A dentist once said to me: “ Only floss the teeth you want to keep.”
I am now a flossing fiend, but I find this sentiment extends to pretty much every part of our body. It could be restated: “Only pay attention to the body parts/functions you want to keep.” By the way, that is EVERYTHING - strength, endurance, flexibility, bone density, balance, range of motion, cardio….
if you’ve ever had a limb in a cast, then you’ll have experienced muscle loss due to inactivity, or atrophy. Restrengthening the immobilized muscles is essential to regaining function (physical therapy) and if you do it assiduously, it works. Don’t stop by the way, that PT is now preventative maintenance. But what about general inactivity, a sedentary lifestyle, the gym is closed, or one is sick or injured for a while?
Atrophy happens.
Why? Our body is efficient - systems are maintained to only meet the challenges at hand. An active and healthy lifestyle boosts bone density, muscle strength, cardiac capacity, endurance, balance and flexibility. This constructive process is called Anabolism. If a system is not challenged, then maintenance falls back to the bare functional minimum. This process of not renewing tissues, or even actively breaking them down is called Catabolism. (think catastrophe). Another piece of not-so-great news is that the anabolic process slows as we age, so building back after a time of inactivity can be even tougher than a couple of decades prior. Take home message here - never stop challenging yourself, especially with resistance training/you are over 60.
A study done on athletes demonstrated a loss of muscle mass 3 weeks after they stopped working out. Balance decreased after 4 weeks. Cardiac capacity in 2-4 weeks. And not only were functional differences noted, but the ability to metabolize carbs, exchange oxygen, maintain good blood glucose levels and fat storage were all negatively affected. Interestingly, though muscular strength showed some resistance to detraining, it was also slower to come back. Age is a factor - muscle loss due to metabolism slowing with age is called sarcopenia, so we’re all swimming against that tide as well.
So this is all a bit gloomy, but there is good news: atrophy and detraining effects are reversible at all ages.
Here are some ways to stay strong and maintain function;
1) do resistance training/strengthening to your maximum ability at least 2-4 X a week. All ages, all the time. No ifs, ands, or buts.
2) get adequate protein (don’t go nuts because you’ll store the excess as fat) but 1g/kg of body weight is a normal healthy intake. Maybe add a little bit more if you are over 60. If you must take a break (5- 10 d) due to illness or injury, keep your protein intake adequate. It tends to mitigate muscle loss.
3) if you ever had PT, get back to it - it’s prevention for the rest of your life. Make it part of your workout regimen to protect you from the reason you went in the first place.
4) Vary your workouts so that you are challenging all your body systems as frequently as possible. For example, mix and match balance with cardio, resistance training with flexibility etc. (Go heavy and frequent on the resistance training - it’s associated with cognitive, muscular and metabolic maintenance). And keep it consistent over the years. Accumulated breaks negatively impacts your lifetime muscle strength.
Your health-span has the potential to equal your life-span. Pay attention and prioritize your body. Challenge all your systems and don’t stop. Remember the inspiring little phrase: “only floss the teeth you want to keep.”
