Another birthday is met by an avalanche of cards to remind you that your body parts don’t work so well, you don’t have the puff to blow out your candles, and age is just a number although in your case, a big one! Sure, the cards are funny and, for some people, may be true, but not for those who measure age in functional years.
Measuring age in functional years is a better indication of health, longevity, and quality of life because, unlike chronological age you can turn back the functional clock.
How we age is largely dependent on strength, mobility, cardio fitness, metabolic and psychosocial health. Using an evidence-based assessment process in each of these areas, a university-trained exercise physiologist can design an exercise program targeting areas that need the most work.
Central to everything is strength. By strengthening muscles in the legs, abdomen, back and hips, the body is stabilised dramatically, reducing the risk of falls among older adults. Metabolic health is also improved by strength training. Between 60 and 70, more muscle is lost than at any other stage of life leading to a reduced basal metabolic rate. Strength training helps to increase lean muscle mass, metabolism, and reduce body fat. From a health perspective, this leads to a reduced risk of chronic disease including, but not limited to, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and osteoarthritis.
“When we build muscle mass, flexibility, and cardio fitness, we see improvements in metabolic, and invariably mental health. The net result is a drop in functional years,” says physiologist Ben Kayser from Dee Why’s Club Active, an over 50’s exercise physiology clinic and fitness club.
In simple terms it means that everyday tasks are easier. It’s also a safeguard for the future: If you want to be active and able in your 80s and 90s, you need to work on your functional health well before you reach that age.
Working to reduce functional years is a far cry from the days where we joined the gym in our 20s and 30s with the sole reason to look better. Today, men and women over 50 have a much more compelling reason to show up two to three times a week. Being able to throw the doona onto the bed, carry the shopping effortlessly, play with the kids, and lift the smelly dog in and out of the laundry basin, are simple things that can become increasingly hard when we slow down and stop working our bodies.
Osteoporosis, heart disease, and osteoarthritis may seem legitimate reasons to take it easy when precisely the opposite is true. Studies show that muscle mass, independent of fat mass, cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors, is inversely associated with mortality risk in older adults. The processes that occur in the body when we train not only improve the quality of life but have been associated with longevity – they actually help us live longer. The effort is well worth the rewards.
So, how do you get started on improving your longevity?
- Schedule an appointment with a university-trained allied health professional for an initial assessment.
- Receive a targeted resistance-based exercise program, and instructions on how to perform the exercises safely and effectively.
- Attend three training sessions a week.
- Prevent falls by practising daily balance and flexibility exercise.
- Eat a healthy diet and limit alcohol intake.
- Aim to get eight hours sleep a night.
Club Active is an over 50s exercise physiologist clinic and fitness club. For further information, visit www.clubactive.com. au or call 9189 9558.
By Judy Davie