If you’re over 50 your fitness depends on many factors,  some we can control and unfortunately some we can’t. Many of the ones that we have no control over are hereditary, they just “run in the family”. These would be things like heart disease, diabetes and even obesity. One thing beyond everyone’s ability to do anything about though regardless of who their parents are is aging. Or is it really?

As the body ages it sometimes tends to stoop, the skin begins to sag, movement can become slower and uncoordinated. This is all a result of loss of muscle mass, a condition known as sarcopenia. For most of the history of mankind these traits were considered a given. Part of the aging process and nothing could be done about it. Luckily today research upon research has determined that sarcopenia or at least profound sarcopenia is NOT inevitable.

True, there are some contributing factors of sarcopenia that are still beyond our reach such as disease and environmental factors but as it pertains to getting older the main causes that we CAN affect are hormone changes, protein deficiency and motor unit restructuring.

Muscle is made up of proteins. The body is in a constant state of trying to reach a balance between making more protein and using what protein there is available for energy. These processes are called synthesis and metabolism respectively.

The body can produce some proteins itself by converting amino acids. Other needed proteins cannot be made by the body and are acquired from outside sources, these are called “essential proteins” and are derived from the foods that we eat.

As we age, withstanding disease or trauma, we never stop metabolizing proteins but we do steadily lessen the ability to synthesize our own internally. It is thought that this is due to the decrease in hormones testosterone and HGH or human growth hormone. This is where protein and hormone loss contributes to the aging process.

Motor Unit Restructuring happens when the signaling mechanisms (motor neurons) that control the muscles start to die off. There are two types of these neurons, ones that control fast movement and ones that control slower movement. It seems that the ones that control fast movement die first, when this happens the other slower neurons step in and take their place. This is good because other-wise the muscle would die too, but it does noticeably slow the reaction time between thought and movement. It also can cause slooped posture and sagging skin.

Next time I will talk about ways to minimize or reverse the effects of sarcopenia.

Being fit over 50 can mean different things to different people. Do you aspire to compete in an over 50 age group marathon or iron man competition? Or are you more like me and simply want to maintain or improve your quality of life as the senior years approach. I assure you that I’m no threat to finish in the top 10 of any marathon (probably not even the top 50) but when I look around at others my age I do think that I’m healthier and fitter than at least 80 percent of my age group.

It hasn’t always been that way. My fitness journey began back in 2007. My employer partnered with the local medical center and had an on-site “wellness” check for any employee that signed up. This was a yearly event that I had skipped in the past but decided that with the big  five ohh fast approaching (I was 48 at the time) that it would be a good idea to see just where I was physically. Sure I knew that I had gained a few inches around the middle and I did feel rather lethargic some days but I just chalked it up to sitting behind a desk all day, other than that I considered myself in pretty good shape for a person my age.

The results of the wellness check shocked me. My blood pressure was alarmingly high, my cholesterol and triglyceride levels were way off and i had elevated levels of protein in the blood. Thank God that I didn’t pass on the wellness check any longer.

I  immediately started going to the gym (I had been a member for years but rarely went), slowly changed my diet (I was surprised when one day I realized that I hadn’t picked up the salt shaker in weeks), and started learning how to better manage and in some cases eliminate stress in my life.

For the first 2 years I was almost obsessed with getting fit. Fit over 50 became my mantra. What I found out eventually  though was that it  doesn’t take as much effort to stay in shape as it took to get in shape. So today I spend 4 or 5 hours a week in the gym and although I watch what I eat I do allow myself a treat every now and then – okay maybe more often than every now and then. Today although I’m not about to compete in any Iron Man events, I am much healthier and happier than I was just a few years ago.

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