Preparing Your Body For the Future
In my 20s and into my mid-30s I would increase workouts and cut back on carbohydrates every spring to prepare for my “summer body.” Over the past few years my mindset has shifted. Now, I take action year-round to maintain and improve strength, balance, and a healthy weight to prepare my body for aging. Did you know that we age EVERY DAY!? OK, ok, but seriously, what are you doing to get your body ready for the future?
One thing I started to incorporate into my routine is strength training. My goal is to do a strength workout at least twice a week. I am a thin, white woman. Therefore, my risk for osteoporosis later in life is HIGH. Strength training at least twice a week, along with calcium and vitamin D, helps to reduce the risk of osteoporosis. We have all heard stories of the elderly woman (or more rarely, man) who takes a fall and breaks their hip. In bad cases, this type of injury can trigger a rapid decline in health which can affect mortality. According to a 2019 study in Acta Orthopaedica, up to 21% of people who have a hip fracture surgically repaired die within one year, with a much higher rate in those who did not have the fracture repaired. YIKES! Click here for more info on this.
The other thing I have focused on is increasing protein in my diet. We start to lose muscle mass as early as age 30! In order to maintain muscle mass, a high protein diet plus an exercise routine that incorporates strength training are important. You should get at least 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight per day OR at least 25% of your daily calories. Adults over the age of 40, overweight individuals, and highly active adults can benefit from an even higher amount of protein in their diet. Check out this article for more information on protein requirements.
Cardiovascular exercise and balance-related exercise are also very important as we age. Cardiovascular exercise helps to prevent heart disease. The American Heart Association currently recommends that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity cardiovascular exercise per week OR 75 minutes of high intensity exercise (or a combination of the two). Balance-related exercise such as yoga, pilates, strength training, and Tai chi help to prevent falls in older age which in turn can improve mortality.
Finally, protect your skin and wear sunscreen! It would really be a shame if you did all of the things I wrote about above but wound up getting melanoma because you didn’t wear sunscreen. Just saying…