Better Late than Never

For the great majority of people, fitness cannot be achieved without exercise. Although exercise is beneficial to every one of all ages, it is particularly vital to those who are fifty and over. The young body has a natural resistance to the consequences of poor fitness. But for seniors that resistance is not nearly so resilient. Breaking a hip at thirty can have life-changing consequences, breaking it at 60 can have death-threatening consequences.

Studies have shown the decline in muscle mass for adults over 50 is about 1.5% a year. The severe loss of muscle mass is called sarcopenia and it is a strong predicator for osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is an analogous condition of a severe loss of bone mass. The declines in muscle mass correlates with the loss of bone mass. The logic is self-evident: if you can prevent the loss of muscle mass, then you can prevent the loss of bone mass.

The good news for seniors is that exercise can yield positive results regardless of the age of the individual. Study after study show that age is no barrier to developing fitness. One study found that even 90 year-olds recorded significant gains in strength in a six month training program. Exercise retards aging for any age, but starting early can help avoid conditions that limit exercise options later in life. Aerobic exercise can lower the risk of heart disease, but once the heart disease has developed; there are real limits to reversing its effects. High resistance exercise training (HRET) can lower the risk of osteoporosis, but once osteoporosis has set in, resistance exercise can be severely limited. The lesson here is that exercise is beneficial at any age, but the earlier an individual adopts a fitness program, the greater chance he or she can realize the maximum benefits of exercise.

Flexibility Exercise

 Flexibility can be defined as the ability of joints to move through a range of motion. The more flexible we are, the greater the range of motion. This joint flexibility depends on the connective tissue and muscles associated with the point. Connective tissue refers to the ligaments that bind bones together and tendons that bind muscle to bone.

 There is little flexibility to connective tissue. Tendons are the least flexible and will tear beyond 4% of stretching.  Ligaments have a bit more flexibility but will tear when stretched beyond 6%. Thus, flexibility exercises are primarily devoted to the muscles attached to the tendons. With stretching exercises, muscles can be stretched 50% or more without tearing.

 The purpose of flexibility is threefold.

 First, by extending the range of joint motion, you reduce the potential of injury when that range is over extended. The ankle and the knee joint are particularly subject to joint injury. When running or just walking on rough ground, the foot can easily be turned by a hidden hole causing a bad sprain. Skiers suffer injury to knees when they fall awkwardly. When ligaments have some range of movement, damage can be avoided or minimized by accidental movement.

 Second, flexibility can reduce the stress on the vertebral column. Much of lower back pain can be caused by excessively tight quadriceps (quads) and hamstrings (hams). These are two of the most powerful muscles in the body, and they can exert powerful stresses on the spinal column. If these muscles are stretched, the level of stress on the back is also reduced.

 Back stress can also be caused by an imbalance between the quadriceps and the hamstrings. Generally the quadriceps are larger and the more powerful of the two. Quadriceps are used (exercised) more often. Every time we raise ourselves from a chair we exercise the quadriceps. Most aerobic exercises utilize the quadriceps more than the hamstrings so balancing the strength is difficult. However, with power exercise, it is possible to set resistance to balance the quads and hams. Both weights and Human Isokinetics can achieve this balance.

 Third, flexibility can reduce the internal resistance of the both the quads and hams. By stretching these muscles, their tension loosens. Not only will this lesson the stresses on back, but also reduce the resistance when running or cycling. This can improve both speed and resistance to fatigue. This is certainly a benefit for runners.

 The primary focus of flexibility exercise is for the muscles associated with the knee joint: the hamstrings and the quadriceps.

 All of the hamstrings stretches involve the straightening of the leg parallel to some surface. The most familiar of these is the runners stretches which there are many variants. The toe-touch stretch which was frequently employed in physical education classes for many years has lost favor because of the potential strain on the lower back.

 Quadriceps stretches are the opposite movement of the hamstring stretches. In these stretches, the leg is flexed backwards and upwards. The stretch requires exercisers to pull the muscle with their hand or use a strap or elastic band.

  Stretching can be broadly categorized into two forms: static and dynamic. As the names imply, dynamic stretching involves movement whereas static refers to holding a certain position. A stretch position can be both dynamic and static. Consider a sprinter's stretch which primarily stretches the hamstrings. The exerciser lowers the torso toward the knee of the leg that is parallel to the ground with the goal of touching the chin to the knee. This movement is dynamic stretching. However, if the chin remains on the knee for an extended time, 30 seconds or more, then that interval is static stretching.

 Static stretching was once a popularized form of exercising, but has recently lost favor especially among athletes. Such stretching has been shown to cause the muscle to lose elasticity and power. If you look at the muscle like a rubber band that has been stretched for a long time, the rubber band has lengthened but has lost its elasticity, and might eventually snap. Static stretching appears to have that effect on muscles.

 There are other variants of stretching such as ballistic, active, an assisted stretching. Once popular, ballistic stretching subjects the muscle to jerky movements. These movements pushes the joints to its limits, and unfortunately sometimes beyond its limits. Active stretching is exaggerating natural movements. Lunges are the most common form of active stretching. These lunges can also be dangerous if not properly executed, and they are especially dangerous when weight is added to the exercise.

 Assisted stretching is the use of some device or person to facilitate the stretching. Exercise bands can be used for this purpose. There are also therapeutic devices that fulfill the same function—some with the assistance of a trainer or therapist.

 For senior exercisers, dynamic stretching is a valuable addition to an exercise regimen especially for those with running as their major aerobic activity.

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Flexibility Exercise: Three Purposes

 Flexibility can be defined as the ability of joints to move through a range of motion. The more flexible we are, the greater the range of motion. This joint flexibility depends on the connective tissue and muscles associated with the point. Connective tissue refers to the ligaments that bind bones together and tendons that bind muscle to bone. 

There is little flexibility to connective tissue. Tendons are the least flexible and will tear beyond 4% of stretching.  Ligaments have a bit more flexibility but will tear when stretched beyond 6%. Thus, flexibility exercises are primarily devoted to the muscles attached to the tendons. With stretching exercises, muscles can be stretched 50% or more without tearing.

The purpose of flexibility is threefold. 

First, by extending the range of joint motion, you reduce the potential of injury when that range is over extended. The ankle and the knee joint are particularly subject to joint injury. When running or just walking on rough ground, the foot can easily be turned by a hidden hole causing a bad sprain. Skiers suffer injury to knees when they fall awkwardly. When ligaments have some range of movement, damage can be avoided or minimized by accidental movement. 

Second, flexibility can reduce the stress on the vertebral column. Much of lower back pain can be caused by excessively tight quadriceps (quads) and hamstrings (hams). These are two of the most powerful muscles in the body, and they can exert powerful stresses on the spinal column. If these muscles are stretched, the level of stress on the back is also reduced. 

Back stress can also be caused by an imbalance between the quadriceps and the hamstrings. Generally the quadriceps are larger and the more powerful of the two. Quadriceps are used also (exercised) more often. Every time we raise ourselves from a chair we exercise the quadriceps. Most aerobic exercises utilize the quadriceps more than the hamstrings so balancing the strength is difficult. However, with power exercise, it is possible to set resistance to balance the quads and hams. Both weights and Human Isokinetics can achieve this balance.

Third, flexibility can reduce the internal resistance of the both the quads and hams. By stretching these muscles, their tension loosens. Not only will this lesson the stresses on back, but also reduce the resistance when running or cycling. This can improve both speed and resistance to fatigue. This is certainly a benefit for runners.

Many fitness books concentrate on the importance of flexibility and claim significant benefits from this exercise. Flexibility exercise improves flexibility--it does little for strength or aerobic fitness which for seniors, the most essential elements of fitness.

Seasonal Training

 There are exercisers who train completely indoors, usually at some gym where equipment and facilities are available for total training. For these people, consistency of training is more important than the diversity of training and they prefer a rigid program. 

I prefer seasonal training for reasons other than just diversity. When you train seasonally, it makes you more aware of the seasons – the same way you are aware of the seasons as a child. With each season, there are new opportunities, new challenges. So fitness training can satisfy your inner child.

There are also physiological and psychological advantages of seasonal training. Whether your training at sixteen or sixty, every training program experiences performance plateaus and at some point, an ultimate plateau. There is a point where improvement becomes virtually impossible. This may take months or even years, but it is inevitable. When we encounter these plateaus or impasses, it can evoke a negative psychological response. One of the most positive reinforcements for training is the pleasure of improvement, and when improvement disappears, so can much of the pleasure. When we develop seasonal training programs, every season we set up new training goals. For instance, my spring cycling goal is to reach four hours by the end of the season. My first ride is usually about an hour with every subsequent ride a bit longer. My game is to see long far I can reach before the end of the season. I don't always surpass the previous season's performance, but I never encounter training plateaus. 

I approach each season with a real sense of enthusiasm. If I faced the same workout training program month after month, I'm not certain I could retain the discipline to continue training.The best training program is one that produces results and one that the exerciser can maintain for the long term. There are some people who have the will power to exercise regularly even when each workout is a result of will power and not joy. Most of us our not endowed with such will power so the choice is not to exercise at all or to create a training program that is actually enjoyed.  For those who value their health and vigor, the choice is clear.

What is core exercise?

 In physical fitness, the core is what we commonly call the torso. Core training is exercise that involves the movement of the torso. Unlike the appendicular muscles, the movement of the torso is not associated with a major joint, although the movement of the torso usually involves some hip action. 

Also unlike appendicular movement, there is a complex multi-layer host of stabilization muscles that work to protect the spine when the torso moves. So core training develops strength to move the torso, but also to develop the stabilization muscles that support the spine.

Core exercise focuses primarily on the muscles that are associated with the movement of the torso. Most common of these movements is the action of bending-over at the waist. This action is both a flexion and an extension of the dominant muscles. On the anterior (the front) of the torso, the dominant muscle is the rectus abdominis muscle which is commonly called the abs. On the posterior (the back) the dominant muscles are the sacrospinalis which are three groups of muscles: spinalis, longissimus and lliocostalis. 

Equally important to the core are a complex, multilayered group of stabilizer muscles. The function of these muscles is to stabilize the spine when the torso is moved. The deepest layers of muscles are the transverse abdominis and the multifidi. When these muscles are activated they increase in intra-abdominal pressure surrounding the spinal column making it rigid capable of resisting damaging forces. These muscles are the most important stabilizers and called the primary stabilizers. 

There is a second group of stabilizers that assist in protecting the spine. These are called the secondary stabilizers as they do not directly connect to the spinal column itself. The secondary stabilizers include the internal obliques, external obliques and the gluteal muscles. These muscles are also essential for the protection of the spine, especially the gluteal muscles. Without strong hips supporting the base of the spine, a healthy spine cannot exist. Unlike the core’s action muscles, the stabilizers activate automatically when the torso is moved. If we had to think about these muscles, they would be too late in protecting the spine.

The situps and crunches are good exemplifications of  core exercises. The prime mover is the rectus abdominis. The synergists include the external obliques, the iliopsoas, the tensors and the sartoris muscles. The stabilizers include the transversus abdominis, the multifidus and the quadratus lumborum which are the deepest core muscles. When we perform the basic core movement, all of these muscles come into play, but we are rarely aware of the host of muscles that are utilized in that movement. Thus it is difficult to pinpoint exercises the supporting muscles.

Core training develops both the muscles that move the torso and those muscles that stabilize the spine during that movement. For many years the dominant core exercise was the sit-up, but recently the exercise has fallen out of favor because of the potential of lower back problems. The sit-up does place torque on your spine especially if the exercise includes diagonal movement. The sit-up also develops the hip flexor muscles which can exert pressure on the lower spine resulting in lower back pain.