Loss of Muscle Function with Age
- Gravity Man
- Posts: 20
- Joined: 12 Jan 2019, 4:13pm
- Location: Sometimes at sea, sometimes not
Loss of Muscle Function with Age
Today I attended an interesting lecture given by our onboard Medic about the importance of strength training through exercise, resistance training, weight lifting, and the like. Something he talked about that piqued my interest .... me being no longer in the first flush of youth ... is something called sarcopenia. It's "the involuntary loss of muscle mass, strength, and function as we age", something that we soon-to-be oldies must surely not have failed to have noticed happening because everyone is genetically programmed for it to happen sometime after the age of 50.
For anyone interested or / and who might never have heard of it, here's a link to an informative article in the very excellent online publication "The Conversation" :
https://theconversation.com/50-year-old ... age-172941
I think I'll keep on riding my bike, running, and going to the gym for as long as I can. It turns out my bones will fall apart too because of osteoporosis if I don't do lots of weight-bearing exercise. So, lest I become an amorphous blob of elderly meat and fat, I'd better jump to it.
For anyone interested or / and who might never have heard of it, here's a link to an informative article in the very excellent online publication "The Conversation" :
https://theconversation.com/50-year-old ... age-172941
I think I'll keep on riding my bike, running, and going to the gym for as long as I can. It turns out my bones will fall apart too because of osteoporosis if I don't do lots of weight-bearing exercise. So, lest I become an amorphous blob of elderly meat and fat, I'd better jump to it.
If there's always biscuits in the tin, where's the fun in biscuits ? -- Gary from 'Men Behaving Badly'
Re: Loss of Muscle Function with Age
I'm 81 and I use the gym as part of my routine.
IMO weight training and resistance exercises also help with flexibility.
I have some free weights at home if I can't make the gym but the gym gives me more motivation.
IMO weight training and resistance exercises also help with flexibility.
I have some free weights at home if I can't make the gym but the gym gives me more motivation.
Re: Loss of Muscle Function with Age
Weight training is so bloody boring, though. I have a solution: the electric motor, batteries & associated clamjamfry I added to my old Audax bike weigh so much that just handling the brute in the workshop is good training, as is merely using 'body language' on the road. My thighs & calves have actually gained muscle since I started using it in early March, and judging from the pain in my shoulders this morning something's happening there too.
Gut girth continues unaltered, though.
Gut girth continues unaltered, though.
Have we got time for another cuppa?
Re: Loss of Muscle Function with Age
Agreed that weight training is unexciting - but it is good for you.Audax67 wrote: ↑13 Jun 2022, 10:04am Weight training is so bloody boring, though. I have a solution: the electric motor, batteries & associated clamjamfry I added to my old Audax bike weigh so much that just handling the brute in the workshop is good training, as is merely using 'body language' on the road. My thighs & calves have actually gained muscle since I started using it in early March, and judging from the pain in my shoulders this morning something's happening there too.
Gut girth continues unaltered, though.
OTOH I can't think of an exercise that can beat a turbo session for sheer tedium.
Re: Loss of Muscle Function with Age
I get the impression that weight = exertion and that it is best avoided by most people, in their view. Being old/older reinforces this and provides a handy excuse. Throw in the propensity of technology to come up with more and more "labour savng" devices and you have the perfect storm.The latest example I have come across is an electrically-raised roof on a camper van.
I'm not a gym-goer myself but still need the weight lifting so I try to embrace various opportunities as they arise (which they do naturally in everyday life). The problem is however that in suggesting that older people should eshew stair lifts, mobility scooters, electric car boots and the like is that you run the risk of offending those people who use these things as a genuine way to achieve something, otherwise denied to them because of serious old age or disability.
I think there is a cultural prejudice against ordinary physical exertion unless it is in the confines of a gym. And of course there is the very rational fear of heart attacks, pulled muscles, hernias and everything else associated with over-doing it. My only conclusion is that we should put out more guidance on how to lift and carry, what limits are reasonable and what an older person could reasonably expect to be able to do.
I'm not a gym-goer myself but still need the weight lifting so I try to embrace various opportunities as they arise (which they do naturally in everyday life). The problem is however that in suggesting that older people should eshew stair lifts, mobility scooters, electric car boots and the like is that you run the risk of offending those people who use these things as a genuine way to achieve something, otherwise denied to them because of serious old age or disability.
I think there is a cultural prejudice against ordinary physical exertion unless it is in the confines of a gym. And of course there is the very rational fear of heart attacks, pulled muscles, hernias and everything else associated with over-doing it. My only conclusion is that we should put out more guidance on how to lift and carry, what limits are reasonable and what an older person could reasonably expect to be able to do.
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
-
- Posts: 2918
- Joined: 11 Jan 2007, 12:20pm
Re: Loss of Muscle Function with Age
When I was forced to curb my cycling 11 years ago I was 69kg, with a BMI of 18, and had a rib cage like a xylophone. A year later my ribs had disappeared under a thick layer of fat, but my weight was still 69kg because it had all been offset by muscle loss.
I used to do a lot of swimming at one time, that can get pretty monotonous. I just used to just get into a sort of trance motivated by speed and/or distance, because you can't afford to let your mind wander in a daydream or you lose count of the lengths.
There's status in having a sedentary professional job, with plenty of money to pay for gym memberships fees, and tradesmen to do your manual work.
“I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
― Friedrich Nietzsche
Re: Loss of Muscle Function with Age
Of course one doesn't have to go to a gym or use weights - press ups are a good substitute and there are various abdominal exercises which don't need any equipment. A tyre inner tube can be used as a resistance band.
Squats are very good - try a loaded rucksack.
Walking up steep inclines - perhaps using the aforementioned loaded rucksack.
Squats are very good - try a loaded rucksack.
Walking up steep inclines - perhaps using the aforementioned loaded rucksack.
Re: Loss of Muscle Function with Age
What I meant was that you don't really need to "exercise" at all, whether in a gym or not. All you have to do is give up anything powered by electricity or petrol and you've basically got all the "exercise" you need. Unless you have servants of course . . .
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
Re: Loss of Muscle Function with Age
Well you will get exercise but it's debatable that you will get all the strength training you need.
Re: Loss of Muscle Function with Age
It's not just muscle loss that's the issue with ageing - bone density also goes south. The combination of these two things, if neglected, can have pretty serious life-limiting consequences. Flexibility and balance also need to be worked on.
Mere activity isn't going to counter that - even regular high intensity cycling. Load-bearing weight training is the best way to ward off these declines. I've been going to a gym since the age of 50 (now 67) and I'm pushing/pulling bigger weights now than ever before. Set yourself challenges and mix them up to keep interested and motivated. Try and make it fun!
I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my 21051182G using hovercraft full of eels.
Mere activity isn't going to counter that - even regular high intensity cycling. Load-bearing weight training is the best way to ward off these declines. I've been going to a gym since the age of 50 (now 67) and I'm pushing/pulling bigger weights now than ever before. Set yourself challenges and mix them up to keep interested and motivated. Try and make it fun!
I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my 21051182G using hovercraft full of eels.
Re: Loss of Muscle Function with Age
What I had in mind were all the day-to-day things that involve some kind of weight lifting (and exercise, bending, balance etc of course). They might be irksome and possibly unwelcome but if embraced then could be the sort of thing we need. For example, when I buy coal I lift the 25 kg bags from the car and carry them (one by one) on my shoulder down some narrow, steep steps. I've helped my children move house and I work in the garden. The question, I accept, is whether it is enough; my point is that whether or not it is enough, there are forces working against us in the form of leaf blowers, pressure washers, dish washers, lifts, polyester lightweight family tents (no more heavy poles and canvas ), caravan motor-movers etc.Well you will get exercise but it's debatable that you will get all the strength training you need.
(By the way, I am inclined to agree though I would like to think we can build both exercise and strength training into our daily lives.)
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
Re: Loss of Muscle Function with Age
I had to laugh at this.
Yes, what I am going to do is carry them back up again and see the result. I'm still thinking about the various ways one can integrate resistance into one's daily life. It reminds me of (AFAIK) the Alexander technique whereby every sitting or standing becomes a practice of the technique - a bit in turn like running up the stairs rather than taking the lift. Most of Western artefactual culture seems to be about minimising weight and inconvenience - to the extent that getting into a sweat has taken on another meaning altogether.
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
Re: Loss of Muscle Function with Age
I recommend 'Royal Canadian Air Force Exercise Plans for Physical Fitness' , a little book illustrating an 11 minutes a day exercise plan for men and a 13 minute a day exercise plan for women requiring no equipment. As you get stronger and fitter you do more in line with the chart in the book. It targets all areas of the body.
My wife and I do it every day. She does a bit of yoga too. I do all the heavy stuff around the house and in the garden. But today we are both doing paintings
Al
My wife and I do it every day. She does a bit of yoga too. I do all the heavy stuff around the house and in the garden. But today we are both doing paintings
Al
Reuse, recycle, thus do your bit to save the planet.... Get stuff at auctions, Dump, Charity Shops, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Car Boots. Choose an Old House, and a Banger ..... And cycle as often as you can......
Re: Loss of Muscle Function with Age
Am lazy, do you have a link al?al_yrpal wrote: ↑2 Jul 2022, 3:09pm I recommend 'Royal Canadian Air Force Exercise Plans for Physical Fitness' , a little book illustrating an 11 minutes a day exercise plan for men and a 13 minute a day exercise plan for women requiring no equipment. As you get stronger and fitter you do more in line with the chart in the book. It targets all areas of the body.
My wife and I do it every day. She does a bit of yoga too. I do all the heavy stuff around the house and in the garden. But today we are both doing paintings
Al
Can't help but be intrigued by the extra 2 mins for women.
Sweep