Flexibility remains a top priority for those folks who are keen on remaining independent for as long as possible as they age. For many, senior independence is a key part of aging with dignity and being able to remain in a positive emotional state. Once an elder loses their independence it can mean a quick decline in their mental outlook and lead to depression. This is usually the beginning of health issues that can easily become irreversible.
As a person gets older, it becomes increasingly more challenging to find the motivation and energy to do the physical activities to keep their physical agility. This is why staying active and building stamina and strength are important to start as early as possible in a person’s life so it becomes a lifestyle and habit. When a person is younger, chances are they will be in reasonably good health and may not feel the need to remain active for the sake of their longevity since the future is a long way off.
By the time an individual reaches middle age – their forties and early fifties, they begin to realize their shortcomings from a physical perspective. They begin to realize that the time is now to start becoming more fit as they stare into the future and see what is in store for them if only physically. When it is time to start exercising for their future, motivation might surface and if it does, exercising the right way will aid in determining whether they continue with a program.
Boomers are at this point in their lives and many are doing some form of physical activity. There is a real need to do strength training to build and maintain some lean muscle. The days of weight training for a muscle bound body are over for these folks and now it should be all about strength and flexibility. How you train will determine both and using heavy free weights like those that you may have at age twenty, could adversely affect you at age fifty.
Middle age people tend to have more aches and pains and if they have not already got them, their training will certainly bring them if not done properly. Training wisely is the key and that starts with diet and exercise to avoid injury and even train for pain management. As for the exercise, boomers should practice body weight movement and plenty of stretching in order to improve strength and boost flexibility. This combination will aid in joint stabilization and pain regulation.
If lifting weights has worked or is working for you at this stage that is great. Go for it and be careful, but understand that weight training is only one method of building strength and some would say not the optimum way to do it. If you are already experiencing some pain, it could make things worse. If gaining strength to function effectively in everyday life while at your peak is your goal, not your only option.
It is commonly believed that heavy weight training can make you less effective where agility is concerned, getting in the way of your flexibility to the point where you are more easily hurt when performing rudimentary tasks or movements. Not exactly the kind of fitness level you want as you get older and injuries are harder to heal.
If you have a chronic pain or injury you already nurse, you certainly want to avoid making it worse or causing a different painful injury to go along with what you already suffer with. This happens often when older people train with weights and they are not prepared properly.
Weights are fine for some people and I personally used them for years. As I grew older it became harder to train without causing injury with weights. Certain pain management techniques actually encourage weight use. However, if building strength, stamina, flexibility and longevity are your objectives, there are better ways.
If you are experiencing chronic lower back pain and or joint stiffness and pain, there are body weight calisthenics that will help your muscles and joints stay limber and help you feel more youthful. Some of these exercises will make your various muscle groups feel like they will never breakdown.
When you look closely at nature you will find proof of where I am going with this discussion. For instance, if you watch gorillas in the wild, watch their strength, agility and physical mechanics in action. For their whole life these apes exist utilizing their hands and appendages to get around. They spend their entire life hoisting their body weight here and there as they make their way through the jungle.
Their strength and mechanics are a result of them utilizing their body at all times in order to survive.
You may be thinking that we humans are not engineered like gorillas but that should not deter us from learning from them. The answers too many of our human foibles can be discovered in nature, right down to the foods we eat. It was man learning from primates thousands of years ago what foods were safe to eat. Maybe now we can learn how to become more physically fit from them as well.
What would be a comparable human activity equal to the gorilla experience?
The one sport that matches what a gorilla endures daily is the sport of gymnastics. These athletes build phenomenal durability and strength from only their body weight motions and we know that gorillas also have elevated strength and stamina from equal physicality.
Gymnasts are the ultimate body weight athletes. They are extremely flexible but that is combined with amazing strength. For their size, these people are among the strongest sportspeople around. They do these astounding movements due to their incredible strength and agility that is made possible without the use of weights, giving them lean muscle.
Body weight movement and stretching are superior forms of exercise for injury rehab and restoration of destabilized joints, strengthening muscles in these regions. The same limbering techniques will augment an individual’s capability to function well into the long term. This means having the physical capacity to maintain a reasonable lifestyle enjoying your later years free from injury and pain.
I remember visiting elderly grandparents on their farm years ago and my grandfather was in his mid seventies. He still worked the farm each day [albeit with some help] getting up before dawn and walking the perimeter in heavy boots checking on cattle. His day consisted of mending fences and climbing stacks of hay bales, loading trailers and physically moving the bovines about. What was amazing was his ability to swing himself over fences, up onto a trailer and even toss a couple hundred bales of hay on and eventually off a trailer each day for a week. He ate well and worked until sundown.
If you are a middle aged boomer and are looking for a way to build strength and flexibility without the risk of injury, the following basic bodyweight exercises will help a great deal.
The Dip – used in strength training, the body is suspended while hands and arms support your bodyweight held shoulder width apart. You will mainly feel this in your triceps area but the chest muscles and shoulders will also get a workout. The dip will give you a good upper body workout.
The Push Up – almost everyone has heard of the push up and almost no one does them correctly. It is a common exercise performed from a prone position. You are lying face down horizontally raise and lower your body with only your arms. Your back should be flat and your entire body head to toe should be flat. Keep your butt down.
The Pull Up – This is a great upper body exercise where your body is suspended with your arms extended upwards gripping a bar that is fixed, while hanging and supporting your weight pull yourself up until your elbows are angled and your head is above your hands. Use an overhand grip. The pull up utilizes upper body strength and no swing allowed.
The Squat – In strength training this exercise primarily targets the muscles in your thighs, hips and butt. It will also strengthen the bones, ligaments and tendons about your lower body. Squats are an extremely important exercise for building overall leg strength, necessary for stability as you age.
These are not easy exercises and will require some patience as you build up your strength. You may only be able to do a few of each initially but be consistent with your regimen. Do not over do it with each exercise, only do what you can without excessive straining. Make sure you stretch well before any training to get limber. Performed properly, these exercises will eventually become much easier to do and you will notice a huge difference in a short amount of time. You can eventually add more bodyweight exercises and you should look into isometric training as well.
As we age, the first thing we lose is our flexibility where physicality is concerned. This form of training will give you back your agility. Increasing your strength will only assist in enabling a prolonged independence when you are older and allow you to live without assistance. Losing your freedom when you get old is something all elderly people fear. The process of decline begins when you injure yourself due to a fall or a strain that never seems to heal properly and worsens over time.
Your independent longevity depends on your ability to take care of yourself for as long as possible when you reach your golden years. Even if you eventually require some assistance, doing as much for yourself as you can will keep you in a positive frame of mind – also important as you age.
Fri, Apr 16, 2010
Anti Aging Theories, Health And Aging, Longevity