From the time you are born until you reach age 30 your muscles continue to grow larger and stronger. But, starting around the age of 30, you begin to lose muscle mass, up to 3 to 5 percent each decade if you are not active. The medical term for this is sarcopenia with aging.

Even if you are active, you continue to lose muscle mass but at a slower rate. Reflexes and coordination can also suffer.
It may be more difficult to get up from the couch, climb stairs with groceries, or go for a bike ride. With age your body can get stiffer and wobblier, and your muscles more lax.
This loss of muscle mass will also change the way your body looks and responds. The redistribution of muscle to fat may affect your balance. Less leg muscle and stiffer joints makes it more difficult to move around.

Changes in body weight and bone loss may also affect your height. People typically lose almost ½ inch in height every 10 years after age 40.

The old adage, “use it or lose it,” is true when it comes to your physical abilities. When you lose muscle, it’s typically replaced by fat. Although your weight may increase only slightly, your frame may appear much larger because fat takes up 18 percent more room on your body than muscle.

Our Senior FPA Coach demonstrating the importance of training functionally for optimal functional strength that can burn the most calories.

It is recommended that people over 40 shouldn’t just exercise more, they should exercise smarter. The first smart move is to improve your flexibility and balance. Both of these physical factors suffer from muscle loss and joint stiffness as you age.
Flexibility can help reduce injuries, improve your balance and help you reach your optimum level of fitness.

As you age, you need to build functional strength over strength in isolated muscle group. The idea behind building functional strength is to improve your abilities using groups of muscles you would normally use in everyday life.

Functional strength training is a coordinated effort between multiple muscle groups imitating everyday activities and not training an isolated muscle group. Compound exercises will work multiple muscle groups at once, help you gain functional strength, and burn the most calories per session.

Through our Situational Intelligence Training, our FPA personal trainers and Interactives coaches will plan a well-designed program that focuses on your functional needs. Contact us to find how our personal training and Interactive Training can help be fit at any age!

Let FitPro Academy lead you to your success in your health and fitness journey. Contact us now at [email protected]

(Adapted from: https://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2016/01/29/fitness-after-40.aspx)

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