Strong For Life
Research has shown that being inactive as we age causes us to loose our ability to function in day-to-day activities. Physical inactivity is a major cause of functional loss in late life. Exercise can be safely started later in life. It is never too late to begin an exercise program, no matter what your age.
It’s sarcopenia and it’s debilitating. Sarcopenia is osteoporosis’ little known counterpart. It robs aging people of muscle, leaving them weak and frail. Even though it affects almost everyone and has serious consequences, sarcopenia ranks among the most neglected of age-related conditions. Muscle loss actually starts when people are still in their 20s. It accelerates after age 40 and goes into overdrive after age 75. Most people lose about 40 percent of their muscle mass between the ages of 20 and 80. Experts think sarcopenia is a normal part of aging that shifts into high gear when people don’t get enough exercise. Studies show that one form of exercise, “resistance training,” is especially effective.
The Strong for Life training program can slow sarcopenia and partially reverse its effects by restoring muscle mass and strength - even among frail elderly people in nursing homes. Resistance training subjects muscles to loads they are not used to handling and they respond by increasing in size.*As reported in The Toledo Blade - May 26, 2003 by Michael Woods
The Strong for Life exercise program is a strengthening exercise program specifically designed for older persons who have limitations in their daily activities. This exercise program can be individualized specifically to the needs of the older person.
Strong for Life addresses beliefs and attitudes about exercise. Many of us believe that only the young benefit from exercise and that exercise may be harmful to our health. Researchers, however, have demonstrated that the lack of physical activity in older persons causes problems in being able to do regular day-to-day activities. In fact, it has been shown that inactivity is a greater danger than the risk of exercise in older persons.
Strong for Life targets specific muscles that are important in every day movements such as getting out of a chair and walking. Elastic bands are used to provide force for strengthening muscles during the exercise program.
The Strong for Life program was developed under the Boston University - Roybal Center for the Enhancement of Late-Life Function with support from the National Institute on Aging.
