Exercise Tips for Preventing Muscle, Bone and Joint Problems as You Age

Tip! Test the padding of your workout bench by pressing on the cushion before beginning your workout. If you can easily feel the wood underneath the padding, you should select a different machine.

As we get older, we start to lose muscle due to hormonal changes, along with a lack of protein and exercise. Muscle loss can also start to cause joint problems especially in the hips and knees because muscle helps stabilize bones. And if you have certain medical conditions such as heart, kidney and diabetes disease, it can accelerate the loss of muscle.

Tip! Remember to tighten your glutes each time you do a rep of a weight-lifting exercise involving lifting weights over your head. That helps give your butt mucles a great workout, but you are also able to protect yourself from injury because you are going to position yourself more efficiently.

It is important to do what you can to protect muscle as diminished muscle mass may cause bad posture, breathing problems, lack of balance resulting in falls, and even mental conditions such as depression. While many people consider losing muscle mass as just collateral damage of the aging process, it doesn't have to be that way. Hormonal Replacement Therapy

Tip! You should give you body the appropriate amount of rest. Most trainers believe you should rest only between certain sets, when you start a different exercise.

For example if the cause of muscle loss is due to low testosterone, hormonal replacement therapy can bring the level back up where it should be. If your level is low or not, a simple test at the doctor's office can confirm.


Eat More Protein

Tip! Try out television workouts. Watch a fitness program, or find the exercise channel or on-demand video provided by your tv company.

Because a lack of protein is a cause of muscle loss in more mature adults, ensure you are eating good lean sources of it each day, including chicken breasts, fish, egg whites and turkey. Strive to eat at least seven grams of protein per twenty pounds of body weight daily.

Tip! Icing the area is a must if you sprain your muscles. This will help reduce swelling and redness in the area.

Stay away from heavy sauces, fried foods and many of the bakery products as they are loaded with saturated fat, sugar and sodium-- all of which are not good for you. Exercise More And the last one, exercise, is more important now that it was when you were younger, yet many seniors don't work out at all.

Not only will it make your arthritic joints feel better by keeping them moving, it is important to preserve (and even build) muscle. That will loosen up most of your large muscle groups. Once the muscles are warmed up do some light strength training, such as weight lifting, to increase muscular strength.

Tip! Add exercises into your cleaning routine. If you're cleaning a spill or stain on the floor, try doing lunge reps.

As you can see by keeping the proper testosterone level, eating adequate protein and exercising regularly, you can stall (or at least slow down) the aging process and resulting loss of muscle. By maintaining adequate muscle, you can also stave off bone and joint problems.

Tip! Large muscle groups suffer less fatigue than their smaller counterparts. Start the workout using hand-held dumbbells and work your way up to barbells.

As we grow older, we start to lose muscle due to hormonal changes, along with a lack of protein and exercise. Because muscle helps stabilize bones, muscle loss can also start to cause joint problems especially in the hips and knees. And if you have certain medical conditions such as diabetes, heart and kidney disease, it can accelerate the loss of muscle. Once the muscles are warmed up do some light strength training, such as weight lifting, to increase muscular strength.