Studies show that as we age normal weight gain is one to two pounds a year. Along with this gain is a loss of muscle mass and a gain in fat tissue which is metabolically less active.
An ideal weight loss program should include a weight training regimen. For every pound of weight we lose a majority of it is lost in muscle. The benefit of working with weights is to enable a person to hold on to much of the muscle which otherwise would be lost. A study was conducted at Forest University of Winston-Salem, N.C.. There were 249 participants all from different ethnic backgrounds. All of the participants diets were reduced by 300 calories a day. Group 1 dieted but did not exercise. Group 2 added a walking routine and group 3 added weight training. At the end of 18 months the group who trained with weights retained more muscle mass and an increase in overall strength. The researchers concluded that weight training might be the best way to supplement walking while reducing calorie intake.
Category: Weight Training
Preventing Arthritis following an Injury…
After an injury, not only athletes but also physically active people have one thing on their mind. How can I get back in the game. This kind of thinking can backfire and short circuit
recovery. Post-traumatic osteoarthritis can exhibit itself decades later if adequate attention is not given to rehabilitation. Previously thought of as a disease which affects senior citizens it is now becoming prevalent in younger people as well. The odds of developing osteoarthritis after not treating an injury properly are six to one. According to research done by a team at the University of Iowa, it is the protective cartilage at the ends of the bones that is often damaged. These tissues are what cushion and stabilize bone and need sufficient time and care to heal properly. Osteoarthritis can be prevented or even seriously curtailed. Physical therapy which includes a program of strength and flexibility to all the supporting muscle groups can produce positive effects. For example, if a knee is injured attention should be given to strengthening the quads, hamstrings and hip muscles. Moderate activity is encouraged as long as it does not stress the particular joint in question.
Heat over Ice…
According to new research, heat may be much more beneficial for muscle recovery then ice. Researches at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden invited fit men and women to be 
tested on arm-peddling machines. The exercise was designed to exhaust arm muscles with periods of slow and intense intervals. Once the glycogen (carbohydrate fuel source) storage was depleted in the muscles they no longer had any strength. After which they slipped cuffs on their arms that were pre-heated to 100 degrees F or chilled to 5 degrees F by the coils within them. It turned out that the muscles recovered quicker with heat but only if it was accompanied with a resupply of glycogen. Because of this experiment researchers feel that after a long marathon it may be best to sit in a relaxing warm bath while eating a chocolate bar.
Regaining Muscle after 60…
Studies at the University of Alabama worked with men and women in their 60s and 70s.
Under supervised weight training programs they developed muscles that had a mass and strength of people 20 to 30 years younger. Unlike younger men and women who can build new muscle fibers, with age a portion of the muscle fibers in older people dies. The remainder of the muscle fibers suffer from shrinkage do to underuse. However these remaining fibers do respond and will grow with proper and consistent training. Progressive weight training until the muscle are exhausted seems to be the way to go.