5 October 2008 85 views No Comment Print This Post  Email This Post

By Al Sears, MD

The first step to stop physical aging is to recognize the changes taking place. When youre a child, you can easily measure the physical changes as you grow taller and gain weight. But once you become an adult, physical aging is more difficult to monitor because changes arent as dramatic. But that doesnt mean they dont exist…
As the years go by your pants fit a little tighter. Lifting those boxes of holiday decorations out of the attic is harder each year. And eventually for many people, taking the stairs gets them out of breath by the 2nd floor! But that doesnt mean you have to accept it…
You can stop and even reverse all of these changes. Effectively address the physical signs of aging and your “health span” will soar and youll look and feel younger. Today youll learn specifically how to:
• Build muscle you thought was gone forever.
• Boost your lung capacity for better endurance.
• Strengthen your bones (it has nothing to do with taking calcium!)
• Improve your hearts pumping ability for an ageless heart.
• Melt away excess fat around your middle.
• Return your strength and speed to youthful levels.

Muscle Itself Is a Sign of Youth

Healthy Muscle:

• Reduces risk of bone fractures by supporting bones
• Improves sexual health by stimulating sexual hormone production
• Makes you appear younger by stimulating human growth hormone
• Keeps you trim by boosting your metabolic rate
• Gives you more energy by storing more glycogen
• Decreases risk of disease by strengthening your immune system
• Prevents chronic pain like back pain by building surrounding tissues and ligaments

The first physical sign of aging is muscle. People who age well, who seem to be far younger than their years, are well muscled. This healthy muscle protects your body from aches and pains, disease and other age related ailments…
Muscle loss begins at about age 30. From then on, you lose an average of 3 pounds of muscle every decade. Most people feel a bit weaker but for the most part, they dont notice any difference in size. Why? Because this muscle is replaced with fat.
But it doesnt have to be. Muscle loss is preventable and completely reversible. Ive seen patients of all ages regain 100% of their youthful muscle mass! The Evergreen Project is currently studying the effects of muscle building on aging. Researchers are monitoring exercisers between the ages of 65 and 94. They have found that the more muscle the participants have, the longer their life spans. They also have fewer illnesses and better mental function.
To make a big difference, muscle-building exercise must engage the biggest muscle groups in your body: the quadriceps, the gluteus muscles, and the hamstrings. Perform exercises that flex and extend the hip joint. Do exercises that provide resistance through a broad range of motion at the hip joint. This can include weight training, bicycling, stair-steppers and elliptical machines, or walking up and down stairs.

Fat is a Negative Sign of Aging

Increasing body fat is the second physical sign of aging. If you dont act to prevent it, fat slowly but relentlessly moves into your cells and pads your waist for no reason other than age. But again, this shift is not inevitable. You can manage it if you know how.
Several tests can identify and track this change in fat. The most accurate test is the hydrostatic body fat test. It works like this: you get into a tank of water and go under. Test takers record your weight while youre underwater. You can get a hydrostatic test at some health clubs, university health centers and hospitals. You can also measure fat yourself with a set of calipers. Whats a youthful body fat range for a man? 10-14%; for a woman it is 15-25%.
So you need to drop a few pounds of fat? Dont jump on the treadmill just yet. Fat loss starts with adequate protein. Over-consume protein, and minimize everything else. This is the one piece of advice where I get the most resistance. If you can have some faith and try it, youll see too how much easier it makes losing weight and achieving a more youthful body.
Finally, you need to perform effective fat burning exercise. Short bursts of exercise burn fat best. Short bursts will use energy from carbohydrates stored in muscle rather than from fat. Carbs are capable of burning energy at a much higher rate. You then burn much more fat for energy during the recovery period as you replenish the carbs. Short bursts of exercise are better for your heart and lungs too.

Build Strong Bones that are Resistant to Age

Bone loss is the third physical sign of aging. Just like muscle, you lose bone every year. In fact, research shows adults lose 1% of bone mass annually. With loss of bone minerals, your bones become lighter, more porous, weaker and at greater risk for fracture.
Unfortunately, ordinary X-rays cant detect bone loss in its early stages. A bone must lose at least a full quarter of its weight before a standard X-ray can see the problem. Instead, have a bone mineral density test (BMD) done. The best BMDs test the bones of your lower spine and hip. These areas are at higher risk for fracture as you age.
If your BMD detects trouble, you can increase bone density and strength with weight-bearing exercise such as walking, bicycling, swimming or weight training. Focus on increasing intensity in all of these exercises. Taking calcium will have little effect on this hormone-driven loss of bone with age. You can help reverse the process with the only vitamin that is actually a hormone, vitamin D. For maximal anti-aging preservation of bone, take 400 IU of vitamin D daily.

Boost Your Lung Capacity for Longevity

As the years pass, your lung volume decreases making lung capacity the fourth and one of the best signs of physical age. Your doctor can give you a pulmonary function test (PFT) to check your lung capacity. This test is not invasive or dangerous. I find it very valuable at my Wellness Center to monitor the benefits of exercise at reversing the loss of lung volume that afflicts so many older people.
I have found that the right physical challenge can reverse this loss of lung volume. For fast results, use a progressive exercise plan like my PACE® program. The idea behind PACE® is to advance the intensity of your exercise gradually through time. As simple as this seems, very few people do it. But this is what makes all exercise effective. For more information visit my website, www.alsearsmd.com.

Build an Ageless Heart

Many men and women dont realize somethings wrong with their heart until its too late — when theyre in the emergency room after a heart attack. Yet the real problem started years earlier. You can measure this gradual loss of heart capacity. Its your fifth physical sign of age.
You can easily gauge your heart with a resting and recovery heart rate. Lets do resting first. Locate your pulse, anywhere an artery passes close to the skin will do. You can use your wrist, neck, temple, or top of the foot. Most people use the wrist. If you cant feel the pulse in your wrist, place the same two fingers just to the side of your Adam’s apple, in the soft hollow area at the side of your neck.
Your pulse should have a steady, regular rhythm. Your heart rate will increase slightly when you deeply inhale and drop slightly when you exhale. Count the number of beats for 15 seconds, then multiply by 4 to get the beats per minute. See how you rank using the chart below.
Check Your Resting Heart Rate
Fitness level Beats per minute (bpm)
Normal Adult 60-100
Well-Conditioned Athletes 40-60

How Fit Is Your Heart?

Now check your recovery heart rate. Its a good gauge of heart fitness. To start, walk out and get the mail, or walk around in your house for a couple of minutes. Then take your pulse. Remember the number; its your normal activity heart rate.
For the next step, begin cardio exercise. Gradually increase the level of intensity in your work effort. Then, at the peak of your intensity measure your heart rate again. Next, decrease your intensity back to normal, check your heart rate until its the same as it was when you went to get the glass of water. The amount of time from peak activity back to your normal-activity heart rate is your recovery time. The fitter you are, the faster your heart rate will recover back to normal.
If you dont do much short burst cardiovascular exercise, your cardiovascular system probably needs some work. Heres what to do. When youre performing your PACE® short bursts of exercise, try to get your heart rate within the target range for your age. (These ranges use the maximum heart rate of 220 minus your age.) You can start at 60% of your maximum heart rate. After youve worked on PACE® for a few weeks, work up to 80% of your maximal heart rate.

Strength and Speed Arent Just For Athletes…

Slowing down and growing weaker are natural parts of the aging process. In fact, losing strength and quickness are the sixth and seventh physical signs of aging. But with consistent exercise, you can turn this around. For example, 21 frail elderly subjects recently took part in an 11-week exercise program. After the program, the men showed an improvement in balance, strength, and physical ability, making them less likely to fall.5
The old school approach to exercise is still my preference for restoring strength and quickness. Remember calisthenics? Theyre exercises consisting of simple body movements without weights or equipment. Calisthenics was born out of gymnastics.6 The word calisthenics comes from the Greek words ‘kallos’ for beauty and ‘thenos’ for strength. The purpose is to use your own body for resistance. Heres how to do some of the basic exercises…
Essential Calisthenics for Speed, Strength & Fitness
Half sit-ups: With your hands on your hips, lift your upper torso off the ground slightly. Your middle/lower back will remain on the floor. Lower gently and repeat.
Push-ups: Start face down on floor, palms against floor under shoulders, toes curled up against floor. Push up with arms keeping a straight line from head through toes. Lower to within a few inches of floor and repeat. This exercise is great for your entire upper body.
Knee bends: Start with your feet shoulder width apart and arms at your side. Lower yourself by bending your knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor, rising up on your toes, while swinging your arms forward until they are parallel to the floor. Reverse this motion and return to your original starting position. Repeat.
Jump squats: Start with your body crouched, feet together, arms at your sides, head straight and level. From this position, quickly straighten your legs and jump upward as high as you can, simultaneously extending your arms and reaching overhead. Once you have landed, return to your original starting position, taking care not to lose your balance throughout the exercise.
Inverted bicycle: Lie on your back and place your hands under your hips. Lift your legs and begin moving your legs in a cycling movement in the air above your head. Keep your legs moving.
Scissors: Lay on your back. Lift your feet 6 inches off the floor. Open and close both legs about 3 feet apart, keeping your legs straight and off the floor. Keep your legs moving.
Get started on your heart and lung empowering exercise program today. Youll have to build up to some of the exercises. Begin nice and easy. Should you feel any pain, dizziness, or shortness of breath, slow down. If youll try them, the age-defying results will surprise you. In just weeks youll begin to see a change in your body. Youll feel and look more fit, more energized, and younger!