Lift Yourself Up

As we get older our bodies will get weaker and more frail, with our bones becoming less dense and our muscles slowly withering away. It’s an inevitable and irreversible process that affects all living organisms. Pretty bleak eh?

The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way. While genetic factors are strong determinants of how well (or not as the case may be) an individual will age, environmental factors like diet, lifestyle and patterns of physical activity also play a key role in the rate and extent to which these systems deteriorate.

It’s never too late to enjoy the vast benefits associated with being more physically active, with older adults having a lot more to gain than younger people. These benefits include:

• Improvements in muscular strength and endurance which help to maintain a person’s ability to live independently in a fully functional way. Those improvements also reduce the risk of falls and their associated fractures.

• Helping combat chronic disabling conditions like COPD and stroke.

• Reducing the risk of death or debilitation from chronic conditions like coronary heart disease, hypertension, colon cancer and diabetes.

• Reducing blood pressure

• Reducing the symptoms of anxiety and depression while promoting improvements in mood and feelings of general well-being (due to the hormonal response to activity). This can lead to improved confidence and self esteem.

• Helping maintain (and sometimes increase) bone density, therefore reducing the risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures.

• Reducing the incidence of lower back pain and its associated immobilisation.

• Helping control joint swelling and pain associated with arthritis.

• Greater social fitness from a wider interaction with others.

• Improved patterns of sleep.

• Improved cognitive function (motor, auditory and memory).

Wow!

What an awesome list of benefits. Hopefully you are now thinking, “How can I get me some of that?”

If you’d like a sensible chat about how to get started with an exercise programme that suits you, your lifestyle and your goals, click the gold button below.