Longevity Bloomington Newsletter #2 - Maintaining Muscle Mass
Research Roundup: Maintaining Muscle Mass with Long-Term Exercise
Check out this fascinating picture from a research study comparing the muscle mass of 40 and 70 year-old triathletes with a 74 year-old sedentary man! As you can see in the picture, the active 70 year-old's muscle size (dark portion in picture) looks remarkably similar to the 40 year-old! Meanwhile, the 74 year-old that was not active has much less muscle mass and significantly more fat (light portion in picture) mass.
This study looked at the strength and body composition of forty masters athletes aged 40-81 to determine whether or not the typical losses in muscle mass and strength that are commonly attributed to aging are actually a result of disuse. What did they find?
chronic, intense exercise preserved muscle mass and prevented fat infiltration
no decline in absolute muscle mass
aging muscle is capable of not only getting stronger in the short term but is able to maintain its strength with long- term exercise
So what can you do to increase and maintain your muscle mass?
High intensity resistance training
Aerobic exercise
Consume enough protein - 0.4 to 0.6 grams per pound of bodyweight (150 pound per person needs ~ 75 grams per day)
Why We Perform Functional Movements at Longevity
https://video.wixstatic.com/video/5c793d_ec32d5d4349942b29a8486291b179ce4/480p/mp4/file.mp4
Great video by @dustinjones.dpt showing how the movements we perform in the gym translate to everyday life.
All of the movements we perform at Longevity Bloomington are designed to improve your quality of life outside of the gym.
A deadlift improves the strength of your low back and legs and allows you to pick things up from the ground easier.
An overhead press improves your upper body and trunk strength and makes it easier to lift objects up to a high shelf.
Loaded carries strengthen your trunk and upper body and allow you to carry those heavy bags of groceries into the house.
Longevity Update
Here are a few pictures from one of our recent classes
We have added four new members to the Longevity family since our last newsletter:
Claire
Michelle
Trudy
Stephanie
Welcome to the class. It has been great having you all over the last month!