Our Bodies Are Meant To Move!

That’s right. Seems like everybody knows one must exercise the body in order to be healthy. No doubt about it.

But, as with other areas of health, there is just as much misinformation as good information available on this part of the D.R.E.S.S.™ for Health Success program.

The Rewards of Strength

According to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only a very small percentage of older adults in the U.S. are doing enough to keep their muscles strong.

In an interview with Reuters Health, Dr. Judy Kruger, a CDC specialist in elder care and chronic disease prevention, noted that exercises designed to strengthen muscles (such as weight training or resistance training) yield several benefits, including:

Reducing the risk of falls and fractures
Increasing endurance
Promoting healthy bone density
Improving insulin sensitivity

But even though strength exercises promote general good health and make it easier for older people to carry out normal daily activities, a 2001 survey revealed that only 12 percent of people aged 65 to 74 perform this type of exercise on a regular basis.

No Membership Fees

At San Diego Natural Health & Fitness Centers you don’t pay membership fees. Our Personal Trainers will show you a few things you can do at home or at your own gym. You’ll learn exactly how to get stronger, from the inside out, in as little as one session.

That’s right, core strengthening is the fastest way to improve muscle mass, balance and agility. Athlete’s find our high level Kettlebell training adds speed and power that transfers directly into better performance at their sport.

Bonus number one

An important benefit provided by strength training is an improvement of exercise capacity.

If you have a high exercise capacity, then generally speaking you’re in good health. But people who rate the lowest exercise capacities have a much higher risk of chronic diseases. Research from the University of Florida (UF) showed how resistance exercise may have a dramatic impact on exercise capacity -particularly in those who are over the age of 60.

The UF study measured exercise capacity and aerobic power in subjects 60 to 85 years of age before and after six months of resistance training exercise.
And, behind door number two…

Obviously, weight training increases muscle strength, but older people get yet another benefit: prevention of sarcopenia – the age-related loss of skeletal muscle.

A recent report from the International Longevity Center-USA, details a variety of studies of subjects aged 60 to 96 who overcame the loss of strength and body mass associated with sarcopenia by using weight training regimens that lasted from 8 to 12 weeks. In as little as two sessions a week, most subjects increased their strength, while also improving balance and mobility. Subjects who continued their weight training regimens also increased metabolic rate and the ability to climb stairs.

Needless to say, when weight training or resistance training is begun early on the less likelihood there is that sarcopenia will be an issue as the years go by. And as the UF study shows, you don’t have to pump iron like the governor of California to reap healthy benefits.

Exercise specialists with the National Institute on Aging (NIA) advise older people to start with light weights – only one or two pounds – and then gradually increase the weight according to whatever feels comfortable. And Dr. Kruger also points out that trips to the gym aren’t necessary. A few simple exercises that are easy to do at home are all that’s required to improve muscle strength.

Not Exercising is Worse For Your Health Than Smoking

Cardio is Out – P.A.C.E. is in!

Ask anybody and you’ll here them say “I need to increase my cardio” for a strong heart. “Not true”, says Dr. Al Sears of the Wellness Research Foundation. Amazing research has proven that Progressively Accelerating Cardiopulmonary Exertion (P.A.C.E.) is a better work out.

You’ll get the PACE work out done in just minutes instead of hours. You’ll burn more fat, increase lung power and bullet proof your heart against cardiac arrest.