You Get to Choose How Your Body Ages
By Phyllis Rogers

At this moment, you have two choices. You can continue the process of becoming weaker, day by day, as your muscles atrophy from disuse. Or you can choose to become stronger and to maintain your strength and independence as long as possible.

After we reach maturation at about age 30, we begin the long process of aging as we lose half a pound of muscle each year--unless we work at keeping that muscle from atrophying. This choice is even more critical as we reach our 60s and 70s and the process of becoming weaker accelerates.

Strength training --strength exercise--is one of the best methods to retain muscle. Its definition is “moving the muscles dynamically against resistance—usually weights or body weight—to strengthen muscles, bones and connective tissues.” Strength training is also called “weight lifting” or “resistance training.” The goal is to cause muscles to increase in size and strength, and also to increase tendon, bone, and ligament strength. If you are over 70 years of age, you have probably never lifted weights. And you may not know that doing so can help retard the aging process in your body . Before 1900, strength training was thought to be a form of exercise that was not meant for the average person. It was believed that weight training would actually diminish athletic abilities and the only men who lifted weights were circus strongmen.

In the 1930s, athletes began to experiment with weight lifting and now every professional sports team has trainers on staff and almost all athletes lift weights in order to perform better in the sport of their choosing.

However, until the 1980s it was still believed that loss of muscle and strength as people got older was inevitable and nothing could be done about it. Strength training programs for older participants placed them on a program of lifting weights that were only one-half as heavy as the maximum they could lift one time. Younger participants lifted at least 80 percent of the amount they could lift only once, but it was believed that using heavier weights for older people would cause injuries or cardiac problems.

In the late 1980s scientists at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts decided to strength train a group of volunteers—men in their sixties and seventies—at a higher intensity than had ever been done before. They worked the volunteers at 80 percent of their capacity—and the results shattered myths about aging. There were no injuries or cardiac episodes. In twelve weeks, the muscles they had been exercising became 10 to 12 percent larger and 100 to 175 percent stronger.

These results inspired another researcher to work with the frail elderly in a nursing home environment. Six men and four women volunteered for this program, ranging in age from 86 to 96. In eight weeks, they increased their strength by an average of 175 percent. Two participants discarded their canes because they didn’t need them any more. From this research has evolved a new interest in weight lifting—strength training—for older adults. But it is more than merely a new interest—it offers older adults an alternative to the expected decrease in physical abilities and susceptibilities to illnesses and injuries. In other words, seniors now have hope of remaining strong and independent as they age. The downward spiral to the nursing home can be bypassed or at least delayed.

I became interested in weight lifting for older adults when I decided to become a certified personal trainer. I researched the various organizations who offered certifications and chose International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA) because they stressed weight lifting. I attended the two-day training, passed the test and received my certificate. I loved lifting weights--seeing my arm muscles become defined and my body become firmer. I decided to share this with other older adults, so I contacted a local continuing education program for seniors and asked if they offered a class on weight lifting. The answer was “no,” so I submitted a proposal for a class which was accepted.

The first class had only a handful of participants, but it was offered again the next quarter and more people signed up. Attendance continued to grow. I had originally envisioned that people would take the eight-week class to learn how to work out at home. But soon I had a core of class members who signed up each quarter. They enjoyed the camaraderie and encouragement of the class. They began to tell me how strength training was changing their lives. Ordinary tasks that had been difficult were now easy. Women told me that they could lift bags of top soil from their vehicles without having to wait for help. Shoulders became less painful; knees didn’t hurt so much.

To continue learning about working with older adults, I set up a pilot program at a local assisted living home. The residents there experienced the same results: stronger legs, increased independence, improved self-esteem. Most exercise programs for “senior citizens” are done while seated in a chair. I do not know when or where this idea came from, but it remains prevalent. I am thankful that I never learned how to teach exercise this way.

Because I was a personal trainer, I designed my workout from a trainer’s point of view using strength training principles and from the information I received from Tufts University. I had class members do squats, ballet squats, side kicks (lift the leg out to the side) and mule kicks (lift the leg up behind the body). These exercises use only body weight. With dumbbells we did overhead presses, two-arm upright rows, biceps curls and triceps extensions. And I encouraged them to move up in weight as they became stronger.

Often women are afraid to lift weights because they think they will get huge muscles--but that doesn’t happen to females. What does happen is that the “bat wings” hanging below their upper arms become firmer and less saggy. Another concern is that they will have to get hot and sweaty while they exercise. But doing a simple strength routine with light and medium weights doesn’t have that result, either. Many people who are unfamiliar with the concept of strength training are hesitant to venture into this unknown arena. They tell me that they are afraid they won’t do the exercises correctly and may injure themselves. Others say “I know I should exercise, but I’m just too lazy” or “I worked hard all my life and I’m not ever doing anything hard again.”

I am asking you to reconsider this attitude and investigate strength exercise. My web site www.strongover40.com contains much information about aging as does my book “Over 40 & Gettin’ Stronger” It also has instructions on how to do a simple workout using inexpensive dumbbells that you can buy at a discount store such as Walmart.

Why not grow old with a strong body?

Phyllis Rogers is a senior citizen certified as a Specialist in Fitness for Older Adults and as a Certified Fitness Trainer. She has taught over 1500 strength classes for older adults. She has developed an easy to learn strength training workout which is described in her book “Over 40 & Gettin’ Stronger.” You can order this book by mailing a check for $23.95 (which includes shipping) to P O Box 4912, Marietta, GA 30061. E-mail her at fitness9@mindspring.com. Her web site is: http://www.StrongOver40.com

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