40 and Fab or 40 and Flab...Which One Are You?

Here at Conca Performance, we offer more than just training. In fact, a very important and crucial component of what we do involves education, especially for our adult clients. For those who are unaware, it’s not just a saying but a scientific fact that older we get the weaker we become. As we age we not only say goodbye to our strength, but we also see a decrease in muscle tone, power and balance. This deterioration, for many, can lead to a decline in the quality of life.

After turning 40, most adults start to lose approximately 5-10% of their muscle mass every decade. After age 65 this rate increases significantly. There is an abundance of research documenting that simple strength training can prevent the decline in strength and muscle mass in any decade. Shredding fat and firming up (i.e preventing muscle loss) are big time benefits of strength training that can be very noticeable. Here are a few benefits that sometimes go unnoticed.

Why You Need to Build Muscle and Train Your Balance

According to a study done by Colorado State University in 2005:

The risk of falling greatly increases with age
Women are more susceptible to falling then men
Of those who fall, two-thirds are likely to fall again within a six-month period
A large majority of falls were due to lack of exercise, leading to poor flexibly, muscle tone, strength and bone density

Discoveries made by a 2001 American Family Physician (AFP) study found:

Falls are the leading cause of injury-related visits to emergency departments in the United States.

Other research has shown that there is a strong correlation between increased strength and decreased morbidity rates: essentially, stronger adults have a lower risk of falling, or dying from all causes (Ruiz, et al. BJM July 2008;337:a439).

It is truly a matter of life and death!

Why You Need to Focus on Power

Just like strength, power must be a part of every adult program.

According to Dr. R.J. Sheppard, a professor of Applied Physiology at Emeritus University; “between the age of 20-60, the V02 (maximal oxygen consumption) decreases by 44% in women and 34% in males.” This means that as we age we are less efficient at using oxygen to produce energy and power.

What You Should be Doing…

Keep moving and stay challenged!!

Partaking in exercises that require you to walk or march under load can be one of the best exercises that carries over into everyday life. By picking up a weight, carrying it and putting it down properly teaches us how to stabilize the entire body. Performing resistance training in standing/lunge/plank positions forces your body to maintain a stable posture, all the while stabilizing the ankle, hip, core, scapula and shoulder. This can also be incorporated as a metabolic challenge or in a conditioning routine.

How do we target these pitfalls at Conca Performance?

Do any of these exercises ring a bell...just to name a few?