Loss of Muscle Function with Age

[Gravity Man]

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.

[ANTONISH]

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.

[Audax67]

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.

[ANTONISH]

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.

Agreed that weight training is unexciting - but it is good for you.
OTOH I can't think of an exercise that can beat a turbo session for sheer tedium.

[horizon]

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.

[axel_knutt]

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.

Weight training is so bloody boring, though.

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.

I think there is a cultural prejudice against ordinary physical exertion unless it is in the confines of a gym.

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.

[ANTONISH]

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.

[horizon]

Of course one doesn't have to go to a gym or use weights - press ups are a good substitute and

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 . . .

[ANTONISH]

Of course one doesn't have to go to a gym or use weights - press ups are a good substitute and

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 . . .

Well you will get exercise but it's debatable that you will get all the strength training you need.

[toontra]

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.

[horizon]

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.

Well you will get exercise but it's debatable that you will get all the strength training you need.

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.

(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.)

[ANTONISH]

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.

How do you get on carrying them up the steps ?

[horizon]

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.

How do you get on carrying them up the steps ?

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.

[al_yrpal]

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

[Sweep]

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

Am lazy, do you have a link al?
Can't help but be intrigued by the extra 2 mins for women.