As we all know, aging involves our muscles deteriorating at an ever-increasing pace, something that we may not care for as life becomes more stable for us. But not only can aging muscles be a burden to us, but the fact that they become weaker can only spell trouble for us as we start to have trouble doing the things that we are usually able to do. Things like household chores could suddenly become a challenge for us, or climbing the stairs could knock you out for half the day. But don’t fret, for there are 5 ways to reverse the effects that aging has on your muscles.
Resistance Training
One of the best ways to fight aging with your muscles is resistance training. The fact that our muscles are deteriorating because of a lack of activity means you have to counter it by actually forcing them to stay active. Resistance work causes the muscles to contract against external resistance and allows microscopic tears to occur at the cellular level in your muscles. This forces your body to repair the tears, allowing your muscle mass to improve over time.
Cardiovascular Training
On top of resistance training, cardiovascular training is recommended because of the positive impact that it can have on your heart as well as overall muscles. Because your heart is also a muscle, cardiovascular training strengthens the heart by forcing it to pump more strongly and circulating more blood throughout your body. Your muscles will also strengthen under conditions of continuous stress, allowing them to be more “resistant” against the effects of aging.
Protein Intake
Protein intake may be important when you’re young, but it is imperative when you are old. The loss of muscle mass and strength is partly due to growth hormones decreasing in your body and that means that your body requires more protein in order to synthesize your existing muscle mass that you previously had. On top of that, you will need that extra protein to maximize the recovery process in your body and keep yourself in the pink of health.
Warming Up
Reversing the effects of aging of your muscles means that you must regularly warm your muscles up. Although it is recommended to partake in resistance and cardiovascular training on a daily basis, you may not have the time to complete that every day. As such, it is important that you at least warm up your muscles through activities like stretching, breeze walking or even doing stationary body squats.
Get Enough Rest
As you embark on a changed lifestyle with more strenuous exercises and a better diet, it is important to have enough rest daily so that your muscles can recover. As you age, you may notice your sleep patterns changing for the worse, and that may result in you having lesser rest than required. There are options you can consider such as sleep supplements, but they key here is to get enough rest. You risk injuring yourself should you not have sufficient rest, especially now that your body takes a longer time to recover from your environment.