How Heavy is Your Cake?
Do you find yourself reminiscing about the good ol’ days when you were in your prime? While we can all be thankful that we don’t stay 22 years old forever, we can also agree that the natural aging process can be hard on a body. My wife’s grandmother says, “If you want to grow old, you better be tough!” Research would agree. After we turn 30, our bodies can lose up to 3-5% of muscle mass, strength, and function every decade. After 60, that percentage increases. That could be at least a 20% loss in strength by the time you’re ready to celebrate 70! Let’s just hope that slice of cake isn’t too heavy to put on your plate!
You may be thinking, “Well, I don’t have any trouble lifting my cake and I stopped worrying about numbers after I turned 50!” Think about this in regards to what you enjoy doing. Are the activities that you enjoy getting harder and harder to do as you age? Have you stopped doing some of those activities that you enjoyed when you were younger?
That’s enough bad news. The good news is that exercises focused on progressive strengthening can help! It is efficient in increasing strength and reducing age related strength loss. That simply means that with some work and elbow grease, you can keep doing some of those things that you enjoy and that are important to you.
We’re all aging and we’re all going through that natural aging process of strength loss. Don’t let that stop you from doing the activities you enjoy. Consider what you’d like to be doing a year from now. That may simply be doing the same thing that you’re doing today. It may be returning to an old hobby or starting a new one. Do yourself a favor and begin an exercise/activity routine that can help maintain or increase your strength so that you can do what you enjoy!
About the author - Trey is a physical therapist who recently started a mobile outpatient physical therapy practice called Northwest Mobile Physical Therapy Specialists serving the greater Spokane area. He brings his physical therapy service to you. If you’re having trouble getting to the clinic or the gym or prefer the convenience of home or have specific tasks that you want to work on in your home, his service would be perfect for you. If you could use a hand getting an exercise routine going or you’re noticing that it’s getting harder to do those things you enjoy (or anything else related to your mobility and independence), he would love to serve you. You can learn more at www.NWmobilePT.com or find Northwest Mobile Physical Therapy Specialists on Facebook .
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3117172/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2804956/
