adminInnocent Choga Fitness
When we consider the physical benefits thereof, the aged need to exercise more than any other age group. Internationally the health costs for this age group are reported to relatively surpass all other age groups.
When we are young we take exercising for granted as we grow older we fully appreciate the benefits as we realise this is the time we need to exercise more and an early start certainly makes things easier. Nevertheless anyone can start training at any age; it is never too late.
I recall a certain incident when an aged man, a father of a friend I used to train with, asked his son if it was right for him to engage the services of a trainer as he wanted to train properly. The old man (I was young then) was part of the gym clientele.
He would spend most of the time chatting, going from one machine to another without any knowledge of the proper sequence to follow. The son was surprised and told the old man that since he was old he did not need to train properly he should just while away time in the gym and do whatever he could.
Thinking about it now, this was age discrimination and ignorance. The aged need to exercise more than the young and yet my friend thought that he himself needed exercise more than his father.
Weight training is a form of exercise that is easy for anyone at any age.
Which other form of exercise allows you to sit or lie on a bench while you execute your movements?
The only prohibiting factor to most people is the initial pain caused by the build-up of lactic acid. This is typical of anaerobic exercise. There are ways to deal with this pain caused by lactic acid, but I shall not discuss this now since it is not our subject matter today.
As we age our bodies go through a lot of changes. After the age of 30 men start losing testosterone at an average annual rate of one percent. Testosterone is the male hormone responsible for virility, strength and high metabolic rate and growth during our youth. Women gradually lose the female hormones oestrogen and progesterone as they age and reach menopause.
That means we slowly lose our strength, bone and muscle. Our metabolism gradually slows down. Gaining a lot of weight at the old age stage without exercising means the body composition is predominantly fat. To make matters worse the heart rate gets lower as we age.
Weight training strengthens the joints, bones and even helps maintain muscle mass/strength preventing arthritis and osteoporosis (loss of bone mass); old age diseases.
Weight training also helps boost the immune system and reduce blood pressure, reduce the risk of colon cancer and cancer of the breasts in women. It also boosts confidence in the elderly who are prone to bouts of depression. Weight training, therefore increases our metabolism rate.
There is also need for the elderly to engage in aerobic activities because aerobic activities help to prevent cardiovascular diseases, which are associated with old age due to the accumulation of cholesterol, the declining heart rate and reduction of hormones among other factors.
The intensity of the exercise one chooses should not be close to the high end of your heart rate otherwise one risks the chance of a stroke or heart attack. There is also need to select exercises carefully; some exercises that the young are comfortable with can be harmful to the aged.
The gym can be a source of lifetime injuries if one does not train properly. It is also not wise to form gym training partnerships with people who do not understand your age limits. It takes longer for older people to recuperate from exercise therefore it is not wise to team up with youngsters who push you to the limit.
The young can recover and heal faster and the aged heal slowly and may never heal or recover from an injury. This is the reason why in physical sports masters divisions are reserved for the aged. The body goes through a natural decline. Young athletes who win over old athletes have nothing to pump their chests about because those athletes are past their prime.
There are exceptions of course, the likes of boxer Bernard Hopkins who has defied the odds and is still winning at the age of 50.
When we are young we have a natural tendency to move, playing around involuntarily thereby moving our physiques which we cease to do as we grow older. Because of this natural desire to play, children are always running around and engaging in activities like shadow boxing. This is all due to that natural desire to move and play which we lose as we grow older.
When we hear a good musical tune we feel like dancing, dance is also exercise but do we dance enough? The body just like a vehicle needs to move as the car needs service otherwise its performance is compromised.
Take for example, in physical education the shoulder is called a ball and socket joint that means it is designed to move in a circular manner.
The question is if you are 40 years plus and do not exercise regularly,when was the last time you lifted your hands above your head and moved them in a circular manner? If you do not exercise or do manual work it may be a long time ago.
Therefore exercising will be an opportunity to improve our physical functionality. Engaging in aerobic activities and weight training will ensure total fitness helping us to maintain our virility, strength, and muscle, muscle tone and as a result maintain our psychomotor and cognitive functions. As we say let the children play, let the old folks play as well. They also need to improve the quality of their lives.
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- Innocent Choga is a six time National Body-building champion with international experience. He competed in the reputable Weider International Federation for Body Building. He is currently studying for a science degree in Physical Education and Sport.
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