Good afternoon!
What a great fall it has been here in New England! Now we hit my most favorite week of the year, the week running up to Thanksgiving. While I try to be thankful all the time, this week always brings special joy to my spirit. I hope through all the current challenges that you can enjoy those that are around you, and your week is a special one.
While we have a few months to go before some sense of normalcy returns, it was great news this week to hear a second company is nearly ready to roll out a successful vaccine. This is wonderful news.
Resistance versus Cardiovascular
I have chatted endlessly about the importance of resistance (strength training), and I will continue to. Those of the older population who are getting out and walking are certainly helping build greater heart health (cardiovascular), and even some leg strength. However, the aging process works against our bones and the power aspect of our muscles.
* “Wolff's Law states that your bones will adapt based on the stress or demands placed on them. When you work your muscles, they put stress on your bones. In response, your bone tissue remodels and becomes stronger. ... If you don't use the muscles surrounding a bone much, the bone tissue can weaken.”
Resistance (lifting weights, using your body weight, using bands etc..) is something that some many people have never done and something the older population views incorrectly.
Last week I was getting a haircut from my guy Nick, who is my age and as we chatted, I told him the importance of resistance training for his bone health. He was totally astounded when I told him “Wolff’s Law. He understood the importance of muscle but had no idea that bones are able to get stronger.
Our bones need to be stressed
Many like lifting weights for various reasons. I could list a few reasons I am motivated to continuously improve my resistance, most for health reasons and some for vanity. However, ultimately being able to stress my bones may be the most important reason. As I approach my ladder 50s, it is more important to resistance train than it is to run (cardiovascular). This does not mean that I should focus on just resistance training and ignore cardio, but the importance of resistance is surprisingly greater than that walking, running, biking, etc.… In fact, most resistance training will provide enough cardio benefits. A healthy fitness plan will include both resistance and cardio.
Resistance training can be a bit intimidating or even scary for the older population, but multiple studies have proven that there is no age too old to do a resistance workout. Getting your doctors go ahead, followed by some professional guidance (such as NFLF), is the best way to get started. When I got certified in TRX Suspension training, I immediately saw the benefits of this type of resistance for those who are leery of using weights. TRX allows the individual to use their own body angle to dictate the level of resistance, and as they improve, they can increase their resistance by slightly changing their body position. There are many safe and effective ways a person of any age can go about resistance training. The most important factor is to start off easy and never compromise proper form and posture.
Strong bones are critical to us as we age and to have them, we need to stress them (Wolff’s Law).
In the coming weeks I will chat about powerful muscles versus muscle size. Another important difference.
Have an amazing week full of blessings, love, and thankfulness. I am thankful for all of you that check in with Coffee & Chat.
God Bless
Mike
