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Living Stronger, Lasting Longer

By Shervan Khanna

Unknown to most people, one of the most debilitating health problems affecting each and every adult is the loss of muscle tissue. Beginning from the point of physical maturation, individuals lose approximately a half- to one pound of muscle per year. Virtually all of the degenerative processes that characterize the aging process are associated with loss of muscle, or “sarcopenia.” Muscle atrophy gradually leads to a decline in functional capacity. If continued unchecked into the senior years, health will deteriorate and independence will likely be lost. Only strength training can halt and reverse muscle loss. There are no drugs, no health foods, and no recreational activities that will do the job. According to several noted experts, physical activity does nothing to halt muscle loss. Non-demanding activities cannot provide the required stimulation and desirable benefits of proper, structured exercise. Even if an individual partakes in a very active lifestyle, they still must exercise.

Millions of people have been led astray by incorrect information, beliefs, opinions, and practices recommended by health care professionals, fitness instructors, and coaches who do not understand exercise and its requirements. Most governmental agencies and fitness industry institutions promote the supposed health benefits of generic physical activities over planned, structured exercise. In an effort to gain compliance, these organizations have lowered the standards of exercise to such a level that virtually every activity that involves movement of the body qualifies. Such misinformation has caused many to miss the real benefits that proper exercise can deliver or, even worse, to end up injured in the pursuit of health. Others become frustrated by lack of results or conflicting information and choose to do nothing at all.

The primary purpose of exercise is to strengthen your body to allow you to do the things that you need and want to be able to do and continue to do them over your lifetime. Physical fitness is a measure of one’s ability to function efficiently at some level of activity. The level required depends, of course, on your chosen occupation and lifestyle. There are three main factors of physical fitness: (1) muscle strength and endurance, (2) cardiovascular efficiency, and (3) flexibility. Traditionally, people have been told that different activities were required to improve each factor (eg., resistance training for strength, aerobics for cardiovascular efficiency, stretching for flexibility, etc.). However, decades of research and experience have demonstrated that resistance training can produce improvements in all factors of physical fitness simultaneously to an equal or greater degree, and with a significantly lower weekly time investment than less productive activities. Maximum gains can be made with as little as twenty minutes of strength training twice a week.

Strength

The skeletal muscles are the means through which all trainable systems (including the cardiovascular and skeletal systems) of the body can be exercised. Exercise occurs only as a result of mechanical work performed by the muscles. Muscle strength largely determines your ability to move and is, therefore, the most important element of physical fitness. The stronger you are the easier it is to perform any activity. With greater strength, you will hit the golf ball farther, climb the stairs more easily, and carry things without difficulty. The other factors of physical fitness play a supportive role to the work performed by the muscles. For instance, it is the ability of the heart to respond to and support muscular demand that determines cardiovascular efficiency. Improved strength also increases endurance since muscles can contract for a longer time when performing submaximal activities. Working the muscles against adequate resistance is the only means of producing consistent strength gains.

Cardiovascular Efficiency

The role of the cardiovascular system is to deliver oxygen and nutrients to the muscles and vital organs and to transfer carbon dioxide and other metabolic wastes away from these tissues. Any activity that places significant demands on the cardiovascular system will stimulate improvements in its efficiency. More and more medical and exercise research is demonstrating the benefits of strength training for this purpose. Again, it works because rather than operating in isolation, the heart responds to muscular demand. It works better than so-called “cardio” exercise because the muscle demand is greater. In addition, it avoids the high levels of force and impact associated with traditional “aerobic” activities. If you choose to do such activities, more lean muscle mass leads to improved performance and less risk of injury. Greater strength also has a cardiac protective effect in that daily activities will be less demanding on the heart.

Flexibility

Motion is lotion. It is important to regularly move all your joints through their range of motion. A gentle stretch often feels great. Less helpful, however, is the forced, sustained stretching frequently promoted to increase flexibility. Although necessary under some circumstances, there is no general health benefit derived from this behavior. In fact, if a joint becomes more flexible without a corresponding increase in muscular strength, the probability of injury or instability is increased. A healthy level of flexibility can be achieved and maintained with resistance training alone if exercises are performed over a full range of motion.

In Summary

Proper strength training produces improvements in lean muscle tissue, bone density, cardiovascular efficiency, glucose metabolism, and joint stability. Adequate resistance is required for a meaningful stimulus. Sufficient recovery is necessary to make gains and avoid overtraining. Exercise is best thought of as physical medicine and should be prescribed according to individual needs and goals. Supervision from a qualified trainer or therapist increases safety, guides progression, and motivates effort. Having been led to believe that exercise is about fun and pleasure, people often avoid real exercise or are disinclined to exert themselves when performing it. The utilization of unproductive, inefficient activities combined with an aversion to hard work prevents individuals from achieving desired physical improvements. Building muscle is the key to avoiding the decline and degeneration frequently associated with aging. The old saying is true: adversity makes us stronger! Thankfully, it can happen with as little as twenty minutes per week.

About the Author:

Shervan Khanna with One to One Wellness Centre, which is a Personal Training Studio & Rehab Clinic located in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Their website is www.121wellness.ca