Walking is an important form of exercise, but it, and other forms of general activity, does not protect you from age related muscle loss.
Women often will tell me how they are very active – gardening, walking, playing with kids, hiking, etc., but it’s not enough to keep your muscles from atrophying.
When you are in your 60s and 70s the rate of muscle loss is about 1% per year if you are not actively trying to prevent muscle loss through progressive resistance training (weight training/strength training/resistance training).
“The most active eighty-year-olds have, on average, only about 1 kilogram more muscle mass than the least active people.” *
I know 80 year olds who are like lumps on a log and 80 year olds who are constantly moving about. It seems a bit unfair that the movers and shakers keep only a couple more pounds of muscle than the lumps, but none-the-less, there you have it!
See the image below comparing a 21 year old with a 63 year old who have the same Body Mass Index (a measure of height and weight). It’s fair to say the 63 year old does not lift weight, otherwise the quality and amount of muscle would be greater.
Ideally one would start progressive resistance training when they are in their teens, but the next best time to start lifting weights is now because everyone can increase their muscle!
Years ago (as short as the early 1980’s) scientists thought that any strength gains in people in their 50s and 60 were purely neural adaptation. Now, however, we know that muscle fibers can grow in size with proper training.
Growing your muscle or keeping what you’ve got is critical to your vitality and health. Gaining muscle will reduce your risk of many age related conditions such as :
- diabetes, because more muscle increase insulin sensitivity
- heart disease, because more muscle helps maintain high levels of good cholesterol
- cardiovascular disease, because more muscle consumes more oxygen, increasing aerobic capacity*
If you are interested in staying fit and healthy for the long run and you don’t want to lose any more strength, reply back and find out more about my Beginner’s Class (especially for women over 60)
*Stronger. Gross, Michael Jospeh
