Beating Old Age With Exercise

Posted February 3, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Denise Musumeci

Section: His Fitness, Cardio Training, Strength Training, His Health, Mental Health, Physical Health, Lifestyle Health

Getting old is almost everyone’s worst fear, but undfortunately, it is inevitable. People dread the idea because they begin losing their looks, start slowing down, and may be dependent on other people for the first time in their lives. Research on aging finds that getting old means a lot of things: moving slower, muscles weaken and sense of balance is lost. The one thing all those studies have in common is that all the people in the studies live sedentary lifestyles. The key to beating old age is to keep moving.

If you ask any person that lives to be ninety, they will tell you that the key to beating old age is to never settle down. Studies of people who train as they age support this statement. Although you may start to slow down, you will deteriorate a lot less than you think. People who start training later in life can improve their physical condition—a 62 year-old man once ran a marathon in 3 hours and 25 minutes a year after he began training. The body is very adaptable and it is possible to slow the aging process, even if you begin training well into old age.

Researchers have found that as you age, you should be able to maintain your muscles if you exercise properly. Training hard has found to be more effective than training often because endurance is based more on intensity than it is on the amount of time spent exercising and training. As you age, oxygen consumption declines, making you move slower which decreases your ability to exercise often. Elderly people who train need more rest days than people in their twenties, so if they exercise intensively on training days, they will enhance their performance better than if they tire themselves out by training moderately five times a week.

Another factor in athletic training for the elderly is state of mind. An older person may think that they are too old to begin training. The truth is, you are never too old to train and the sooner you begin, the faster you can beat the signs of aging and improve your overall health and physical condition.

On the flipside, there are athletes that are beginning to slow down and cannot understand why they can no longer live up to their records or set new ones. This may cause them to lose their motivation to compete in marathons and give up on their training. Slowing down becomes natural with age, since oxygen consumption decreases and circulation to the legs can decline up to 20 percent.

People who have been training since they were young must understand that slowing down is natural and does not mean the end of athletic ability. If you lose motivation and give up training, you are inviting the process of aging to take control of your physical condition. Keeping up with training will allow you to stay in good shape for a longer period of time.

It is never too late to slow the aging process and improve your physical condition. Settling into a sedentary lifestyle will only accelerate the aging process. Visit your local gym to learn more about how to exercise properly and to begin training. Ask if there are programs or classes that are specialized for senior citizens.

Research sources and for more information: [NY Times]