A visit to the GP earlier this week reminded me of the importance of maintaining our muscles as best as we can throughout our life. Muscles don’t maintain their strength unless we continue to use them and they will start to shrink and lose power. It is generally recommended that we start making concerted efforts to exercise from the age of 40 with a view to reducing this; muscle loss otherwise will start at a rate of 1-2% from the age of 35 (source: Harvard Health) and will reach around 3% by the age of 60.
The main benefits of including exercise in our life to keep up our muscles will help with
- Maintaining the integrity of our skeleton which is vital.
- Helping with balance and stablity which helps to minimise falls, particularly as we age
- Using our muscles, particularly during exercise helps to keep bones strong.
- Keeping our joints moving which, together with the right supplements as we age will reduce the pain associated with arthritis.
Since the riding school closed in January, I’ve no longer been mucking out and pushing barrows up the muck heap on a daily basis and had been noticing the difference… oh the dreaded bingo wings phobia – argghhhhhh !!
I was therefore really pleased to find out that PureGym had last opened a new facility nearby which is open 24 x 7 and offers a range of classes which are included in their monthly fee as well as the ability to just train on the equipment provided. Even better was finding a friend of a friend who I have met several times before trains daily and was happy to teach me the ropes. Our first session together was nearly two hours and the following day, it felt really good to feel the slight ache around my shoulders – I messaged her saying “am I sad to be feeling really good about the new aches”…
Having said this, you don’t have to join a gym or pay monthly fees to access an app; you can start by walking around a park or other suitable safe location, there are some useful videos you can watch on YouTube and you don’t even need specialist equipment. Using a couple of tins from the cupboard or just buying some weights online will help to add to your workout. I do push offs the wall in my bedroom at least four times a day as I walk past and while I’m waiting for the kettle to boil, it’s easy to fit in a few squats which help with the glutes.
We have a couple of physical training members here who can advise if you have any questions, so don’t hesitate to reach out.
