality and improving the quality of your life? Download my free ebook "I've Found the Fountain of Youth- Let Me Show You Too!" here: health related fitness Carolyn Hansen is a certified fitness expert and fitness center owner who coaches clients to look and feel younger.
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