Why do people become less active as they age?

Fitness is an important part of who I am. I think it is important to have a well balanced lifestyle. This becomes more and more important as we move through the different stages of life. One thing I know for sure is that as we age strength training becomes more and more important. You may start to notice a few more of those aches and pains in those joints when you finish a tough session. We are not the same as we were when we were 21 and our body’s ability to handle the same training schedule is also not the same.  

I am not saying that it is impossible to perform at higher levels later in life, we just have to find new ways to get the most out of ourselves. When you are creating that diverse training schedule, the addition of strength and conditioning will make your training and performance more sustainable and your goals achievable.

There are many things that happen as we age. 

The importance of incorporating strength training has more benefits than a performance booster. It is important to the maintenance of a healthy environment for your musculoskeletal system as you progress through life. When we reach the age of 30, we begin to lose our muscle mass at a rate of 3-8% per decade. Strength training becomes more about lessening the effects of aging than “bulking up”. In addition to muscle loss, as we age we have to also consider bone loss is another highly important health concern that we face as we age. Not only do our bones take a hit but our connective tissues also take a beating. As we continue through life, our ligaments become less flexible and our cartilage becomes more susceptible to stress due to the water losses. These changes combined can lead to arthritis and stiff joints. 

How can strength training benefit you? 

There are many health and performance benefits that come with working in a consistent strength training program. It is important to have the discipline to combat these changes that I discussed above, as well as others not discussed. When you incorporate a strength regimen at least two times per week to help mitigate losses and increases not your health but performance too. 

These benefits include (and are not limited to):

• Increased bone density reducing the risk of fractures

• Increased muscle mass reversing the trend of age-related muscle mass loss

• Increased joint flexibility and reducing the symptoms of arthritis

• Decreased risk of injury

• Maintained or increased ratio of lean mass: body fat

• Increased strength, better body mechanics, balance, and posture

• Better chronic disease management, such as better glucose control in type II diabetes

• Increased energy levels

• Released endorphins

• Better sleep

• Reduced cardiovascular risk factors

• Improved cognitive function

• Improved athletic performance by being able to recruit more muscle fiber

It can be important to pay special attention to postural exercises that can target such areas in the upper back to improve the strength between your shoulder blades which helps prevent sloping shoulders and rounding of the upper back.These benefits can be realized at any time, but they are especially important as we age. In order to maintain, increase or slow any decrease in performance, strength training becomes a “must do” to both improve health and performance. 

Stay active, to be grounded.