Do not think about what to do if you have gotten your share of the “good aging” trend that has been talked about lately and think you are not aging well.
I prepared an article that compiled great research and important points for you to take action.
Generally, in this article, I am going to create a road map for those who are in their 40s, who plan to do sports. I will clarify such questions.
Why is muscle mass important in old age?
There is a false belief in our society that muscle mass is only needed for a good look. The situation is completely different.
Let’s briefly examine how important muscle mass is.
Muscle mass;
- It prevents / slows down bone resorption.
- It prevents you from gaining weight.
- It reduces insulin resistance.
- It helps you maintain cardiovascular health.
- Improves your balance ability.
One of the most common problems in old age is falls due to balance problems and fractures due to this. Although it is very common, the deaths caused by such fractures are considerable.
From a doctor’s eye to get detailed information on this topic: why should you increase your muscle mass? You can review my article.
Middle age! Are we late?
I got many questions about exercise in old age. But the question that caught my attention from these questions and the most common question is, “Will it be after this age?” It was.
The surprising thing was that the people who asked this question were between 40 and 60 years old. Turkey can be compared to the old standard, but never to the world!
Let’s take a look at the research on this subject.
Research 1. Part
This research was done by choosing two groups of subjects at Oklahoma University. While the first group of subjects consists of university students aged 18-22, the second group consists of 35-50 year olds.
The same exercise program was applied to the subjects for eight weeks and then the muscle mass of the subjects were compared. Surprisingly, while university students gained about 1 kg of muscle mass over an eight-week period, it was found that the second group (between 35-50 years old) received 1.25 kg of muscle mass.
Research 2. Part
In this research, which was organized as a continuation of the first research, it was aimed to measure the power levels of the subjects.
At the end of the eight weeks, young subjects experienced a 3.5 kg weight increase on the bench press, while the leg press movement increased by 27.5 kg. Meanwhile, middle-aged subjects experienced an increase of 7 kg in bench press exercise during this period, and 20 kg increase in leg press exercise.
Result
The two studies we reviewed above about building muscle mass during middle age show that it’s not too late and you can get a fairly good performance.
So does everything work like in her twenties? No! Let’s examine it together.
Those who come with age!
I mentioned that you can develop muscle mass and strength like young people at the top. So what do you lose with age?
Under this heading, I will mention what you lost with age and explain things that you need to pay attention to indirectly.
Joints, mobility and balance
Cartilage tissue has the ability to heal slowly and may be damaged at increasing ages with the pressure it is exposed to during its lifetime. This situation may force you with increasing sports pace. Worse, you may be injured.
Also, decreasing inactivity with increasing age may cause the flexibility of your muscles to decrease. Decreased flexibility will both damage your balance ability and cause posture disorders.
Slowing down metabolism
Although the rate of metabolism slowed with increasing age goes arithmetically in men, it decreases rapidly in women after menopause. This causes women to gain weight suddenly after menopause and not to tolerate calories as well as before.
In this process, while men keep up with the gradually decreasing metabolic rate, they are mostly successful in weight control, while women often lose control due to sudden change.
Middle age athletes who want to have a athletic body and whose metabolism has started to slow down should pay attention to this situation.
Reduced recovery ability
The biggest handicap earned with increasing age can be described as the decreasing recovery ability. Learning the balance of metabolism that deteriorates and shifts from production to destruction is the key point here.
This key point requires more careful planning of factors such as exercise during rest and disability during middle age and after.
How to exercise in middle age and old age?
So far, we have examined why muscle mass is important, the ability of middle-aged and elderly to build muscle mass, and handicaps that occur with age.
How to exercise in the last part of the article, middle age and old age? In the title, I will suggest exercises.
Practice compound exercises and lift heavy
Focus on doing combined exercises and heavy lifting to the extent your joint and performance allow. This affects your hormonal balance positively and accelerates muscle development.
Which exercise should you choose to learn about compound exercises? You can read the article named composite vs isolated.
When lifting heavy, keep repetitions in the range of 8-12 repetitions. If you want to get detailed information about the number of repetitions, how many repetitions should I do? You can review my article.
Testosterone and growth hormone play a very important role for a athletic body composition. I have articles about these. You can click here for testosterone spelling and click here for growth hormone spelling.
Pay attention to your joints
As I mentioned before, your joints become more fragile after middle age. Here, you should pay particular attention to exercises with free weights and not increase weight without understanding the technique well.
The joints that you should pay attention to firstly can be listed as shoulders, knees, elbows. You also need to pay attention to the hernia in terms of hernia.
When you are injured, try not to stay still. Available in research on this topic.
Research
In typical Achilles tendon injuries, pain and movement restriction take about 18 months. During the research period, half of the runners with Achilles tendon injury had eccentric training. The other half rested.
While the pain continued in the runners resting after 12 weeks, it was observed that the pain of the eccentric training runners decreased and in some of them the pain completely disappeared.
Result
During the disability process, you should exercise correctly or keep moving. In such cases, you may need help from professionals.
Stretch’s for athletic body!
Flexibility is a variable that affects quality of life, posture and many other factors closely in older ages. For this reason, you should add a routine to your exercises to ensure the flexibility of the muscles, which is very important.
You can limit this routine to 5-10 minutes of stretching sessions that you will add after your training.
I’ll say it before you ask. Static flexing is the type of flexing that I prefer and trust in older ages.
Finally, “How long will I stretch after 40?” Do not call. Take a look at the video below.
Finally;
- You should not stop exercising regardless of your age.
- During exercise, you should take care of injuries and protect your joints.
- You should not skip balance and stretching exercises.
- Add cardiovascular exercises to your training pace,
- Finally, you should continue to lift weights.
I think you can. What do you think?
