Three Reasons It’s Never Too Late To Start Working Out
by Nick Fortune
Stronger bones. Your bones are constantly going through a process called “remodeling,” in which new bone formations are being created and old ones are being broken down. Bone mass peaks when you’re in your late 20s or early 30s. Then, as we age, it begins to break down more than build up.
If the bone mass gets too low, osteoporosis can develop. This is a condition in which bones are weak and brittle, making them more susceptible to fractures and breaks. More than 44 million Americans age 50 and older have osteoporosis or low bone mass.
The good news is that exercise, specifical-ly weight-bearing exercise, has been proven to help increase or maintain bone density even as we continue to age.
Examples of weight-bearing exercises include walking, weight training, climbing stairs, dancing, running on the treadmill and using the elliptical. Bones respond to the mechanical forces and stress placed upon them.
If you have osteopenia or osteoporosis, or think you may have low bone mass, check with your doctor before beginning or increasing your amount of physical activity.
More muscle. Muscle, just like bone, also builds up and breaks down constantly throughout your lifetime. Your muscle mass peaks in your 30s and after that you begin to naturally lose muscle mass and function.
Physically inactive people can lose anywhere from three to five percent of their muscle mass each decade after the age of 30. Sarcopenia, the decline of muscle mass due to aging, affects nearly 30% of adults ages 60 to 70 and roughly 50% of adults over 80.
Cardiovascular exercise on its own, such as walking, elliptical machines and exercise bikes, is great for your heart and lungs, however strength training and resistance training can help increase or maintain muscle mass, starting at any age. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults perform moderate or high-intensity muscle-strengthening activities that involve all major muscle groups two or more days a week.
Smarter brains. While physical activity improves health and reduces your risk for disease, it also benefits people mentally. Working out improves mood, reduces stress, and increases energy levels.
Even better, exercise can also improve brain function and memory. Physical activity stimulates the release of certain chemicals in the brain that protect brain cells from degenerating over time. Research has shown that regular moderate-intensity physical activity can increase the size of some brain regions, including the prefrontal cortex, medial temporal cortex and hippocampus, which help form, organize and store memories and consolidate short-term memory into long-term memory.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults get 150 minutes of moderate physical activity a week. If you’re not there yet, do what you can and gradually add 5 to 10 minutes of exercise a week until you reach your goal.
Nick Fortune is the Active Older Adult Coordinator at the Schlessman Family YMCA. Fortune is an American Council on Exercise (A.C.E.) Certified Personal Trainer and Group Exercise Instructor as well as an A.C.E. Orthopedic Exercise Specialist and Functional Training Specialist.
