Maintaining Muscle Mass as You Age: Good vs. Bad Exercise

To maintain youthful energy as you age, you need to increase muscle mass and build strength, the foundation of physical strength. However, older adults have already lost significant muscle mass, making it more likely that lifting heavy weights at the gym will actually lead to injury. What kind of exercise should you do?

 

◇To stay young, you must maintain your muscles.

 

Muscle mass naturally decreases after age 40. Muscle mass decreases by approximately 1% in our 50s, and by our 80s, we can lose up to 60% of our total muscle mass. Muscles support bones and joints, preventing them from rubbing against each other, so a decrease in muscle mass can strain them. A decline in muscle mass, which plays a role in all aspects of life, also increases the risk of developing metabolic diseases. Muscle burns 20 kcal per kilogram, but as muscle mass declines, unused energy sources like fat and carbohydrates remain in the body.

 

These substances can circulate in the blood vessels and cause metabolic syndrome or cardiovascular disease. In fact, a domestic study found that sarcopenia increases the risk of cardiovascular disease by 3.6 times, diabetes by 3 times, and hypertension by 2 times. As physical strength declines, the amount of exercise decreases, which in turn increases chronic diseases and accelerates degenerative diseases. It works.

◇Walking, the best exercise

 

The easiest exercise for seniors to maintain muscle mass is walking. For seniors, walking is a moderate-intensity aerobic activity. If you walk properly, it can have an effect that is no less than strength training.

Rather than just walking

 

▲Walk sideways

▲Walking on heels

▲Walk on tiptoes

▲Sit down and stand up every 10 steps

▲Raise your arms or legs high

 

Varying your movements not only enhances the strength training effect, but also improves your balance, helping prevent falls. If joint strain makes it difficult to walk for long periods of time, walking in water may be an option. Aquatic sports offer greater buoyancy, water pressure, and resistance than land-based exercises, allowing even small movements to produce three to five times greater benefits. Furthermore, while knee joints normally bear the full weight of your body, buoyancy in water reduces the burden by 35 to 90%, relieving the strain on your joints. Because it widens the space between joints, it's a great exercise for older adults with arthritis or disc problems. However, for those with early-stage osteoporosis, proper bone stimulation is essential, so exercising on land is recommended.

 

Effective strength training using a chair indoors You can do this. Sit on a chair and rotate your ankles, or put one foot forward and point your toes, bending and straightening your ankles. Then, extend your arms slightly below your shoulders and pull them in and out as if rowing. Raise your hands up as if praying, then make fists in a cheering pose and lower them until your elbows touch your waist. Hold the back of the chair with both hands and lift and lower your heels. Lift your heels back and bend your knees 90 degrees and lower them. Repeat 3 to 8 times on each side. If this movement is difficult, there is a very easy exercise: sit down on a chair and stand up 10 times.

 

 

◇You can't go downhill

 

However, it is best to avoid activities that involve going down stairs or walking downhill. 

 

Rather, it can weaken muscles. A research team led by Dr. Matthew Hill at the Centre for Sport, Exercise and Life Sciences at Coventry University in the UK conducted a study to determine how much muscles weaken when older adults walk downhill. The research team recruited 19 older adults aged 65 to 78, assigned 10 to a level walking group and 9 to a downhill walking group, and had them walk for 30 minutes. The research team measured physical ability immediately after exercise, 15 minutes later, 30 minutes later, 24 hours later, and 48 hours later.

 

As a result, both groups experienced muscle weakness due to the accumulation of metabolic byproducts during exercise. However, the horizontal walking group immediately recovered from the decline in physical function within 30 minutes. In contrast, the downhill walking group's physical function continued to decline for 48 hours. Specifically, 24 hours after exercise, physical function rapidly declined and significant muscle loss was observed. The research team stated:

 

"Activities such as going down stairs or walking downhill are 'eccentric contraction' exercises that lengthen muscles, and this exercise appears to cause muscle weakness and decline in physical function in the elderly," he said. "Contraction exercises such as squats will help strengthen muscles in the elderly."

 

 

Maintaining Muscle Mass as You Age: Good vs. Bad Exercise © Provided by: Health Chosun