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Muscle Matters As we welcome the warm summer months … The winter is now behind us, we have survived our new year’s resolutions by ignoring or outliving them. The fitness revolution has been going on for some time now. Despite this, both adults and children aren’t getting any fitter. The promise of technology has brought a dark side, with over 25% of kids now obese or overweight due to the increased chair time. Adults don’t fare much better with 4 in 10 reporting NO leisure time physical activity (i.e. Fitness activities). This is a big problem affecting our health in a broad pattern as when you rest, you rot. First, a look at some disturbing statistics that affect our health as we age. Shock, shock, that we are slowly ageing, I thought it wouldn’t happen to me. Now they tell me that I am slowly losing strength from age 30 onward. It gets even worse. We lose 30% of our already depleted muscle strength between the ages of 50 and 70. This depleted muscle is also the good stuff, our fast twitch fibers. These are the fibers that contract the strongest and fastest. No wonder my time trial times are getting slower!! While you’re early strength losses may go unappreciated as you transfer to more desk work in your mid life, it certainly becomes a bigger deal once you hit your later years. Maintaining a healthy body composition becomes difficult as we trade muscle for fat. It turns out that trying to maintain as much muscle as possible is a good thing on many levels. The preservation of muscle mass is important. Muscle tissue helps maintain a high metabolic rate, the energy we expend on a daily basis. The more muscle tissue you have, the more calories you are burning during the day. Body fatness results from a number of factors, but chief among them is a declining metabolic rate due to loss of muscle mass. This is why it is so common to slowly put on weight as we get older. In addition to decreasing our metabolic rate, loss of muscle mass as we age also can affect bone density, lead to increased insulin sensitivity, and decreases in aerobic activity. At least the current research is not all full of bad news. They have shown that the loss of strength can be prevented by (yes, I know it’s hard to believe) exercise. Performing 2-3 strength exercise sessions a week can keep those fast twitch fibers happy. Increases of 40% in strength can be realized in just a few months. You can turn back the clock, it just may require less time in front of that 64” HD TV. We know that strength is also a big benefit to our aerobic exercise. Increases in lower extremity strength will actually delay the onset of fatigue in our recreational activities of hiking and biking. We produce less, and tolerate higher levels of lactate in our muscles, a chemical marker of fatigue. This is the perfect adjunct to helping us enjoy our Valley resources of beautiful hiking and biking trails. Our elite level valley athletes all incorporate a strength component to their fitness activities. Nordic skiing and rock climbing both require high levels of upper body strength. Both young and ‘mature’ athletes will find great benefit to pursuing their strength fitness. Strength training also doesn’t take an enormous amount of time, and can be very simple to do. I’m not talking about power lifting small cars, or hours spent honing large biceps in front of the mirror. The US ski team has traveled the world doing all of its strength training with just a chair and some stairs. Variety, instruction, and a social component, can be had at local fitness centers and studios. Strength training is as simple as lifting a weight for 12 repetitions (a set) , rest, then repeat again. If you are new to strength training, one set of exercise will give the same gains as 3 sets. More experienced trainers will benefit from three sets of exercise. The American Sports Medicine Association recomends 8-10 different exercises split between the upper and lower body. New research has shown that changing your program every 4-6 weeks gives additional increases in strength, compared to not changing your program. Changes can be as simple as choosing new exercises, or by changing the number of repetitions, or speed of movement. This changing style of training is called Periodization. As with any fitness program, consult your physician if you have heart disease, hypertension, or other complicating conditions. So fitness training with a strength component really is that elixir of youth that has been searched for years. It makes you younger, stronger, and more resistant to the illnesses of age. There is no pill that can accomplish this, no diet, no thigh master, no guru. Strength, the perfect supplement for an active Methow Valley summer. Peter Dickinson MS, PT, SCS |
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