The Swedish Pilates Studio

Stay fit and fool time!!!

Age is on everyone’s tongue these days and believe it or not we can actually control it. 

Just imaging being 85 and have a metabolic age of 40, you might say that is not possible, but more and more studies show that it is very much possible. We can even restore our brain, but I’ll leave that discussion for another time.

We sometimes say that age is just a number, and it couldn’t be truer. An overweight 30 year old that spends most of his/her time in front of a computer at work and in front of a TV at home, could have a metabolic age on 70 or 75 years old.

A Swedish study has been done with men 80 years old and older, the oldest where 93. All the men were still keen cross-country skiers. In the control group you also had healthy 80+ year olds that only did short slow walks with the dog.

The study shows the group of men that did the skiing, moderate to high-intensity training, had a fitness level as an average 40 year old, but the control groups’ fitness were on a level expected of an 80 year old.

15-20 years ago we didn’t discuss much about strength training and what effect muscles had on an aging body. We now know that all our welfare diseases are direct or indirect connected to muscle atrophy. Higher muscle mass will decrease the risk many of the chronic metabolic disease like diabetes, since the body can more easily regulate blood sugar levels.

Metabolic age is different from chronological age. Your chronological age is your age by calendar years, while metabolic age depends on your metabolism or overall chemical processes of the body, which are based on your health. Metabolic age is measured by comparing muscles mass and weight. Older individuals tend to have lower caloric requirements for a variety of reasons, ranging from a reduction of physical activities which reduces the demand on calories for energy to a reduction of muscle which also reduces the body's need for energy.

Your muscles and internal organs are lean tissues. People who age well, who seem to be far younger than their years, retain their lean tissue mass. The more lean tissue you have the longer life.   

So to stay physically and mentally young, keep your muscles strong and keep your cardio training on a moderate to high intensity.

Invite me for your 100-year birthday party!!!!!  

Yours in Health & Fitness,
Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au