Yes you can lengthen your health span!
I would also call it avoiding the disability zone! That disability zone that is typically found at the end of life when one is dependent, frail and in pain..
Would you be interested in maintaining vitality for the longest possible period of time?? I know that I am totally interested!!
Most of us carry around too much body fat and too little muscle. This may come as a surprise to some and annoy others but the cold hard truth is that simple!! Too much body fat and too little muscle!!
As I mentioned in my previous post there are 10 Biomarkers that we can look at (based on the book Biomarkers by William Evans and Irwin H. Rosenberg)
The first 4 BIomarkers are all pretty closely related. I will start here with the first two.
#1 Your Muscle Mass:
2 things are responsible for how much muscle we have. One being the use of our muscles the other being the level of tissue-maintaining anabolic hormones in our blood. So men will have a bit of an advantage here as they have more testosterone. Testosterone is a part of the process of protein synthesis, which can lead to increased muscle mass.
Muscle needs a far greater amount of caloric fuel to maintain itself than adipose tissue (fat). Body fat is metabolically INACTIVE. Muscle is responsible for the vitality of your whole physiological being!
Building muscle in the elderly is the key to rejuvenation. Remember that the average person’s lean body mass declines with age. Typically in studies of Americans we lose 6.6 pounds of lean body mass per decade. And that loss increases once we hit the age of 45!
So if we are losing muscle at that rate, we need to USE our muscles so we don’t get that fast deterioration. How much we use the muscle will determine the size and lifting ability.
A muscle used frequently will maintain status quo!! A muscle used frequently and specifically used in the “Biomarkers” program will grow and gain strength. Even in the elderly!
#2 Your Strength
Building muscle tissue is basically regaining and maintaining healthy musculature. It’s as simple as USE it or LOSE it!! Yes we will lose a percentage of total muscle cell numbers and they will get smaller too! The muscles will also not contract with as much force so the result is less muscle strength!! Or you will be weaker!! Which leads to dependency as we can do less and less for ourselves!
So Muscle Mass and Strength!! Two indicators of health span!! Interesting? Does this surprise you? Does it sound important? Is this brand new to you?
Hi Holly, This little prase stood out for me: “Building muscle tissue is basically regaining and maintaining healthy musculature. It’s as simple as USE it or LOSE it!!”
You are SO right to make this a very important issue…I know because it was starting to happen to me and boy! it was harder to get back on the horse and do my workout! I am on week 9 of a program I do at home…I am so happy I kept up with it. You are helping a ton of people get the importance of strentgh training… You ROCK!
Thank you Holly!
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Great to hear from you Nathalie! Strength is so important.. Glad you are back on the horse!!
HI Holly! Yes!! Maintaining Vitality for the longest possible period of time is very important to me… My Mom is 83 and she still rides her bike, she has a stationary one she carries into the living room everyday in the winter months to.. She is my inspiration so I know it is important to stay fit.. great Post Thanks for sharing Chery
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Great to hear you have a role model, Chery!! I have to emphasize that if she is that fit and doing so well, just imagine what more she could do if she added weights into her lifestyle! There is so much we can do to lengthen our health span. Thank you so much for sharing.
Aloha Holly!
You are so right!! Muscle mass & strength are so important! Thank you for always stressing these points.
You will be very happy to know that I am using our in home 24 Fit DVD program and exercising 5 times per week for 30 minutes. And I’m even using 3 lbs weights!! Woohoo!
Thank you for your inspiration and coaching Holly! I was listening even if it took me 2 years! LOL!
Much love & gratitude,
Kellie
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Hey Kellie!!
Woo hoo!~~ Now that we got you onto the 3 pounds… we just need to get you doing more weight!! 3 pounds is great… I can bet you, you can do more!! I’ll patiently wait to see when you realize you are tough enough to do more!! Keep it up, girl!!
I’m enjoying this series so much, Holly!
I know just what you mean about maintaining muscle mass and strength. I found a year or two ago that I was losing strength, especially upper body strength, and was fortunate enough to find a program I could work with at home to rebuild the lost strength. For a few months I have been unable to use it while doctors diagnosed a heart issue they have found, but at last they have cleared me to go back to it.
I find that I definitely lost strength during that time, but am delighted that I’m still way stronger than I was a couple of years ago! I reckon it’s added at least ten years of healthy living to my future
Alan
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