Old Thinking
September 18th 2007 11:06
This trip I would like to engage in a little thinking. Specifically I would like to speculate about what aging might look like, if we were to continue to work out for the decades that reach toward the century mark.
First, what we can expect if we do not continue to train. The excess weight is a no-brainer. As the metabolism slows by the decade few of us will find the wherewithal to limit our caloric intake to anywhere near what it will have to be to maintain a weight to within tens of percentage points of our youth. There is a growing body of informed speculation that radical restriction of calories will result in the significant extension of lifespan. How many are affording themselves of this opportunity to live a number of extra year? And to live them in a thin body?
Yet, as large as the middle aged become, it is a clear marker of old age that the body starts to shrink. That can be the result of only one thing-loss of muscle. Loss of muscle slows metabolism and deactivates the body's mechanism for strengthening bones. Unused joints begin to atrophy and whatever movement takes place is labored.
Untrained abdominals begin to sag pretty early on. The internal organs that they restrain are soon too much to restrain and the organs protrude, causing a concomitant strain on the lower back, already weakened by years without a significant challenge to grow. So the stoop arrives and it creates its own set of problems.
Sadly, walking is a recommended activity for the aging. If it is engaged in with serious intent, it will ultimately betray its adherent.Mile after mile will pound the feet and knees,which unhinge the hips and throw the back out of alignment. The continued miles of walking will also prompt the body to jettison muscle, convinced that the walking is its new function. The loss of muscle will do no good. In sum,the body becomes a creaky and undependable partner in life.
What to do? The facts have been in for years. People who lift weights and convince their body that that is its function can short circuit much of the above damage. Bones will actually grow, the metabolism will have to stay up, blood will flow into the extremities. The back will remain strong and the posture erect. The answer is weights,of course. AND...if you start at even an advanced age you can still get these benefits.
How would we be if we continued to work with iron until our 60s were a memory? Like fit people of more advanced chronology. As good as it can be. Enough thinking.Your servant, as always.
First, what we can expect if we do not continue to train. The excess weight is a no-brainer. As the metabolism slows by the decade few of us will find the wherewithal to limit our caloric intake to anywhere near what it will have to be to maintain a weight to within tens of percentage points of our youth. There is a growing body of informed speculation that radical restriction of calories will result in the significant extension of lifespan. How many are affording themselves of this opportunity to live a number of extra year? And to live them in a thin body?
Yet, as large as the middle aged become, it is a clear marker of old age that the body starts to shrink. That can be the result of only one thing-loss of muscle. Loss of muscle slows metabolism and deactivates the body's mechanism for strengthening bones. Unused joints begin to atrophy and whatever movement takes place is labored.
Untrained abdominals begin to sag pretty early on. The internal organs that they restrain are soon too much to restrain and the organs protrude, causing a concomitant strain on the lower back, already weakened by years without a significant challenge to grow. So the stoop arrives and it creates its own set of problems.
Sadly, walking is a recommended activity for the aging. If it is engaged in with serious intent, it will ultimately betray its adherent.Mile after mile will pound the feet and knees,which unhinge the hips and throw the back out of alignment. The continued miles of walking will also prompt the body to jettison muscle, convinced that the walking is its new function. The loss of muscle will do no good. In sum,the body becomes a creaky and undependable partner in life.
What to do? The facts have been in for years. People who lift weights and convince their body that that is its function can short circuit much of the above damage. Bones will actually grow, the metabolism will have to stay up, blood will flow into the extremities. The back will remain strong and the posture erect. The answer is weights,of course. AND...if you start at even an advanced age you can still get these benefits.
How would we be if we continued to work with iron until our 60s were a memory? Like fit people of more advanced chronology. As good as it can be. Enough thinking.Your servant, as always.
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