| There’s
no need to bench-press hundreds of pounds to save the muscles
from shrinking and becoming lax in strength. There are abundances
of physical strength training exercises to do without the aid
of a weight. For example, resistance bands, and everyday activities
provide similar values of strength building muscle mass.
Here are a few examples
of activities you may engage in to help tone, strengthen and
preserve muscle:
• Climbing stairs
• Cleaning the house,
• Lifting toddler
• Yard work (mowing the lawn and raking leaves)
• Washing the car
Apparently, as the
body ages, muscle mass declines. Nonetheless, twenty-something’s
even may lose small amounts of muscle. During the thirties,
forties and fifties, the natural aging process accelerating.
Although, strength and weight training will not restore the
atypical 60-year-old to the vitality level of a 30-year-old,
innumerous studies reveal that it is possible to rebuild and
save muscle at any age.
Various groups such
as the National Institute on Aging, the American College of
Sports Medicine the U.S. Dietary Guidelines, and the American
Council on Exercise emphasize the relevance of weight and strength
training for people of all ages, including those in a nursing
home.
There is a popular
misnomer regarding the relationship between muscle mass and
metabolism. According to David Nieman, director of the Human
Performance Laboratory at Appalachian State University in Boone,
North Carolina, "Add two pounds of muscle, and you burn
about 24 calories of extra metabolism per day.”
In other words, a
pound of muscle is equivalent to 12.5 pounds of caloric burn,
per day. After of week of exercise, the calories add up to only
350 calories per week. |
