Courtesy of the late Marie-Catherine Bruno;
friend, colleague, athlete, physiotherapist and pedorthist extraordinaire……
There are quite a few changes that happen with
our bodies after the age of 20. Yes,
that soon! These changes may affect how
you perform in your favorite sports.
We all know that with exercise our bodies develop systems and structures so that we can withstand bigger demands with our activities. Our bodies form new capillaries, muscle cells, nerve branches, new energy systems and much more. The good thing is that when we get older, those changes still take place, so with exercise and training, we can still improve our fitness. So what really happens with our bodies and exercise capability with age? And more importantly, what can we do to prevent injury from happening as we climb up the years….?
Let’s face it. With age, your body is going to take longer to recover from workouts and training sessions. So that muscle soreness, pain and microscopic injury that occurs from exercise in people of all ages just linger a little longer the older we get.
Let’s look at what happens with our bodies
over time. First of all, you may have
noticed it with your skin….yep, there is a loss of elasticity! What happens with age is that our tissues
lose their recoiling ability. Muscles don’t sag but they get less flexible with
age and therefore make you more prone to strain muscles when you exercise than
before. So now is the time to take a stretching regime seriously!
Next, we see a decreased maximum heart rate
(the fastest your heart can beat per minute) with age. The average decrease is
about one beat per year. If your once
normal easy jog had your heart beating at 130-140 beats per minute at 30 years
old, then you can expect at 50, that same run might feel more difficult. Because your maximum heart rate is now lower
and you might not be able to train at the same pace. Modifying, NOT stopping your exercise program
is the key to staying fit and healthy.
We also lose muscle strength and mass with age. Muscles react to demand. When you train and exercise them they react by increasing the size of the muscle fibres and by creating new muscle cells. When you stop training or exercising, the cells deflate and lose strength. This happens regardless of age, but it definitely occurs faster with age. Since strength is important to stay injury-free, and for speed and power, a strengthening program done 2-3 times a week is a crucial part of your exercise routine.
Another inevitable age-related change is a
decrease in our motor skills. It is a well-known
fact that the nervous system slows down with age. You might notice this with
changes in your balance and coordination.
Balance training is easy to implement and doesn’t require any fancy
equipment. You can challenge yourself by doing some yoga poses, one-legged
exercises or jumps with and without your eyes closed. Improving your balance
will greatly reduce the chances of getting injured!
So staying fit at 50 and beyond isn’t unrealistic. It just takes some simple changes in your workout routine to keep you performing the best ever! You may have heard the expression ‘train smarter, not harder’…well, this should be your new mantra. Make sure you give yourself time to recover from each workout, get plenty of sleep, (that’s when the body repairs itself) eat lots of protein, (repair material for your body) and lastly, give yourself a pat on the back for staying fit at 50!
