Exercise to Lose Weight

Did you know that your strength peaks around 25 years of age, plateaus through 35 or 40 years of age, and then shows an accelerating decline, with 25% loss of peak force by the age of 65 years? But don’t surrender and reach for the couch and potato chips just yet.

Here’s the good news: Many age-associated health declines occur not because of the aging process itself, but as a result of our lifestyle habits, including exercise. Exercise including increasing your strength and flexibility, can help you prevent injuries and slow the age-associated loss of muscle function. Learn the value of weight training and find out how you can bring easy to follow strength-training exercises into your daily life.

This is great news. It is true. Research now indicates that strength is based more upon "use it or lose it" than aging itself. You can easily regain muscle strength with simple resistance training exercises. Strength training can be performed at your gym or at home using inexpensive weights or the resistance of your own body. Exercises like push-ups, dips, squats, leg lifts or by using resistance such as hand weights, bands or tubing can create great effects. You will look and feel better.

Not convinced yet, here are just a few benefits of weight training:

• Increases your Lean Body Mass, which causes you to burn more calories through the day.
• Reverses some of the natural effects of aging.
• Tones your muscles, which then look great and give you more confidence.
• Strengthens your bones, reducing your risk of developing osteoporosis.
• Makes your daily activities easier.
• Decreases your risk of back injuries.
• Decreases your resting blood pressure.
• Decreases your risk of developing adult onset diabetes.
• Increases your good cholesterol levels ( HDL)
• Improves your posture.
• Improves the functioning of your immune system.
• Lowers your resting heart rate.
• Improves your balance and coordination.
• Elevates your mood.

That old cliché ‘Use it or Lose it’ may be true when it comes to exercise. So grab a friend and get active for your health’s sake.

You can start a routine today. Pick three exercises that you feel would make you feel better physically. Make a choice to spend ten minutes each morning or evening doing three sets of ten of these three exercises. You can mix in other exercises down the road but for now focus on this simple routine. It will get your body used to the idea of moving. Our bodies love to move so keep it moving with routines that will soon become part of your daily living experience.

A simple set of routines might be push ups, sit-ups or crunches and squats. You might do three sets of ten exercises each. Start with push-ups for example, do ten push-ups and rest for 30 seconds before doing ten more. In time you will be able to do more, but start with ten to get you going. After three sets, move onto the next exercise. You will start feeling a sense of accomplishment. This will allow you to consider a routine that involves more. You will soon notice yourself wanting to exercise as our bodies are made to do.

The benefits to exercise are clear: increased strength, flexibility, and muscle tone. Enjoy the feeling of coming alive as your body responds to the simple conditioning program.