Maintaining muscle mass is quite challenging for seniors, who are required to work on this aspect of their fitness more frequently than younger individuals. While a personal trainer can help you build muscle, you should inform yourself more about this topic to prevent muscle loss and achieve optimal results. From joining quick workouts for seniors in San Diego to engaging in the right type of activity, seniors can follow a few important steps to rebuild their muscles.
Building muscles make you feel more confident about your body, but it will also provide you with additional health benefits. Remember that even if you come across certain physical challenges, overcoming them is possible. If you’re determined and have the support you need.
Can seniors build muscle?
As you grow older, you’ll notice a significant loss of strength and muscle mass. Aside from demotivating you, this can also interfere with your everyday life and increase the risk of injuries.
So, you may be wondering if there’s a way to prevent muscle loss and even continue to build and tone your muscles. And the simple answer is yes! It’s more than possible for seniors to build muscle as long as they exercise regularly and engage in resistance training.
In fact, studies have shown that seniors can increase their muscle mass by 2.5% in just five months. However, this does require consistency, a tailored training program, and personal dedication.
How can building muscle benefit seniors?
As already mentioned, building muscle will not only increase your strength and boost your confidence but also benefit your overall health in many ways, including:
- Reduced risk of osteoporosis. Building muscle also enhances your bone density and joint health, which consequently decreases your chances of suffering from osteoporosis.
- Prevention of chronic diseases. This is particularly beneficial for seniors suffering from arthritis, diabetes, depression, and other chronic conditions.
- Improved sleep. This is another important benefit of strength training for seniors. By working on your muscle mass, you’ll also improve your sleep quality, which will have a positive effect on your overall health. Sleep is crucial for body recovery and regeneration.
- Enhanced flexibility and balance. Increased muscle mass can also help you enhance your flexibility levels and overall balance, which protects you from falls and injuries.
Can you rebuild muscle after 60?
Some seniors may wonder whether it is even possible to rebuild their muscle mass after they turn 60. For some seniors, recovering their muscle mass may seem too challenging or impossible.
However, this is just a common misconception. Numerous studies have shown that older muscles can still grow and become stronger. One of the most important things is that you engage in a gradual, regular weight training. You also need to adhere to a healthy diet and develop appropriate exercise habits.
In addition, you should consider joining quick workouts for seniors in San Diego and working out with a personal trainer. There are many advantages of exercising with a personal instructor and controlled and progressive muscle growth is definitely one of them.
Furthermore, building muscle at the age of 60 and later can help you prevent and alleviate the symptoms of sarcopenia (degenerative muscle loss), including:
- Loss of stamina that leads to reduced physical activity
- Reduced ability of your body to turn protein into energy
- Muscle hypoplasia (muscle size and fiber decrease)
- Inability to climb stairs or keep your balance
- Decreased hormone levels
How can seniors improve muscle tone?
Now that you know that building muscle mass is more than possible even if you’re over 60, you need to find out how you can achieve this fitness objective. The right approach will help you achieve the desired results gradually without the risk of injury or overexertion. In order to tone your muscles and improve your strength and balance as you get older, start by learning about the areas you need to focus on:
- Proper warm-up. Seniors often experience problems with their joints, so it’s essential you take enough time to warm up before engaging in strength training. This pre-workout warm-up will release synovial fluid into your joint cavities and enable nutrients and oxygen to reach them.
- Balance exercising. Another important aspect of your fitness you need to improve is your balance. Improved balance will benefit your resistance training and vice versa, enabling you to reap maximum benefits from both types of exercises.
- Enhancing glute muscles. Glute medius and glute maximums are two types of muscles in charge of your posture and movements. Losing strength in these muscles typically leads to low back pain in seniors.
- Improving your diet. Nutrition is crucial for building muscle mass, especially for seniors. Adequate protein intake and the timing of its consumption can help you preserve your muscle mass and muscle function and prevent muscle deterioration.
- Boosting overall muscle power. Muscle power and strength are two different things. To enhance your muscle power, you can focus on some everyday movements. For instance, when climbing stairs or getting off a chair, you should try to do it quickly because this will improve your muscle power.
- Working out with a personal fitness trainer. Strength training can be extremely difficult for some seniors, so it’s better to start working on it in a controlled environment and with a qualified professional. In addition, your personal instructor will focus on your needs while also giving you access to all the necessary equipment.
- Resting enough. Weight and strength training can be truly stressful for your body, so you need to get enough rest after each session. If you don’t let your muscles recover, you’ll be at risk of injury and muscle damage. You should rest at least two or three days a week.
We bring you quick workouts for seniors in San Diego for optimal results
At Leo’s Fitness Lab, you can engage in 20-minute activities that provide maximum health and fitness benefits thanks to our high-tech equipment. Once you decide to start exercising, rebuild your muscle mass and improve your overall health, you should rely on our team of professional instructors to guide you every step of the way.
We’re the #1 choice of seniors across San Diego since we boast unmatched facilities and unrivaled personal trainers. Our entire team is dedicated to helping you get back into shape so you can go hiking through Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve without any muscle ache. Join our fitness laboratory today!
