
Aging gracefully ...is it possible?
On this Fitness Friday I want to address something that we'll all have to deal with eventually ...getting older. You may only be in your 20's. Or maybe you're closer to 60. But whatever your age, you're older today than you were yesterday. Take a look at this sign? Is this what you picture for yourself one day?
Now before you start feeling depressed, I want to tell you that there are certain things you can do to prevent that from happening.
And to all of my friends who think that just because they're a certain age they should start slowing down; I say NO WAY!
I've got a new medical word for you. It's called "sarcopenia".
What is it? Sarcopenia is a weakened condition caused by a change in body composition from the loss of muscle mass and an increase in fat.
The bottom line is that as people get older they tend to become more sedentary and so they lose much of their muscle mass. At the same time, the fat on their body increases. And one of the areas where the fat accumulates is around the abdomen.
It becomes a vicious cycle. People tend to sit around because they're feeling tired, thinking they just need more rest. But they actually get more tired from being sedentary and on and on it goes. Something has to change if you want a different outcome, right? And of course, I'm getting to that. It's called ...exercise!
Big surprise. But you know this is Fitness Friday!
Actually the older we get the more important it is to continue to get exercise.
Losing weight might be important but consider focusing on building muscle at the expense of fat.
There's just no getting around it. If you want to have energy for whatever you enjoy doing and you don't want to become old and frail, you've got to ...exercise!

And building muscle is the key to feeling better, especially as you get older.
Now don't worry about becoming muscle bound. Women do not build muscle like men.
But I have to say that I wouldn't mind having the muscle tone of Nicole C. Mullen. How about you?
BTW, Sandy is on hiatus from Fitness Friday for a bit because she's in the midst of posting about what the Lord has been saying to her. Of course, you know her blog is called ...God Speaks Today.
I'll be back next Friday to share more tips on aging gracefully. So, no matter what your age, it's never too late or too early to get started.

(Elderly people sign photo credit: Freefoto)