❱❱ NOT JUST A PREDESTINED FATE
❱❱ PROLONGING THE JOURNEY
FEATURE
❱❱ NOT JUST A PREDESTINED FATE
There is no reason why bodybuilders should not look to extend their ability to train with weights well into their later years. According to Dr. Nathan Le Brasseur of the Mayo Clinic, exercising with weights can decrease frailty and improve strength levels in older people. Le Brasseur recommends exercising on most days of the week, but a minimum of three times per week is recommended to slow down the gradual process of muscle loss.
In studies, Le Brasseur and his colleagues found that a poor diet and a lack of exercise can actually accelerate the onset of cellular senescence( senescent cells are cells that contribute to diseases and conditions associated with age).
" Some of us believe that ageing is just something that happens to all of us and it ' s just a predestined fate, and by the time I turn 65 or 70 or 80, I will have Alzheimer ' s disease and cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis,” says Le Brasseur.
He counters that commonly held belief by stating that a healthy diet and exercise can help improve our condition as we age.“ We need to find ways to increase our habitual activity levels to stay healthy and prevent processes that drive ageing and ageingrelated diseases.”
Exercise, in fact, prevents premature senescent cell accumulation and protects against the damaging effects of an unhealthy diet, including deficiencies in physical, heart and metabolic function.“ We think at both a biological level and a clinical level, poor nutrition choices and inactive lifestyles do accelerate ageing.”
When it comes to sarcopenia, exercise has been shown to increase strength, aerobic capacity and muscle protein synthesis, as well as to increase muscle mitochondrial enzyme activity in both young and older people.
Resistance exercise in particular has been shown to decrease frailty and improve muscle strength in very elderly adults. Lower body, abdominal and postural strength are especially critical to maintain strength when you get older. Exercising with some form of resistance is therefore recommended on most days of the week in older individuals, but a minimum of three times per week is recommended to slow muscle loss and prevent sarcopenia.
“ WE THINK AT BOTH A BIOLOGICAL LEVEL AND A CLINICAL LEVEL, POOR NUTRITION CHOICES AND INACTIVE
LIFESTYLES DO ACCELERATE AGEING.”
❱❱ PROLONGING THE JOURNEY
Often a bodybuilder’ s ability to continue training into their twilight years hinges on the approach they adopted early on in their careers. When we’ re young we have a more potent hormonal system, which is primed for building muscle, bolstering strength, and accelerating recovery from training, often with a lower risk of injury to joints and soft tissue.
As such, longevity in bodybuilding is not something most younger lifters think about, but it should be if you want a long and successful run in the weights room. Far too often misguided exuberance and a testosterone-fuelled drive to succeed at all costs results in burnout and injuries. How then can you prolong your journey?
IMPORTANT KEYS TO LONGEVITY ARE:
OUTGROW YOUR EGO When we first start out in the gym we want to do our best and impress everyone around us. We lift weights to get super muscular, strong and large. To achieve this most of us will toil under the maximum amount of weight we can handle, every day of every week for months on end, but somewhere down the line our body eventually gives out under the colossal load. If you don ' t learn to subdue your ego you will end up paying the price in the form of an injury, with wrecked joints and ligaments as you get older. Building a better body takes time and patience, with the right combination of volume and intensity. Don ' t be that guy who is bench pressing with a spotter doing upright rows on the other end of the bar! Don ' t allow your ego to call the shots!
Always warm-up properly before hitting the weights and cycle your training with heavy and lighter days.
BECOME A FORM“ NAZI” You can immediately boost longevity in the sport of bodybuilding if you lower the bone-crushing weight you are working with and start focusing on the form you ' re using to execute a lift. Form( and not poundage) is king in the weights room. If you lift with good form you reduce the risk of injury, and minimise unnecessary aches and pains. Use poundages that are manageable without having to rely on momentum to complete a movement. Of course, risk comes with the territory, but if you use proper form you limit your chances of injury. Your goal should therefore be to lift as heavy as possible while still staying in control to ensure you make optimal progress in your workouts.
“ FORM( AND NOT POUNDAGE) IS KING IN THE WEIGHTS ROOM. IF YOU LIFT WITH GOOD FORM YOU REDUCE THE RISK OF
INJURY, AND MINIMISE UNNECESSARY ACHES AND PAINS. USE POUNDAGES THAT ARE MANAGEABLE WITHOUT HAVING TO
RELY ON MOMENTUM TO COMPLETE A MOVEMENT.”
30 Muscle Evolution