Lower body muscles play an important role in preventing diseases and enjoying a high quality of life.

As people age, muscle naturally decreases, so if you don't exercise with care, it becomes difficult to maintain lower body muscles. Although it varies depending on lifestyle and other factors, elderly individuals generally experience about a 10% reduction in muscle mass each year. When lower body muscle mass decreases, they are more prone to falls and can sustain serious injuries even from minor impacts. In particular, this article explores how important lower body muscles are for elderly men and how to strengthen them.

 

Thigh muscles store and metabolize the most sugar among the muscles in our body. In the elderly, development of this area allows them to maintain strength for a longer period even with the same amount of nutrients intake. When the lower body muscles develop, many capillaries form around them, improving blood circulation. Good blood circulation ensures that blood is effectively delivered to the testes and adrenal glands, promoting the secretion of male hormones such as testosterone. This is why men should consider lower body muscles more important than women.

Lower body muscle mass is also related to disease. If there is no muscle in the lower body, blood that should be in the thigh area tends to move upward, increasing the risk of hypertension or stroke.

 

For the elderly, simply strengthening the gluteus maximus, adductor muscles, quadriceps femoris, and hamstring muscles can yield sufficient benefits. When these muscles are developed, they not only improve health effects such as blood circulation and metabolism but also enhance the functions performed by each muscle.

The psoas major is a muscle that connects the lumbar vertebrae (lower back bones) to the femur (thigh bone), and it functions to lift and lower the leg. As people age, if climbing stairs becomes difficult, it is mostly due to weakness in the psoas major. Strengthening the psoas major makes basic activities such as walking and climbing stairs easier. To strengthen the psoas major, lie down with one knee bent and slowly lift and lower the opposite leg alternately.

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The adductor muscle extends from the pelvis to the back of the thigh and helps to firmly bring the legs together inward. Strengthening the adductor muscles improves balance and helps prevent urinary disorders, prostate diseases, hemorrhoids, and other conditions. To strengthen the adductors, lie down with your knees bent, place a pillow between your knees, lift your hips and pelvis upward, then slowly lower them back down.

 

The hamstring is a muscle located at the back of the thigh. It plays a role in stopping leg movement, as well as changing speed and direction when walking or running. Developing this area improves agility and reduces the risk of injury when walking downhill. It can be strengthened by lying face down, placing a pillow or ball around the ankle, then bending the leg backward and lowering it.

 

The quadriceps femoris is a large muscle located at the front of the thigh and directly affects joint health. It is also a primary area targeted during rehabilitation exercises for patients with degenerative arthritis. When the quadriceps femoris is developed, the impact on the joints while walking decreases, and joint movement becomes smoother. A good exercise is to stand leaning against a wall with feet shoulder-width apart, then bend and straighten the knees so that the thighs are level with the floor.

 

You should not start exercising abruptly without preparation. Since your muscles are stiff, you need to focus on improving flexibility first. It is helpful to increase muscle hydration at least a month before starting intense muscle training. Drinking plenty of water or following a low-sodium diet is recommended. Afterwards, combine aerobic exercise with lower body muscle workouts. Aerobic exercise should be about 30 minutes at a time, and for the large muscle group exercises, do 30 repetitions for 3 sets daily, while other exercises can be repeated 20 times for 3 sets.

 

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Watching the Ugly Duckling program,

Mr. Kim Jong-kook to his mother

It seems like you have to stand on tiptoe at the bathroom door.

 

As I get older, I realize I need to do lower body exercises.