How to Feel Young Again

Starting at the tender age of 30, adults will lose 6.5lbs of muscle tissue on average every 10 years. Do the math – that means by the age of 60 most adults have lost nearly 20 lbs of muscle mass. Why does that matter, you might ask? Well, the loss of muscle mass (the medical term is sarcopenia) makes you feel tired, slows down your immune system, increases your chances of injury, and generally makes you feel cranky and old. Some of the symptoms we have come to equate with aging are really nothing more than a completely reversible loss of muscle mass. So how do you reverse it?

The answer can be found in strength training. Because muscle is life tissue, to sustain life we need to sustain this tissue. If we are losing this tissue we are losing life but at any age you can increase your tone and strengthen your muscles if you exercise carefully, safely, and wisely. Importantly, declining muscle mass also slows our natural metabolism, so increasing muscle mass will also improve your metabolism and significantly help with weight loss. As lean body mass decreases, an unfavorable change in body composition , storing fat in places you never have before, the back of your arms, your belly, extra on the hips, under your chin, etc. These body composition changes also have severe metabolic repercussions. While the process of losing muscle mass starts in your 30’s, it really accelerates between the ages of 50 and 75 years where you can lose approximately 25% of your muscle mass without taking action thereby significantly increasing your body fat.

Without taking action, studies show that an average adult can expect to gain approximately 1 pound of fat every year between the ages of 30 and 60, while losing a about a half pound of muscle per year, equaling about 15 pounds of muscle loss and a 30 pound fat gain! The dramatic gain of fat and loss of muscle have metabolic repercussions. Muscle tissue has a large influence on BMR, which for most, is the largest single contributor to daily energy expenditure, hence why muscle is important for maintenance of healthy weight. Resistance exercise also promotes healthy glucose metabolism, so by maintaining muscle tissue you may help prevent the onset of type-II diabetes. To confirm these findings, data shows that older men and women generally have a slower BMR, compared to younger individuals. Preservation of muscle mass reduces the decline in BMR and body fat accumulation. Unlike aerobic activity, lean body mass is an important determinant of BMR, therefore strategies to preserve lean body mass are a necessity.

So, if you want to feel younger, look better, live longer, lose weight, and battle the effects of aging you need to learn how to rebuild your muscle mass through strength and resistance training – otherwise known as lifting weights. Find a professional who understands the challenges older individuals face in building muscles (you don’t want to be trained like a 25 year old who just wants to look better in a bikini), follow the program (eating the right food is a critical element when you are building muscles), and start feeling younger again tomorrow.