More than Just Lines on a Map: Best Practices for U.S Bike Routes
Staying Fit After 40
1. Ever discerned how many people who do no exercise at all
still appear firmed and toned in their arms, legs and chests
when they're younger than 30? Have you also realized that
this look of firmness starts to slowly become a look of
droopiness and sagginess when they are over 30? Our
body is at its peak between 25 and 30 years of age. After
this point, our body starts to slowly go into a decrease and
we tend to put on weight a little quicker than before.
2. Part of the reason behind this is, after 30, we start to lose
muscle to what is sometimes known as atrophy (muscle
shrinkage due to disuse). We also begin to lose bone
density leading very slowly to possible osteoporosis.
Muscle is active tissue and thus uses calories. When we
start to lose muscle to atrophy, our metabolism starts to
slow down as a result leading to more fat storage and
weight gain, and over 50% of this is due to lack of physical
activity. Is there anything you can do to help stop this
process? The answer's yes you can.
3. Everyone has seen it, there are 2 women standing
together, one is around 35 years old while the other one's
around 50, yet the older woman looks more firm and fit
than the younger woman. You could ask yourself; how
does she do it? The answer is she exercises. Period! You, at
just about any age can stay in good shape also, but you
have to exercise. You have to make exercise a regular part
of your day.
4. A good exercise program would be one that contains both
aerobic and strength training with some stretching added
also. Many like to do aerobics and resistance exercises
separately, but a lot of people find that the best workout
for them is circuit training since it utilizes all 3 of these
kinds of exercise in one workout routine, and is very
effective and efficient.
5. Plenty of individuals have the idea that aerobicise is the
simplest way to lose and maintain weight. Since 75% of
your calories burned are at rest, this isn't the case. Aerobic
workouts only burns calories during the activity, and then
inside 2 hours after you are finished, you burn no more
calories than previously.
6. Strength training on the other hand maintains and builds
muscle, and since muscle is active tissue, you use more
calories than before, even at rest. One pound of fat burns
around 4 calories every day while one pound of muscle
burns around 50 calories per day. After 30 years of age, an
inactive person will lose to 1 pound of muscle each year.
That implies that ten years of muscle loss due to inactivity
equates to a metabolism slow down of about 450 calories
per day!
7. If you'd like to lose fat and increase muscle tone, then you
should include exercise into your day and that requires
including resistance training into your exercise routine.
Ladies and gentlemen who include weight training to their
exercise routines lose around 44% more fat than those
that do not. Adding weight training to a regular exercise
program will also slow down plenty of the consequences
of ageing. Folks even in their 80s and 90s have seen as
much as a 200% increase in their strength levels within 3-4
weeks of starting to exercise.
8. You can stay fit and trim after 40, but the message is clear,
exercise with resistance included is essential if you desire
to stay in peak condition and feel young and alive, and you
can do it, even well past 40.