Use it or lose it: Urgent advice about your muscles and your mind

I’m closer to 63 than I am to 62. And believe me, when I tell you, I’m not a lover of exercise. But now that warm weather is here, I’m feeling a little more motivated. I’m getting ready to start a daily exercise routine that I hope will last into next winter. What will this routine consist of, you may ask? What it will NOT consist of is sweating, grunting, bench pressing or running miles a day. I’ve been looking at some recent research that’s convinced me that this is not at all necessary. More importantly, it’s convinced me that even though I feel stiffer and less balanced than I used to, I can begin this routine and see almost immediate results. Not in weight loss or rock-hard muscles. That’s not what I’m looking for. The research shows that a certain type of exercise will not only make me stronger and more capable as the years go on, but will improve my mental and emotional life as well. And, I’m all for that. Resistance training: start now, benefit later There’s a ton of evidence that resistance training (also known as strength training or weight training ) makes older adults stronger. For seniors, the expression “use it or lose it” becomes very real and urgent. The loss of muscle mass due to the natural aging process is known as sarcopenia . By age 50, as our body becomes less able to form muscle from protein, we’re losing 1 percent to 2 percent of our muscle mass every year . Related: 7 simple tips to feel, look and age better Dr. John Morley, a geriatrician at St. Louis University School of Medicine, tells us that “sarcopenia can be considered for muscle what osteoporosis is to bone.” Although I am generally healthy, […]

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