My last posting focused on strength training benefits. Let me continue. This is just too good not to share. Let me start with results from a study done by USDA Human Nutrition Resource Center on Aging at Tufts University. It was conducted by Miriam E. Nelson, Ph.D. It was accepted for publication in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) Dec. 1994. It is a study of women over 40 years of age. This study took ten overweight women and gave them individual customized food plans. 50% of the participants performed strength training exercises twice a week while the others followed just the prescribed diet. This study was for a year.
a. The "diet only" volunteers lost an average of 13 lbs. during the study. 2.8 lbs of this weight loss was lean muscle mass. The women who strength trained lost approximately 13.2 lbs. These women gained 1.4 lbs. of lean tissue and experienced a total fat loss of 14.6 lbs. In conclusion, the group that performed strength training 2x a week lost 44% more body fat than the diet only group.
b. The women performing strength training regained bone density instead of losing it as women normally do at this age. This was without taking drugs.
c. The women that did not strength train had an average decline in balance of 8%. The decline in balance may be attributable to the fact that this group was one year older. At the same time they became even more sedentary as they aged. Meanwhile, the women in the strength-training group showed an average of 14% gain in balance scores. This change is because of their enormous improvements in strength and muscle strength and in part to the associated, neurological improvements.
I mentioned strength training and the relationship to bone density in my last posting. I would like to continue with that topic. Each year after menopause, a woman typically loses 1% of her bone mass, even more during the first five menopausal years. In Dr. Nelson's study it was found that women who strength trained not only did not lose bone mass they gained 1% bone mass. The non exercising women lost about 2% of their bone density over the year of the study.
Strength training helps prevent bone fractures from osteoporosis because it dramatically reduces the risk of fractures. Because of the improvements in strength there is more bone density and balance. Typically a woman of 70 faces 30% odds that she will break her hip if she lives another twenty years. Each year, about 300,000 people wind up in the hospital with hip fractures because of osteoporosis. Half of the victims never go home again... and 1 in 5 die from complications within a year. A woman is more likely to die as a result of a hip fracture, than from breast cancer, uterine cancer and ovarian cancer combined. Elderly women fall because they lose their balance easily and aren't strong enough to recover.
One last thought here involves a study of 60 - 70 year olds. In the 1980's Walter Frontera, MD of Tufts Center on Aging conducted the following study. Traditionally strength-training exercises were performed on seniors at only 40-50% of their capacity. Dr. Frontera had his volunteers exercise at 80% of capacity. This study shattered myths about aging. There were no injuries and no cardiac episodes. In just twelve weeks the muscles that were exercising became 10 - 12 % larger and 100 - 175% stronger.
We all know exercise is important and many of us actually enjoy the experience. I hope that learning these facts will help motivate us to continue (or start) our habit for lifelong health and fitness.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Monday, September 1, 2008
STRENGTH TRAINING BENEFITS EVERY AGE!
I attended a fitness convention recently. It was a great experience with many classes, activities, and lectures on just about any fitness or health topic. Once again there is so much evidence regarding the benefits of exercise as a lifelong habit. Here are some of the interesting facts I learned about Strength Training especially for the mature adult.
*When women diet, at least 25 - 30% of the weight they lose isn't fat but lean tissue, muscle, bone and water. A study by the University of Michigan has proven that women can preserve muscle mass while they lose weight. Strengthening exercises prevent the loss of bone and muscle that can harm many women in later life. Women have less muscle and bone than men do. Women lose muscle and bone as they age and thus have a narrower margin of safety. Women generally live longer than men, so women are much more likely to reach an age where their lives are severely limited by muscular weakness and fragile bones.
*The Center for Disease Control and Prevention report that more than 75% of American women are sedentary! Over one third of women age 30 - 49 weigh too much. 52% of women in their 50's are overweight and after menopause the numbers really soar. Excess weight endangers health. Being overweight triples the normal risk for heart disease and stroke. Excess weight contributes to diabetes and has been linked to cancer.
*Starting around the age of 40, most women lose one-half to one-third of pound of muscle each year and gain at least that much in body fat. Women also lose a similar amount of bone. That means by the age of 80 women will have only about 1/3 the muscle they had at the age of 40. These changes accelerate at peri-menopause and during early menopause. During this time a woman can lose 5 lbs. of muscle in just five years unless she compensates with strength training exercises.
*A study at the University of Colorado compared sedentary and active post-menopausal women ages 50 - 72 with women ages 21 - 35. The older women who where not exercising showed the expected decrease in BMR (basal metabolic rate - the energy it takes for our bodies to exist) compared to the younger participants. However, the older women who were physically active had the same BMR on average as active women half their age. That is significant! At this point let me inform you that a very low calorie diet can cause your BMR to plummet by as much as 30%. This is why its so important to eat while you are trying to lose weight. Individuals gain weight when they are burning too few calories.
*It has been proven that a person will become more energized and more active as the result of strength training. The non-exercising group became 25% less active over a period of a year. The women in the strength training program were 27% more active.
*Exercise lifts depression, combats lethargy and makes weight loss easier. There is evidence that physical activity enhances mood, improves coping skills and boosts self-esteem and self-confidence. Active people suffer less from bouts of anxiety and depression that plague nearly 3 out of every 10 Americans. Nalin Singh, MD and colleagues of Tufts University looked at 32 men and women who suffered from chronic depression. Half of these individuals did strength training. The other half simply received health education. Twelve weeks later, 14 of the 16 members who strength trained felt better and no longer met the clinical criteria for depression. But only 6 members of the education only group enjoyed similar relief. This impressive success rate is comparable to that produced by highly effective anti-depressants. In Dr. Singh's study of depression, ten people in the strength training group and seven in the health education group reported sleep problems when they joined the project. After twelve weeks, 6 of the 10 strength training volunteers reported they no longer had difficulty sleeping while in contrast, no one in the health education group improved. People who exercise fall asleep more quickly, sleep more deeply, awaken less often in the meddle of the night and sleep longer. These benefits are comparable to those of medication but with absolutely none of the side effects.
This is just a portion of the information I want to share with you. Check in again soon for more Strength Training benefits for every age.
*When women diet, at least 25 - 30% of the weight they lose isn't fat but lean tissue, muscle, bone and water. A study by the University of Michigan has proven that women can preserve muscle mass while they lose weight. Strengthening exercises prevent the loss of bone and muscle that can harm many women in later life. Women have less muscle and bone than men do. Women lose muscle and bone as they age and thus have a narrower margin of safety. Women generally live longer than men, so women are much more likely to reach an age where their lives are severely limited by muscular weakness and fragile bones.
*The Center for Disease Control and Prevention report that more than 75% of American women are sedentary! Over one third of women age 30 - 49 weigh too much. 52% of women in their 50's are overweight and after menopause the numbers really soar. Excess weight endangers health. Being overweight triples the normal risk for heart disease and stroke. Excess weight contributes to diabetes and has been linked to cancer.
*Starting around the age of 40, most women lose one-half to one-third of pound of muscle each year and gain at least that much in body fat. Women also lose a similar amount of bone. That means by the age of 80 women will have only about 1/3 the muscle they had at the age of 40. These changes accelerate at peri-menopause and during early menopause. During this time a woman can lose 5 lbs. of muscle in just five years unless she compensates with strength training exercises.
*A study at the University of Colorado compared sedentary and active post-menopausal women ages 50 - 72 with women ages 21 - 35. The older women who where not exercising showed the expected decrease in BMR (basal metabolic rate - the energy it takes for our bodies to exist) compared to the younger participants. However, the older women who were physically active had the same BMR on average as active women half their age. That is significant! At this point let me inform you that a very low calorie diet can cause your BMR to plummet by as much as 30%. This is why its so important to eat while you are trying to lose weight. Individuals gain weight when they are burning too few calories.
*It has been proven that a person will become more energized and more active as the result of strength training. The non-exercising group became 25% less active over a period of a year. The women in the strength training program were 27% more active.
*Exercise lifts depression, combats lethargy and makes weight loss easier. There is evidence that physical activity enhances mood, improves coping skills and boosts self-esteem and self-confidence. Active people suffer less from bouts of anxiety and depression that plague nearly 3 out of every 10 Americans. Nalin Singh, MD and colleagues of Tufts University looked at 32 men and women who suffered from chronic depression. Half of these individuals did strength training. The other half simply received health education. Twelve weeks later, 14 of the 16 members who strength trained felt better and no longer met the clinical criteria for depression. But only 6 members of the education only group enjoyed similar relief. This impressive success rate is comparable to that produced by highly effective anti-depressants. In Dr. Singh's study of depression, ten people in the strength training group and seven in the health education group reported sleep problems when they joined the project. After twelve weeks, 6 of the 10 strength training volunteers reported they no longer had difficulty sleeping while in contrast, no one in the health education group improved. People who exercise fall asleep more quickly, sleep more deeply, awaken less often in the meddle of the night and sleep longer. These benefits are comparable to those of medication but with absolutely none of the side effects.
This is just a portion of the information I want to share with you. Check in again soon for more Strength Training benefits for every age.
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