If exercise is perhaps not as good at stopping diseases like heart disease as first thought, should you bother much with exercise? Is exercise helpful in any major way?
One benefit of exercise is for aging. As we age physical activity becomes more important.
Have you heard of sarcopenia?
Sarcopenia is the loss muscle mass, strength and function that occurs with aging.
Generally the time of peak muscle mass in the mid 20’s. After this time there are changes in muscle. These changes are slow until about the mid 40’s when they increase, and there is a further increase at around 65 to 70 years.
The changes in muscle include loss of muscle fibers and changes that make muscle contract more slowly; there is a loss of strength and also the ability to move the muscles as precisely.
Sarcopenia leads to less strength, slower reaction times, increased risk of injury, reduced ability to do fine movements, an increased risk of injury and falls.
Sarcopenia is a natural aging process so for everybody there is going to be some loss of function. However, an exercise program can have significant effects on sarcopenia.
The less physical activity, the faster the progression of sarcopenia.
Though all exercise is beneficial, progressive resistance training is the most important for slowing and even reversing some of the functional effects of sarcopenia.
Progressive resistance training is the use of some form of resistance (weights, rubber tubing, own body weight, etc.) when contracting muscles. The aim is to have sufficient resistance, so that somewhere between 8 and 15 repetitions the movement will become hard to do. As muscles get stronger the amount of resistance is increased.
So the answer to the question, how helpful is exercise? The answer is – it might not prevent some diseases but it is essential for slowing the effects of aging on muscle. It is important for keeping us mobile, injury free and able to have the lifestyle that we want.
For How helpful is exercise? Part 1
photo credit: happysnappr
[tags]muscle, sarcopenia, muscle loss, progressive resistance training[/tags]
