FITNESS FACTS FOR
OLDER AMERICANS
During the lifetimes of older Americans
there have been revolutionary changes in how we live and work and what we eat.
Even more importantly, there has been a revolution in what we know about living
long and living well. Today, our scientific knowledge regarding exercise,
nutrition, and other areas of health is being added to and revised so rapidly
that unless you have the latest facts, you can easily be following outmoded
recommendations.
BONING UP ON THE LATEST FACTS
ABOUT OUR MUSCULO-SKELETAL AND CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEMS
"Take It Easy You're Not as Young
as You Used to Be" is not so sage advice. Yet, the majority of
middle-aged and older Americans seem to adhere to this outmoded dictate.
Surveys show that only 30 percent of Americans aged 45 to 64 exercise
regularly, while 32 percent of adults 65 and older follow a regular plan of
exercise.
We now know that the human body repairs
itself and performs more efficiently with proper conditioning that is achieved
through a program of regular exercise and good nutrition. This is particularly
true for the musclo-skeletal system and the cardio-vascular-pulmonary system,
which is made up of our lungs, heart, and the miles of veins, arteries and
capillaries that traverse our bodies.
With exercise, our bones, particularly
our joint bones and the bones of the spinal column, rebuild and repair
themselves as they should. Without exercise, they tend to become thin and
porous-a condition known as osteoporosis.
When we do not exercise, fat displaces
muscle, muscles become smaller and weaker-a process known as atrophy, and we
gain weight more easily because even at rest muscles burn more calories than
does fat. Added weight puts added stress on our heart and lungs, and on the
weight bearing joints of the knees, hips, ankles, and feet.
It becomes more difficult to climb
stairs, get out of a chair, and even to walk and to maintain our balance. Weak
muscles cannot protect our joints or help to provide needed strength and
balance so that we are more prone to falls. Frail bones and weak muscles limit
our ability to care for ourselves and our homes, and to enjoy the later
years-years that can and should be a time of productivity and enjoyment.
When you exercise, however, you help to
reduce fat tissue, while building muscle and bone. Muscle is heavier than fat
but takes up half the space, so you can actually reduce your body measurements
without losing weight. Strong muscles help to protect your joints and spinal
column, improve your posture and balance, increase your mobility, and reduce
the likelihood of falls and other accidents, and give you a younger body
image.
"AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION
IS WORTH A POUND OF CURE"
When it comes to our health and fitness
this is sage advice indeed. But being "out of shape" does not mean
that you cannot "get in shape" and this is true not only for people
in their 40's, 50's and 60's but people in their 90's as well.
Recent research has found that when it
comes to exercise you need a combination of three types-weight training for
strength; aerobic exercise for strength and endurance; and calisthenics
(stretching, bending, and twisting exercises) for flexibility. Studies have
found that violent physical exertion is no more useful to gaining and
maintaining fitness than is moderate exercise. What is more, violent physical
exertion can result in an increased risk of injury or heart attacks for those
who are not in prime physical condition. So start off slow and go slow with
your new exercise program.
Walking and other aerobic exercises done
at a pace which makes you breathe a little harder and work up a mild sweat for
a half hour to one hour three days a week will keep your heart, lungs, and
vascular system in good working order and strengthen your bones and muscles.
Exercise intensity for aerobic
conditioning is measured by heart rate. A good activity level is 70 percent of
your maximum heart rate, which is determined by subtracting your age from 220.
Thus the recommended exercise heart rate for a 60-year-old person is 112 beats
per minute. People who have not been exercising should begin using 60 percent
of their maximum heartbeat as the target heart rate and can ultimately move up
to 80 percent when they have reached their maximum fitness level.
Do not attempt a strenuous workout
during hot, humid weather and wait until at least two hours after eating
before engaging in moderate to heavy exercise. Warning signs of overexertion
include an inability to talk, dizziness or disorientation, nausea, or pains in
your chest, upper back, left shoulder or arm. If you have any of these
symptoms check with your physician as soon as possible.
To avoid excess strain on the heart, and
injury to your muscles, warm up for about five minutes before working out, and
cool down after exercises. Never abruptly stop exercising, since the sudden
stop in motion can cause lightheadness or muscle cramping.
Walking is a good exercise because it
can be done at a pace that you can easily set for yourself, it takes no
equipment other than a pair of good walking shoes, and it can be done at
virtually any time, and on your own. Walking strengthens muscles in the lower
body, helps to build new joint bone and tissue, and helps to ward off or slow
osteoporosis. Since walking only works the lower half of the body, other
aerobic exercises as well as exercises that increase flexibility should be
included in your routine. Other good aerobic exercises for weight bearing
joints include dancing, tennis, racquetball, basketball, and biking.
Before beginning an exercise program,
check with your personal physician and start off slow to avoid overexertion
and accidents. And stick with it. Varying the type of physical activity you
engage in will help to use all the major muscle groups in your body, and avoid
overuse of any one major muscle group. It will also prevent boredom.
Aerobic exercise not only strengthens
your bones and muscles and helps to prevent osteoporosis, it also strengthens
your heart and helps to maintain your lung capacity. Aerobic exercise slows or
prevents the buildup of cholesterol plaque in the veins and arteries (atherosclerosis)
and helps to ward off arteriosclerosis or hardening of the arteries by keeping
them flexible, thus reducing high blood pressure which plays a major role in
heart disease and strokes. Exercise also improves the functioning of the
liver, pancreas and other vital organs.
Sustained aerobic exercise can help to
control Late Onset, or Type II, diabetes mellitus since it aids in the
metabolism of sucrose. What is more, exercise helps to spur the production of
human growth hormone which otherwise ceases to be produced after about age
fifty. Human growth hormone helps to maintain the size and strength of muscles
which diminish as we age.
If you have arthritis and other joint or
motion impeding conditions, swimming is an excellent aerobic exercise. It
offers many of the benefits of other aerobic exercises without putting undue
stress on joints which, because of arthritis or injury, are unable to repair
and rebuild themselves in the normal manner. Swimming, however, unlike weight
bearing aerobic exercises, does not aid in the rebuilding of bone and
therefore is not helpful in preventing or slowing osteoporosis, nor does it
appear to be helpful in reducing weight.
Physical exercise not only increases the
metabolic rate so that more calories are burned during the activity, but for
several hours after you have stopped. What is more, as you improve your muscle
tone and enlarge your muscles, they will burn more calories even when you are
engaged in sedentary activities.
IF YOU DO NOT USE IT, YOU WILL LOSE IT
Not long ago, it was "accepted
knowledge" that older people could not increase their muscle strength nor
their muscle mass. Now, happily, this myth has been dispelled. In 1989,
researchers from Tufts and Harvard Universities undertook a study of older
people in their late 80's and 90's. The researchers worked with a group of
frail elderly residents at Boston's Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for the Aged.
These residents had multiple functional problems, chronic conditions and were
very sedentary.
At the beginning of the project, the
project participants, whose average age was 90, were tested to determine the
heaviest weights that they could lift with their legs. Following this initial
test, they began a program of weight training. They did three sets composed of
eight weight lifting repetitions each for three days a week. They worked out
with weights that were 80 percent of the maximum weight that they could lift.
After two weeks, they were retested and
the weights were increased. At the end of six weeks, these frail older people
had increased their muscle strength on average by 180 percent. What is more,
none of the participants had reached a plateau. As a result of their increased
muscle strength, their average walking speed increased 48 percent, two
participants no longer needed their canes, and one participant was able to
rise from a chair without using the chair arms.
All of the participants resumed their
sedentary lifestyles at the end of the program. The researchers then retested
them, and found a 32 percent loss in maximum strength after only 4 weeks of
detraining. The moral of this story is "If you don't use it, you'll lose
it," but the happy ending is that you can regain your fitness and
strength at almost any age which will help you to retain or regain your
independence, freedom, and add to your good looks.
Weight training is as essential to good
physical health in your later years as aerobic exercise is. It strengthens
your muscles and bones, and there are indications that it is helpful in
lowering cholesterol levels. Weight training also increases the strength of
ligaments and tendons so that less stress is placed on your joints. In the
past, people with high blood pressure, heart diseases and conditions such as
arthritis were warned to avoid using weights. But researchers in the Tufts and
Harvard study found that weight training had no adverse effect on blood
pressure or heart function and advise that strengthening your muscles,
tendons, and ligaments actually helps to ease pressure on the joints.
Weight training can either be with free
weights such as barbells and dumbbells, or with specially designed equipment
which works various parts of the body. Weight training can be used to increase
your muscle strength or your muscle endurance.
If you have not worked with weights
before be sure to have a qualified person instruct you in their use and have
them set up a program of exercises which includes the specified number of
repetitions to be done in each set as you progress toward your goal. Muscle
strengthening exercises should be done for at least 20 minutes three times a
week.
A program of Calisthenic, Isometric and
stretching exercises combined with dance will enable you to develop muscle
strength and endurance as well as flexibility and cardio-pulmonary fitness.
Joining a class or renting or buying videos made by qualified instructors (not
just movie stars) is a good way to get in shape and avoid mishaps. Many dance
classes especially those in ballet, modern, and aerobic dance include
calisthenic, isometric, and stretching exercises as part of the routine.
Staying physically fit can give you a
body that performs and looks like those of persons years younger than your
chronological age. At the VA Medical Center in Salt Lake City Utah, physically
fit men in their mid-fifties were compared to inactive men in their mid-20's.
The results were astounding. Active older men had lower resting heart
rates--64 beats per minute versus 85 beats per minute for the younger men,
higher oxygen uptake during maximum exercise, and slower heart beats in the
first minute after exercise than the men in their 20's who did not keep fit.
What is more, the older men weighed an average of 166 pounds compared to 192
pounds for the younger sedentary men.
GET MOVING
Before you begin an exercise program, be
prudent and be prepared, check with your physician and make sure that you
begin your exercise program "by the book" or with a qualified
instructor. In so doing you will gain the maximum benefit from the program and
avoid strains, sprains and other mishaps.
Even if you have been exercising on an
on-going regular basis, it does not hurt to take a refresher class every so
often, since new exercises are added and older, less effective ones are being
dropped. And make sure that your instructor is licensed or certified to
provide instruction. If no classes are available in your area and you want to
start an exercise program on your own, be sure to obtain the latest
publications and/or videos available. Some calisthenic and isometric exercises
recommended a decade or two ago are no longer considered safe, so it is
important to have current information.
Many agencies and organizations
including the YM and YWCAs, junior colleges and universities, senior and
community centers, adult and continuing education, and health clubs and spa's
offer classes in sports, exercise, dance, and weight training that provide
instruction that will enable you to gain the maximum result and avoid injuries
and mishaps.
GET MOVING AND DISCOVER A NEW,
REVITALIZED YOU
If you are retired you now have the time
it takes to get in shape. If you are not retired, make the time. Remember
Weight training should be done three times a week for a minimum of 20 minutes
under a trained instructor, while bending and stretching exercises should be
done every day for about 10 minutes and aerobic exercise for 30 to 60 minutes
three times a week.
U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services
Administration on Aging
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Facts for Older Americans
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