Why Is Fitness Important As We Age?

Let’s not beat around the bush: you cannot stop time and you most certainly cannot stop growing older. We can, however, do everything possible so that we can combat its negative effects on our body, keeping us youthful inside and out.

We all know mobility decreases as you age and it’s never too early, or too late, to get a head start of making sure you stay moving for as long as possible. As they say, where there’s a will, there’s a way and the easiest, most sustainable way of staying younger for longer is maintaining a great heath and fitness level! Even small changes to your life can have a huge impact on your mobility years down the line.

A few facts about what happens as you age:

From around the age of 40 there is a 1-2% loss per year of the following body systems:

• Muscular strength

• Power

• Bone density

• Aerobic endurance

• Balance and co-ordination

• Flexibility, agility and later mobility.

How can I start combatting these?

Regular, structured physical activity can help begin to combat these losses, making sure we continue to live the life we want to. Being physically fit ensures that day-to-day tasks can be completed with ease, leaving you with energy to do the more leisurely, care-free things in life.

Whilst it’s not always everyone’s cup of tea, regular weight bearing and strength training exercises, however small, can help maintain bone mass and muscle strength.

With stronger muscles comes an increased sense of balance and an improved agility, areas that are vital when it comes to not only preventing falls, but also limiting their seriousness, as we grow older.

A strong core particularly is important! Whilst the ‘core’ is often mistaken as just the stomach, it is, in fact, the whole trunk of the body. Because of this, like it is to a tree, this trunk is vital for supporting our back and ensuring our limbs can function properly. On a more taboo note, our core also includes our pelvic floor, something vital in helping reduce incontinence issues as we age.

And let’s not forget the benefits to the mind too! Not only does physical activity help with mental health and mood, it also gives you something to think about and keep that brain active and learning.  Just little things like remembering patterns and sequences in work outs can all help to keeping that brain firing up!