Do You Have Trouble Putting on Muscle?

My post are normally targeted for middle-aged adults and over.  However, I realize there are some people trying to gain muscle and strength regardless of age.  If you find it hard to gain muscle, here is an excellent article by Mass Gain Source which provides details of how to effectively put on muscle and obtain more strength.

Strength Training and Increased Protein Intake is Key to Good Health as You Age

Research is now revealing what life-long weight lifters have always known, and that is maintaining your muscle mass is key to staying healthy and strong as you age. The importance of muscle mass, strength, and metabolic function in the performance of exercise, as well as the activities of daily living has never been questioned. However, the role your muscles play in whole-body protein metabolism is less recognized.

Your muscle plays a central role in your whole-body protein metabolism by serving as the principle reservoir for amino acids to maintain protein synthesis (growth and regeneration) in vital tissues and organs in the absence of consuming enough protein in your diet. In other words, if you don't get enough protein in your diet, your body breaks down your muscle mass in order to make the necessary amino acids you need to survive.

Additionally, new research points to a key role that muscle metabolism plays in the prevention of many pathologic conditions and chronic diseases. Loss of muscle has been associated with weakness, fatigue, insulin resistance, fractures, and frailty. Thus, many of the degenerative conditions that are associated with aging are caused by poor muscle health.

The natural loss of muscle mass as a result of age is called Sacopenia, and it can begin in your 30s. Left unabated this condition accelerates with time as your body starts tearing down old muscle faster than it can build new muscle tissue. The good news is you can slow and in some cases reverse muscle loss as you age through regular weight lifting exercise, and getting the right amount of protein in your diet.

Scientific research is showing that weight lifting is one of the most effective ways of building and maintaining muscle mass as you age and here's why. Lifting weights is a method of overloading your body through exercise with a resistance that you are not accustomed to handling.  In response your body adapts to this overloading process by building stronger muscles to accommodate the new demands. Research says that by the time you reach middle age you should start lifting weights at least 2 times per week to retain your muscle.

Getting the proper amount of protein in your diet to maximize the results of weight lifting adds to the effectiveness of building and maintaining your muscle mass as you age. Protein is a necessary part of every living cell in your body. Next to water, protein comprises the greatest portion of your body weight. Protein substances make up your muscles, ligaments, tendons, organs, glands, nails, hair, and many vital body fluids. Your body uses the protein you eat for the vital functions of survival first before it devotes any for muscle building and repair. Thus if you are not consuming enough protein in your diet optimal muscle building and repair is impossible.

While 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight has been the old the normal recommendation for daily protein intake, new studies show that 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight may be more beneficial in building, maintaining, and reducing muscle loss. The goal of protein consumption should be to optimize muscle growth and repair and studies now reveal that consuming 25 to 30 grams of protein at each meal is necessary for this to take place.

Older Adults: Double Your Protein Intake for Better Health - US News

I've been advocating for many years the importance of getting enough protein in your diet for healthy aging.  Now research is finally proving that you do need more protein in your diet as you age for overall health and well-being.  This is a must read article if you are over 50.

Older Adults: Double Your Protein Intake for Better Health - US News

Are You Getting Enough Protein to Build and Maintain Healthy Muscle?

Getting enough protein in your diet is crucial for building and maintaining muscle mass especially as you age. Losing muscle mass is very detrimental to your health. Age-related muscle loss known as sacopenia can begin in your thirties and accelerate with age if left unabated. Sacopenia can lead to muscle weakness, fatigue, insulin resistance, body fat accumulation, injury, and many other problems we associate with aging.

Increased protein consumption, and strength training are two of the most effective ways to combat muscle loss. While 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (0.36 grams per pound) has been the normal recommendation for daily protein intake, new studies show that 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (0.45 to 0.68 grams per pound) may be more beneficial in building, maintaining, and reducing muscle loss.

Protein quality, quantity, and timing of consumption throughout the day, in conjunction with physical activity, are all important to the building and maintenance of muscle mass. The goal of protein consumption and lean muscle mass is to optimize muscle protein synthesis (the biological process by which muscle cells are regenerated). Studies now show consuming 25 to 30 grams of high quality protein at each meal (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) is necessary to stimulate maximal protein synthesis.

Strength training combined with proper protein intake is the most effective way to build and maintain healthy muscle.  Checkout my complete line of strength training routines available in the iBook library by clicking on the links above.

Best Strength Training Exercises For Women Over 50 | Prevention

 

I'm a personal trainer with over 20 years of experience in the health and fitness industry.  All my career I have been an advocate of strength training, especially for women.  Below is a link to one of the best articles I've recently read by Prevention Magazine about the benefits of strength training for women over the age of 50.


 Best Strength Training Exercises For Women Over 50 | Prevention

Please checkout my favorite strength training routines for those of you over 50 at: Forever Fit and Firm.

Keeping Healthy Muscle is as Important as Losing Weight

I want you to realize the importance of developing and maintaining muscle mass as you age.  Many of the degenerative conditions once thought to be a result of growing old can be directly associated with inactivity and the loss of muscle mass.  Below is a very informative excerpt on this subject by Dr. Donald K. Layman, one of the most respected experts on nutrition and human metabolism of our day.

Muscle size and strength are usually associated with body builders and athletes, but the latest research is proving that healthy muscles are critical for adult health. Average life expectancy continues to increase, but along with the blessing of longer life comes the risk of age-related diseases. The risks for obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis, heart disease, and cancers increase with advancing age. Excluding individuals who die early in life from an accident, injury or acute illness, we all expect to live healthy and robust lives well into our 80’s or beyond. For adults over the age of 65, the real risks for loss of health relate to muscle function and mobility. The measure of functional mobility is defined as the ability to perform activities of daily living or ADL. ADL is a measure of independent living and directly predicts morbidity and mortality – how healthy will you be? … and how long will you live?

A few years ago, a colleague, Dr. Robert Wolfe, wrote an article entitled The Underappreciate Role of Muscle in Health and Disease. The article highlighted the importance of skeletal muscle in adult health. Dr. Wolfe looked at healthy aging, acute illnesses, chronic diseases, and recovery from surgery or falls and the common factor for recovery and even survival from each of these conditions was skeletal muscle health. If your muscles are healthy, then your odds of avoiding or recovering from illnesses improve greatly. Dr. Wolfe reported some eye-opening facts – women over the age of 65 who fall and break a hip, over 50% never walk again; recovery from cancer and chemotherapy is directly related to muscle mass at initial diagnosis; and risk of developing diabetes is inversely related to muscle metabolic health. Dr. Steve Blair at the Cooper Institute coined the concept of Fit and Fat to reflect that many people can be overweight and still healthy – as long as they have good muscle health. The list of examples goes on but the point is clear, healthy muscles equal healthy adults.

The importance of muscle health highlights a critical difference among weight loss diets. There are many fad diets and so-called nutrition companies that make claims about rapid weight loss or cures for obesity, but the secret they want to hide is they also cause muscle loss. That’s a critical factor when you evaluate a weight loss program. People tend to ask “how much weight can I lose in the shortest period of time?” These quick fix fad diets may work for spring break when you’re 18 to 22, but it’s a dangerous practice for any adult over 30. The correct questions are “is it a proven weight loss program, and what are the proportions of fat and muscle lost?” Be sure that the so-called miracle diet PROVES that it only causes loss of body fat and not muscle. Loss of muscle means you have damaged your metabolic flexibility and your functional mobility and virtually guaranteed the weight will return (note: research shows 93% of weight is regained within one year with these fad diets); and even worse the weight that returns will be all body fat increasing the risk for diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and osteoporosis. If you lose muscle during weight loss, the muscle loss will be permanent increasing your metabolic risks and accelerating aging.

Muscle health is so important that medical experts in gerontology are debating whether adults over 60 should EVER lose weight. Skeletal muscles have obvious importance for posture and mobility. When we’re young our muscles are strong and flexible. The same is true for metabolism. Young muscles have high metabolic flexibility. Teenagers seldom get muscle soreness and usually recover rapidly after an exercise challenge. As we get older, we observe changes in physical strength and flexibility, and there are changes in metabolic flexibility that we can’t see. As we get older, muscle health and metabolic flexibility requires more attention.

Strength training and getting the proper amount of protein in your diet are the two most effective ways of developing and maintaining muscle mass as you age.  Checkout my favorite strength training programs from Beginners to Advanced levels at Forever Fit and Firm.

Your Body is Designed to Move

Your body is designed by the Divine for movement. It is a magnificently designed living organism and, if properly taken care of, will provide you health, strength, and mobility for all of your years here on earth. Think of it like this, your body is the only vehicle you have through which you can do your daily activities. There are two very important components to maintaining a healthy body: regular exercise and proper nutrition.

People seem to think that once they reach the age of forty, their bodies start to deteriorate, slipping down the slope into “old” age. They blame their lack of energy, their pudgy appearance, and their aches and pains on “getting old.” Most of these symptoms are however the result of years of negative thinking, lack of exercise, and poor dietary choices. The key to keeping your body fit and firm as you age is making healthy lifestyle choices on a daily basis.

It’s a proven fact that people who make healthy lifestyle choices live longer and have a better quality of life than those who adopt unhealthy habits. So, deciding to incorporate healthy habits into your life is the first step to getting and staying fit and firm with age. The next step is choosing those activities that are the most beneficial in your quest to stay fit and firm.

Those, including myself, who stay fit and firm as the years pass find that a positive state of mind, and a proper mix of strength training, cardiovascular exercise, and balanced nutrition is fundamental to getting and staying healthy as you mature. Al Beckles and the late Jack LaLanne can teach us so much about living a healthy lifestyle.

Al Beckles is a legend in the bodybuilding world. At the age of 55, Al placed second in the Mr. Olympia competition, the premier bodybuilding event which thousands of competitors from across the world dream of winning each year. Al Beckles competed into his sixties because his physique was still phenomenal and better than competitors more than half his age

Jack LaLanne was a living icon to the benefits of healthy thinking, eating, and exercise. Over the years he performed amazing feats of strength and conditioning on his birthday. Jack worked out well into his 90s, devoting one and a half hours each day to strength training. This is a true testament to the value of strength training as you mature.

While I don’t place myself in the same class with Jack LaLanne and Al Beckles I can tell you the value that healthy lifestyle habits have in my life. I am in my fifties and I keep my body fat at 12 percent or less. My fitness program consists of four strength training sessions each week. I can chest press a 100 pound dumbbell in each hand for 10 repetitions and leg press more than 1000 pounds, neither of which I could do in my twenties.

Strength Training 2 to 3 times each week is the best way to maintain your muscle mass and strength as you age.  Please checkout my complete strength programs from beginners to advanced by clicking on this link: Forever Fit and Firm.

I'm Getting Older and I'm Gaining Weight

I'm a personal trainer and in my 20 plus years in the business I cannot tell you how many times I've heard stories like this, "As I get older, I'm gaining weight that I can't seem to lose.  I'm not eating anymore than normal, in fact I'm eating less.  I'm frustrated because I can't lose this weight and I don't know why."  Then, I ask them about their exercise habits and their reply is always similar to this, "Oh I walk or I jog several times a week and that's always helped me to lose weight."  If this scenario sounds familiar to you, I want to explain what is happening in your body and why it's harder to lose weight as you age.

When you were in your twenties you could walk or run an extra few miles each week and the unwanted weight just seemed to fall off.  That's because your muscle mass was at it's peak and consequently your metabolism was at it's highest level also.  Muscle tissue is active, so it uses large amounts of energy during exercise and requires a significant energy supply even when you are resting.  Even during sleep your muscles account for as much as 25 percent of the calories your body burns.

When you enter your thirties, your body starts to naturally lose muscle mass and if you don't do anything to combat it, this process accelerates with time.  You can lose as much as a half pound of muscle each year in your thirties and forties, and this rate of muscle loss doubles as you enter your fifties.  So, you can lose as much as 20 pounds of muscle by the time you reach your sixties which means a huge decrease in your metabolism, and thus your body is not able to burn as many calories when you exercise and when you are resting.  This is the reason you're gaining weight you can't seem to lose as you age.

The good news is that you can combat this process of losing muscle as you age through strength training on a regular basis.  More good news, it's never too late to reap the benefits of strength training.  People in their nineties can gain muscle through a proper strength training program.

In my next post I will show you how to incorporate a strength training program in your fitness routine.  In the meantime, you can find my favorite strength training programs at Forever Fit and Firm.

You Don't Have to Lose Muscle With Age

I'm a personal trainer and published author with over 20 years of experience in the health and fitness industry.  My mission in life is to help people get healthy, get fit, and to stay strong their whole lives.  Mounting evidence is now proving that exercise and getting the proper amount of quality protein in your diet are two of the most effective things you can do to stay healthy and strong as you age.  Many of the health issues previously attributed to aging are now believed to be linked to inactivity, and poor dietary habits.

Studies show that after of the age of 40 people who are inactive typically lose 8 percent of their muscle mass each decade, and this process accelerates with age.  Loss of muscle mass means loss of strength, which leads to increased difficulty in performing the everyday activities of life. 

The above scenario is not so for people over 40 who lift weights at least 2 times per week and get the proper amount of quality protein in their diets.  I can attest to this, I'm in my mid-50s, I haven't loss any muscle mass, and I'm as strong, and as fit as ever.  I lift weights 3 to 4 times each week, and I consume about 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of my body weight each day (which is almost twice the normal recommendation for daily protein intake).

Weight lifting breaks down your muscles and your body responds by building stronger muscles if it is supplied with the proper amount of quality protein.  I target all the major muscle groups in my body at least once each week in my weight lifting routine and I immediately have a post workout meal consisting of at least 21 grams of high quality protein for maximum muscle recovery.  Having at least 21 grams of protein immediately following exercise signals your body that it has enough protein to start repairing and rebuilding your muscles.

You can find out more about my weight lifting routines at Forever Fit and Firm.

Exercise is Key to Maintaining Your Muscle and Strength as You Age

Hi, I'm Darvis Simms, and I'm in my mid-50s and I am as strong and fit as ever. You can be too with  exercise and a good diet.  Strength training and getting the right amount of protein in your diet are the keys to staying healthy and strong as you age.  Don't believe me?  Just read the following article from the New York Times on "Aging Well Through Exercise." Then get some information on strength training at Forever Fit and Firm.

 Source: Reynolds, Gretchen. “Aging Well Through Exercise,” The New York Times. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/09/aging-well-through-exercise/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=NYT+Wellness 9 November 2011

Read New York Times writer Gretchen Reynolds’ article, which describes a new study that reveals how exercise is not an inevitable part of aging:

Aging Well Through Exercise
Is physical frailty inevitable as we grow older? That question preoccupies scientists and the middle-aged, particularly when they become the same people. Until recently, the evidence was disheartening. A large number of studies in the past few years showed that after age 40, people typically lose 8 percent or more of their muscle mass each decade, a process that accelerates significantly after age 70. Less muscle mass generally means less strength, mobility and among the elderly, independence. It also has been linked with premature mortality.

But a growing body of newer science suggests that such decline may not be inexorable. Exercise, the thinking goes, and you might be able to rewrite the future for your muscles.

Consider the results of a stirring study published last month in the journal The Physician and Sportsmedicine. For it, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh recruited 40 competitive runners, cyclists and swimmers. They ranged in age from 40 to 81, with five men and five women representing each of four age groups: 40 to 49, 50 to 59, 60 to 69, and 70-plus. All were enviably fit, training four or five times a week and competing frequently. Several had won their age groups in recent races.
They completed questionnaires detailing their health and weekly physical activities. Then the researchers measured their muscle mass, leg strength and body composition, determining how much of their body and, more specifically, their muscle tissue was composed of fat. Other studies have found that as people age, they not only lose muscle, but the tissue that remains can become infiltrated with fat, degrading its quality and reducing its strength.

There was little evidence of deterioration in the older athletes’ musculature, however. The athletes in their 70s and 80s had almost as much thigh muscle mass as the athletes in their 40s, with minor if any fat infiltration. The athletes also remained strong. There was, as scientists noted, a drop-off in leg muscle strength around age 60 in both men and women. They weren’t as strong as the 50-year-olds, but the differential was not huge, and little additional decline followed. The 70- and 80-year-old athletes were about as strong as those in their 60s.

“We think these are very encouraging results,” said Dr. Vonda Wright, an orthopedic surgeon and founder of the Performance and Research Initiative for Masters Athletes at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, who oversaw the study. “They suggest strongly that people don’t have to lose muscle mass and function as they grow older. The changes that we’ve assumed were due to aging and therefore were unstoppable seem actually to be caused by inactivity. And that can be changed.”

Other recent studies have produced similar findings. Last year, researchers at the Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging, for instance, examined muscle tissue from older competitive runners, checking for the density of their motor units, a measure of muscle health. A motor unit is, essentially, the control mechanism of a functioning muscle, composed of a neuron and the particular muscle fibers that that neuron activates. The more motor units in a muscle, the stronger it generally is.

In multiple earlier studies, people over 50 have been found to possess far fewer muscle motor units than young adults. But that wasn’t true for the sexagenarian runners, whose leg muscles teemed with almost as many motor units as a separate group of active 25-year-olds. Running, the scientists wrote, seemed able to “mitigate the loss of motor units with aging well into the seventh decade of life.”
Of course, the volunteers in both Dr. Wright’s and the Canadian study were, for the most part, lifelong athletes. Whether similar benefits are attainable by people who take up exercise when they are middle-aged or older “isn’t yet clear,” Dr. Wright says, “although there’s no reason to think that you wouldn’t get similar results no matter when you start.”

In an encouraging animal study from last year, elderly rats that had been sedentary throughout their adult lives were put on a running program. After 13 weeks, their leg muscle tissues had filled with new satellite cells, a specialized type of stem cell that is known to build and repair muscle. Comparable experiments in older people have yet to be done, though.

Other questions about the impacts of exercise on aging muscle also remain unanswered. “We don’t know what kinds of exercise are best,” Dr. Wright says and, in particular, whether endurance exercise is necessary for muscle sparing or whether weight training might be as good or better. Scientists also haven’t determined just how much activity is required to maintain muscle mass, or how intense it needs to be.

“What we can say with certainty is that any activity is better than none,” Dr. Wright says, “and more is probably better than less. But the bigger message is that it looks as if how we age can be under our control. Through exercise, you can preserve muscle mass and strength and avoid the decline from vitality to frailty.”

Source: The New York Times

Staying Strong and Fit Over 50

Hi, I'm Darvis Simms and I'm in my mid 50s and I'm stronger than I was in my mid 20s and you can be too.  The keys to staying strong and fit as you age is weight lifting 2 to 4 times each week and getting the proper amount of protein in your diet each day.

Checkout my publications on staying strong and fit as you age at: Forever Fit and Firm.

Three Exercises to Increase Muscle Mass and Strength

Muscle loss and consequently a decrease in strength can begin as early as your 30s.  Left unabated this process accelerates each year causing you to lose more muscle and strength until the activities of everyday life becomes difficult to do.  However, the good news is you can do something to slow down and even reverse this scenario.

Strength training (weight lifting), and proper daily protein intake are two of the most effective ways of maintaining your muscle mass and strength as you age.  In this post I will show you three exercises you can do to help you maintain and increase their muscle mass and strength.  You should perform these exercises in combination 2 to 3 times each week for best results.

Exercise 1.  Lat Pulldown

 

The lat pulldown is a great exercise for strengthening and developing the upper back muscles that are critical for good posture.  People whose shoulders are slumped forward most likely have underdeveloped upper back muscles.

First, sit down and adjust the thigh pad to a position that firmly fits over your thighs.  Then select a resistance with which the last three repetitions are difficult to complete.  If this is your first time doing this exercise, it may take experimenting at several weights before you find the right resistance.  Next, grip the bar a little wider than shoulder width, sit down on the seat and place your knees firmly under the pad.  Start with your arms fully extended and your chest held high.  This is your start position. Now, pull the bar slowly down to the base of your neck while squeezing your shoulder blades back and together.   Slowly return the bar to the starting position.  (It should take about three seconds to pull the bar down and about two seconds to return the bar to its starting position). Proper breathing is very important, so remember to exhale as you pull the bar down and inhale as you return the bar to the starting position. 

Exercise # 2 - The Dumbbell Chest Press

 

The dumbbell chest press is one of the best exercises for developing and strengthening your chest, and the front of your shoulders.  Again, you will have to experiment to select the proper weight to use.  Pick-up a dumbbell in each hand, and sit on the end of a bench.  Place the dumbbells end-up on your knees, then lay back on the bench and position the dumbbells chest height at your sides.  This is your start position.  Press the dumbbells up over your chest until your arms are fully extended, being careful not to lock your elbows.  Slowly return the dumbbells to the start position.  Your breathing pattern is to exhale as you press up and inhale as you return to the starting position.

Exercise # 3 - Leg Press

The leg press is one of the best exercises for overall strength and development of your legs.  First, sit in the seat, positioning your feet about shoulder width apart and chest high on the platform.   Adjust the seat height by pulling the handle and sliding forward until your thighs are parallel to the platform.  This is your start position (make sure that your lower back is pressed firmly against the back of the seat).  With your feet flat, slowly press upward until your legs are fully extended but short of locking.  Slowly return to the position where the weight almost touch the weight stack.  The breathing pattern for this exercise is to exhale as you press up and inhale as you return to the start.  Again, you will have to experiment to find a weight with which the last three repetitions are difficult to perform.

For more complete weight lifting routines checkout my line of Strength Training for Over 50 ebooks by clicking on this link: Darvis Simms