Coach Paul Alerts Us to Losing Muscle Mass with Age and Suggests Ways to Minimize It
SARCOPENIA – MUSCLE LOSS AS WE AGE with Guest Blogger Paul Barry
We lose lean skeletal muscle mass as we age which can create serious issues for us as it is a major component for our movement. Numerous factors can create this situation, but the following are some of the common reasons:
- Medical conditions.
- Becoming bedridden.
- Poor genetic disposition.
- High numbers of diseases.
- Muscle tissue changes with age.
- Commencing a more sedentary lifestyle.
- Injuries that affect or impair movement capability.
- Inadequate regularity of quality nutrition including good protein intake.
- Lack of exercise creates a catabolic state where muscle & fat are used as fuel.
Muscle loss occurs as we age & includes the onset of Muscle Atrophy, the wasting away of muscle. It can affect numerous aspects of our life. Generically, muscles get weaker & wasting follows. Awareness allows us to take steps to create an appropriate training plan. Having a professional create customised workouts is a great option.
Resistance training is an effective way to maintain or build muscle mass. Studies reflect we can still build muscle to the age of 80. Light weights are effective as the number of repetitions or number of sets can be increased. There are numerous options within resistance training e.g., Yoga, Pilates, Swiss Ball, Kettle Bell, Medicine Balls. You can do nearly all the above options outdoors. My advice, season dependent, is to always consider training outdoors whenever possible. I personally find it far more enjoyable & it also has several extra health benefits.
Swimming or other activities in water are the best resistance training activities from a holistic health perspective. No other resistance training environment gets close to the low impact nature with minimal injury risk that water provides. However, water is very resistant due to the density of its molecules. The resistance of water is 8.3 times or 830% greater than air. This provides a great workout as each movement requires 8.3 x more force application. Options include swimming, kicking with a board, an aqua aerobics class or simply walk against the resistance.
Protein intake becomes even more important as we age. Daily protein intake needs to be 0.05 oz for every 2.20 lb you weigh as a minimum. It is also important to ensure you have nutrient dense foods in your diet.
Our Guest Blogger is Paul Barry from Brisbane, Australia. He works as a Consultant in High Performance Sports.
