BENDING THE AGING CURVE

                                                  BENDING THE AGING CURVE

     It can be depressing to look at graphs that demonstrate our physical decline as we age. The lines representing the average person’s strength, power, flexibility and cardiovascular capacity trend steeply downward from our twenties to our eighties.

     Unfortunately, these declines are inevitable. But to a significant degree, we can control the rate at which we decline. In his meticulously researched book Bending the Aging Curve, Joseph Signorile, PhD, tells us how the proper exercise can help us stay younger longer.

     Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. At age eighty, most people’s cardiovascular capacity—the ability to process oxygen—is about half of what it was at twenty. Our connective tissue, which envelops all our organs and muscles, grows increasingly less elastic so we lose flexibility and mobility. As we lose muscle mass, we lose strength. More importantly, the fast-twitch muscle fibers that create power (the ability to use your strength to produce speed) degrade more quickly than slow-twitch endurance fibers. This is why marathoners in their forties have run close to world-class times while sprinters in their forties have no chance against younger competitors.

     The good news is that Signorile has some effective solutions.

     “The most effective training method for making positive changes in fat and lean tissue is interval training.” It’s also by far the best way to increase your cardiovascular capacity. Rather than running, swimming or biking at a steady pace for half an hour or more, just push the pace for a minute or less, allow yourself to recover and repeat. Numerous studies have shown huge improvement from thrice-weekly sessions comprising thirty seconds of hard effort followed by four minutes of recovery repeated eight times.

     For muscle mass and power, it’s simple: lift weights. To get cardiovascular benefits from your resistance training, perform your exercises in circuit fashion, moving from one movement to another with limited rest.

     For flexibility the answer is obvious: stretch. You don’t have to become a yoga master, but you do have to be consistent. Flexibility degrades quickly, so developing a daily routine is best.

     “Many exercise prescriptions,” Signorile warns, “concentrate on only one aspect of fitness, often to detriment of others.” A truly effective fitness program incorporates cardiovascular, strength and flexibility training. Don’t be a dot on the depressing graph of average age decline. Get active and make yourself exceptional.