Exercise, exercise… You get a little tired of hearing about it, don’t you? Seems like it’s the cure-all for everything these days, from cancer to cardiac issues, osteoporosis to just plain old age.
Sure, you get tired of hearing about exercise. But do you also get just plain tired? More tired than you think you should be, at your age? So tired that even something as simple as getting out of a chair makes you think twice?
Then you may be feeling the muscle loss that comes with aging. And it’s about time you started working on regaining at least some of the strength you had 5, 10, or even 20 years ago.
It’s possible, you know. What you need is resistance training – one form of which is weight lifting.
“Weight lifting?! At MY age?”
Hold on, now; before you get carried away with visions of heavy barbells crashing to the floor, Charles Atlas, and muscle-bound women power-lifters bulging out of their skimpy bikinis, let’s take a reality check.
Resistance training – weight lifting – can be as complex as a computer-driven circuit of multiple machines, each programmed to work a particular part of your body.
Or as simple as getting up out of that aforementioned chair.
The point of resistance training is to put stress on your muscles and bones. Not harmful stress; but the stress that comes from moving just beyond their comfort zone, to the point where they have to stretch a bit (in the case of muscles), or carry more weight than they’re used to (your bones).
Every time you stress muscles and bones, they’re forced to get into gear and rebuild the tiny bit of damage that’s been done. But in the process, they don’t just repair what’s been damaged; they make it stronger.
And that’s how you build strong muscles and bones – in small increments, over time. The stronger you are, the less likely you are to fall, the less brittle your bones, the more able you are to avoid osteoporotic fractures.
So, how to begin? As with any journey, taking the first step is often the hardest. Here are a few suggestions for ways to start building bone and muscle right now.
•Practice getting out of your easy chair. Many older adults have to try two, three, or more times to push themselves out of a chair, particularly one with deep, comfortable cushions. Work on pushing equally with both arms and legs. Stand up, sit down, stand up again. Repeat as many times as you can times before going back to watching TV or reading.
•Try storing canned and bottled goods on kitchen or pantry shelves that are eye level or higher. Most jars of spaghetti sauce are 1 ½ pounds; Canned juice is at least 2 pounds, sometimes 3 pounds. Lift with one arm, and set on the shelf. Take it down, and try again. Repeat until you feel tired. But be careful; as you run out of steam, you’re more prone to drop things.
•A half-gallon of milk weighs 4 pounds. Set down your grocery bags on the opposite end of the kitchen from the refrigerator. Carry milk back and forth to the fridge, holding it out in front of you rather than down at your side.
