We all know that our bodies get older, and sometimes our bodies even feel older, but did you know that you could do something to resist and even reverse the ageing process?
MUSCLE LOSS STARTS YOUNG – From the age of 30 onwards, there is a gradual loss of muscle fibres. This often does not get noticed until you begin to experience the loss in terms of less speed, strength, balance and loss of muscle bulk and increased muscle fat. Muscle atrophy is when muscles waste away and the main reason for muscle wasting is a lack of physical activity. Strong muscles are super important! Strong muscles will help you:
· Have good posture.
· Have healthy joints, tendons and bones.
· Decrease your risk of injury.
· Decrease your risk of falls.
· To continue to play the sport you love and do other recreational activities.
· Have good balance.
· Increase your metabolism.
· Burn more calories at rest.
· Feel more energetic and tire less easily.
· Have good muscle tone.
GOOD NEWS – By doing strength and resistance exercises regularly, not only can you prevent muscle loss, but you can also build and increase your muscle strength! I always include strength and resistance exercises in all of my classes, and even though there are lots of groans and moans at the time, the benefits out weigh the short period of effort and all my students know they are doing their body some good!
AGE IS NO EXCUSE – No excuse whatsoever. If you don’t believe me, a study was undertaken in Boston by scientists on a group of 85-97 year olds. After 3 months of resistance exercise for 3 sessions a week, their strength had improved on average by 134%. Amazing!
A LITTLE WORD ON MUSCLE FIBRES – We have two types, fast twitch (think sprinters) and slow twitch (think marathon runners). It is important to work both type of muscle fibres. Slow twitch muscle fibres are responsible for endurance, such as your postural muscles. Fast twitch muscle fibres are the ones that give us strength. They are powerful and tire easily. In both my yoga and pilates classes I include exercises that train both types of muscle fibres.
THE IMPORTANCE OF FLEXIBLE MUSCLES – Short and tight muscles result in inflexibility. A lack of flexibility is bad news, here are just some reasons why:
– Tight muscles reduce your range of motion.
– Tight muscles and reduced range of motion are re the enemy of any sports player!
– Puts you at risk of injury.
– Bad news for your joints!
– Can cause or contribute to poor posture!
– Bad posture = bad for your spine, and doesn’t look good!
WHY I USE MY TRAINING IN YOGA & PILATES FOR PREVENTING AN AGEING BODY – I am so passionate about the benefits of yoga and pilates for everyone! For me, yoga and pilates is a whole-body functional and holistic exercise system that has enabled me to get stronger and more flexible with age, not less. Our muscles do not work in isolation and so in class we train our muscles using functional movement, this also leads to balance in our bodies, balanced muscles and also balance in terms of our strength and flexibility – perfect!!
PILATES & YOGA FOR EVERYONE – I work hard to plan my classes to include levels for all the exercises so there is something for everyone to do and feel appropriately challenged. I also have a whole range of classes so there is something for everyone. If you want to experience how my classes can benefit you or if you wish to have a tailored one-to-one, please do not hesitate to get in contact with me – info@elizabethnadine.com.
Wishing you a very happy and healthy Christmas and New Year!