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Benefits of Senior
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- arthritis
- diabetes
- osteoporosis
- obesity
- back pain
- depression
Aerobic Exercise
Scientific research has shown that exercise can slow the physiological aging clock. Aerobic exercise, such as walking, jogging, or swimming, has many excellent health benefits. It maintains the heart and lungs and increases cardiovascular fitness and endurance.
However, it does not make your muscles strong. Strength training does.
Studies have shown that lifting weights two or three times a week increases strength by building muscle mass and bone density.
Research has shown that strengthening exercises are both safe and effective for women and men of all ages, including those who are not in perfect health.
In fact, people with health concerns, including heart disease or arthritis, often benefit the most from an exercise program that includes lifting weights a few times each week.
Strength training, particularly in conjunction with regular aerobic exercise, can also have a profound impact on a person's mental and emotional health.
Life Fitness
More than 14 million Americans have type II diabetes, a staggering three-hundred percent increase over the past forty years and the numbers are steadily climbing.
In addition to being at greater risk for heart and renal disease, diabetes is also the leading cause of blindness in older adults.
Fortunately, studies now show that lifestyle changes such as senior strength training have a profound impact on helping older adults manage their diabetes.
In a recent study of Hispanic men and women, 16 weeks of strength training produced dramatic improvements in glucose control that are comparable to taking diabetes medication. Additionally, the study volunteers were stronger, gained muscle, lost body fat, had less depression, and felt much more self-confident.
Guarantees Arthritis Relief
Tufts University recently completed a strength-training program with older men and women with moderate to severe knee osteoarthritis.
The results of this sixteen-week program showed that strength training decreased pain by 43%, increased muscle strength and general physical performance, improved the clinical signs and symptoms of the disease, and decreased disability.
The effectiveness of strength training to ease the pain of osteoarthritis was just as potent, if not more potent, as medications. Similar effects of strength training have been seen in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Improve Physical Fitness
As people age, poor balance and flexibility contribute to falls and broken bones. These fractures can result in significant disability and, in some cases, fatal complications. Strengthening exercises, when done properly and through the full range of motion, increase a person's flexibility and balance, which decrease the likelihood and severity of falls.
One study in New Zealand in women 80 years of age and older showed a 40% reduction in falls with simple strength an
Improve Mental Health
Strength training provides similar improvements in depression as anti-depressant medications.
Currently, it is not known if this is because people feel better when they are stronger or if strength training produces a helpful biochemical change in the brain.
It is most likely a combination of the two. When older adults participate in strength training programs, their self-confidence and self-esteem improve, which has a strong impact on their overall quality of life.
Stick With Your Workout
It’s important to stick to your senior strength training program as much as you can. You may find that you make a few false starts before you succeed at making this program a regular part of your life. There may be times when interruptions such as vacation, illness, family, or work demands prevent you from doing your exercises for a week or two or even longer.
Try not to feel guilty or disappointed in yourself. Just restart your routine as quickly as you can.
You may not be able to pick up exactly where you left off, you may need to decrease your weights a bit. But stay with your senior strength training, and you will regain lost ground.
Check out these links for additional information:
Benefits of Exercise Discover how benefits of exercise aids digestion, circulation, increase oxygen
Women's Health
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