The bad news is that you are getting older every day. The good news is that exercise keeps you young. It reduces your risk for serious diseases like heart disease, diabetes and some cancers and increases your energy and stamina. There are real reasons why it's harder to exercise when you're over 40. But there's no good reason to let the barriers stand in your way of pulling on your workout clothes. Just make sure to check with your physician for any restrictions.
Loss of Muscle Mass
You lose about ½ lb. of muscle mass each year, beginning in your 30s, states Fitness Director Wayne L. Westcott in an article for the YMCA. By age 40, if you haven't worked at keeping and building muscle mass, your loss could be even greater. You may not notice the loss in everyday activities, but once you get on the treadmill or try to lift what used to be an easy weight, you might find that it takes greater effort to sustain an intense workout. Luckily, everyone, even adults in their 80s and 90s, can rebuild muscles mass with strength training.
Loss of Aerobic Capacity
As you age, your lungs lose their capacity to take in oxygen at the same rate that they did when you were younger, making it harder for you to catch your breath during exercise. In a 2005 study by the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, researchers found that aerobic capacity begins declining 3 to 6 percent each decade once you enter your 20s or 30s, reports the website Daily News Central. People who exercise more strenuously can decrease their loss significantly.
Changes at the Cellular Level
Your cells age along with your muscles. They multiply less quickly; can malfunction more readily, causing diseases such as cancer; and sometimes die from toxins that build up in your body, such as nerve cells which atrophy with Parkinson's disease. At age 40, you may notice that your ability to spring back from a particularly hard workout takes a day or two longer. Your sore muscles from a day of squats and lunges take three days to recover instead of one or two.
Changes in Body Weight
Due to changes in your hormones and your cells, your body weight begins to rise as you age. According to the American Geriatrics Society, this effect happens to Americans more than to people in other cultures, suggesting that weight gains after age 40 can be controlled. AGS adds that the proportion of fat to muscle in your body also changes with age, doubling between the ages of 25 and 75. Exercising with more weight on your frame is definitely more difficult, and because your metabolism is slower than that of a younger person, losing that weight is more difficult, as well.
References
- Harvard Health Publications; Exercise; Harvard Medical School; 2009
- YMCA; Strength Training for Seniors; Wayne L. Westcott, Ph.D., C.S.C.S.
- Daily News Central: Aging Saps Aerobic Capacity -- Exercise Helps Offset Decline
- The American Geriatrics Source Foundation for Health in Aging: The Aging Process
