SARCOPENIA

What is it?
Is there a cure?
Sitting in my very first personal training certification class in 1988, I first learned the term sarcopenia. I was still in my 20s. I looked around the room with pity on those women over the age of 40. Ha Ha! This evil syndrome had no effect on me! I was young! I was young! Did I mention I was young?
My grandmother had a saying:
“When on top of the fairest wheel of life, never spit on those sitting below you. One day you will be on the bottom.”
I AM NOW ON THE BOTTOM!
Sarcopenia, is the age related muscle loss. We naturally lose muscle mass and strength as we are lucky enough to grow older. Sarcopenia begins in middle age and accelerates as we become elderly. Factors leading to this muscle loss are the change of hormone levels, decreasing motor neurons and a decrease in the body’s ability to synthesize muscle protein.
Is there a cure? There is no magic pill. What it takes to slow the process and perhaps reverse the process is good old fashion resistance exercise. Non-exercisers can expect to lose ½ to one pound of lean muscle mass a year after the age of 30. The precious lean muscle stokes up the metabolism. Without it, weight gain is inevitable. So begins the vicious cycle of inactivity~weight gain~more inactivity.
Introducing weight training can make a significant difference AT ANY AGE! To be really effective, make sure the resistance work is progressive, targets the large and small muscles and is done about 2x/week.
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