Don’t believe everything you think! Fitness is always the priority!
Commonly referred to as a figment of the imagination, it is a product of your mind. When figment chatter becomes distracting, it has a direct influence on your actions. Hopefully, you are committed to your workouts, most days, and maintaining or increasing your fitness level throughout your life. You and I have certainly experienced those times when the figment chatter wins. We are sometimes looking for an excuse, a way out at that particular time. Rather than merely observing these thoughts, we believe the chatter and let it affect our actions. “I’ll skip this workout as my day is so busy that I simply don’t have an extra half hour (to support my good health, vitality, muscle and bone strength, etc.).” Yes, your workout is ultimately a matter of priority. Your commitment to your well-being has to be of utmost importance!
Focus on Fitness
Physically inactive people can lose as much as 3% to 5% of their muscle mass each decade after age 30. Even if you are active, you’ll still have some loss of muscle mass. The cause is age-related sarcopenia. There’s no test that will diagnose sarcopenia, however, this fate can be avoided by performing muscle-toning exercises, such as we do with the Body Electric program. When you exercise with resistance (dumbbells), the stressed muscle pulls on your bones, making your muscles stronger and your bones dense.
Focus on continuing to challenge your muscles with weights that are incrementally heavier. However, your first consideration, must be correct form. You can continue to increase the resistance, as long as you can maintain correct form. For example, if you lock your knees and arch your back to accommodate heavier dumbbells during a biceps exercise, you’re not ready to move forward. It’s actually an invitation for wear-and-tear osteo-arthritis, the ultimate price we pay for movements that are not performed with care.
My suggestion: Have a few sets of dumbbells so that you can begin with the heavier weights and scale down to lighter weights when your correct form is compromised.
Protein vs. Sarcopenia
Protein is essential for gaining and maintaining strength and improving mobility. The Mayo Clinic recommends people with, or at risk for sarcopenia should eat 3.5-4.3 ounces of protein a day (for an adult who weighs 180 pounds). To figure out how much protein you need, multiply 0.36 by your weight in pounds. Protein should comprise 15 to 25% of the calories you eat in a day. Foods that are great sources of protein include eggs, almonds, chicken breast, oats, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, milk, broccoli, lean beef, and tuna.
Lift Weights Before Aerobic Exercise
Both muscle toning and aerobic exercise are necessary for your continued strength and vitality. Performing muscle toning exercises before aerobic exercise will allow you to lift more weight. Creating more muscle leads to weight loss because muscle tissue burns more calories — even when you’re at rest — than body fat. Lifting a weight can cause small tears in your muscle tissue. Your muscle responds and repairs by becoming bigger and stronger. Respect a sore muscle and give it a few days to rest.
The ultimate goal
Enjoy all the days of your life. You will want to always be able to do your errands and enjoy your independence with healthful vitality. Tell all that figment chatter to quiet down! We baby boomers want to rock, and not in a chair!
