Lifting and ageing

Everybody knows that weightlifting will promote muscle strength and growth which therefore promotes muscle gains which THEREFORE creates a desired physique.

However, weightlifting has more benefits than you may realise.

As you age, you are at risk of losing your muscle mass (a condition known as sarcopenia) as well as losing your strength (a condition known as dynapenia). These conditions make the body very weak, fragile, and feeble. You see plenty of elderly folk who look incredibly frail and as though they should be wrapped in cotton wool and never taken out of the house! Their muscle deterioration and loss of strength put them at greater risk of falling over and causing serious injury.

Now maybe you are not particularly bothered about this at the moment… but one day (even if it is in 45 years time) you will be. If you haven’t got an elderly relative or friend to ask then go and find one… trust me, they’d be delighted to talk to you and probably won’t stop… ever. Haha! But seriously it’ll make you appreciate how fit and strong you are at the moment.

My Grandpa told me two things… “Don’t get old, and don’t get fat”. My Grandpa can barely walk, and although he was active in his youth I am pretty sure he didn’t lift.

But he was a runner…

I came across a study recently which looked into the effects of aging in runners. What was interesting about the study was that in old age the runners still lost their leg strength through dynapenia, showing that running alone was not enough to combat the loss of strength even in the area that runners train the most!

By exercising your muscle through strength training, you give yourself a HUGE advantage of being more able bodied in the future.

I am not saying that cardio isn’t important because it is! Getting the heart rate up for a prolonged period of time is essential for general fitness and health. Cardio is also beneficial for fat loss and can have a large impact on your calorie intake… (Meaning you can eat A LOAD MORE!) ;D. But you must find the balance between your cardio and strength training in order to stay able bodied for the longest time possible.

Thinking about the future so far in advance is a bore. Nobody wants to get old, sick and frail. But YOU don’t have to ;D.

Stay young forever and LIFT!