Retirement! Now You Have More Time to Dedicate to You!
A big culprit for losing our physical abilities as we grow older is the age-related loss of muscle mass and strength, which is called sarcopenia. Typically, muscle mass and strength increase steadily from birth and reach their peak at around 30 to 35 years of age. After that, muscle power and performance decline slowly and linearly at first, and then faster after age 65 for women and 70 for men. Those findings come from NIA’s Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) — the longest-running study of human aging.
NIA-supported researchers have been studying the effects of strength training for more than 40 years and have identified multiple ways it can benefit older adults, including maintaining muscle mass, improving mobility, and increasing the healthy years of life.
Dr. Fielding and his NIA colleagues have found that the best recipe for improving physical function and avoiding disability is a combination of walking and resistance training. In the NIA-supported research, older adult volunteers participate in small group exercise sessions led by a physical fitness trainer. Several of these studies were conducted at Tufts, but the program has since expanded to nearby Boston-area gyms and community senior centers. The goal isn’t a perfectly chiseled abdomen or achieving exceptional feats of strength. Rather, participants use different types of ankle weights and dumbbells, or adapt exercises as needed to use their own body weight.
The research has found When you do resistance or strength training, very important chains of molecules that relay signals between cells are affected, and these changes linger in the body for hours after exercise, building up a cumulative, positive effect. Even a low-intensity strength and walking program has substantial benefits.
CDC, Center for Disease Control, recommends older adults need 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic & physical activity including 2 days of strength training each week. This could be 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week or a combination of moderate and high intensity activities per week.
