Most people realize that their muscle strength, balance, coordination and other aspects of their physical fitness will decline as they get older — but they assume “older” means in their late 60s or 70s. Well, here’s an unfortunate surprise: Physical declines begin sooner than many people realize, often when they are still in their 50s, according to new research from the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina.
“I think subtle changes in our physical capacities largely go unnoticed until they become problematic,” says senior study author Miriam Morey, professor of medicine and co-director of the Duke Older Americans Independence Center. “That’s why this study was a great opportunity for us to examine physical functioning across the full adult lifespan and highlight critical decades in which changes begin to occur.”
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To gauge age-related changes in people’s physical performance, the researchers had 775 participants between their 30s and their 90s perform a variety of physical tasks designed to measure strength, endurance, balance and walking speed. While men generally performed better than women at all ages, the age at which physical declines began to appear (the 50s!) was consistent for both genders. That’s when both men and women began to slide in their ability to rise from a chair and stand on one leg. Additional drops in their gait speed and aerobic endurance occurred among participants in their 60s and 70s.
Not only was it surprising that a significant decline in function began as early as the 50s, but the magnitude of difference in performance on certain tasks between people in their 30s and those in their 80s and 90s was eye-opening, says co-author Katherine Hall, an assistant professor of medicine at Duke. When it came to balance, for example, “people in their 80s and 90s performed 76 percent worse than 30-year-olds did,” Hall says, whereas “with aerobic endurance, [which was measured by] the six-minute walk test, the difference was only 30 percent between the youngest and oldest cohorts. To me, this suggests that lower body strength and balance are particularly vulnerable domains and need to be considered in health-promoting activities.”
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The upshot: Everybody needs to take steps to preserve their physical function early in adulthood, Hall says. While some degree of physical decline is inevitable as people get older, the rate or severity of that loss varies significantly from one person to another — and it’s a mistake to wait until it sets in. The key to minimizing or delaying that drop, Hall says, is to stay active with a well-rounded exercise program that includes a variety of activities that target endurance, strength, balance and flexibility.
“The earlier you start, the better,” says Pete McCall, an American Council on Exercise-certified personal trainer and adjunct faculty member in exercise science at Mesa College in San Diego. “Exercise can slow down a number of different metrics of the aging process.” In fact, by doing the right forms of exercise in your 30s, 40s and 50s, he adds, you can stave off age-related declines in your 60s, 70s and 80s. To that end, McCall recommends doing the following:
— Heavy resistance training two to three times per week
— High-intensity cardio exercise (such as running, indoor cycling or something else that revs up your heart rate) one or two times per week
— Light cardio exercise or yoga one or two times per week
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In addition, McCall says that performing basic moves to boost your lower body strength and balance at least three times a week can make a substantial difference. Here’s a routine you can do at home:
30 seconds of jumping jacks (2 to 3 sets ideally) to warm up your muscles.
Then do:
Deadlifts: Pick up a large bottle of laundry detergent from the floor and put it down again, using your hips (keep a slight bend in your knees). Do this 10 to 15 times.
Goblet squats: Hold a gallon of water at chest level as you squat and rise; don’t let your knees move in front of your toes as you squat. Do 10 to 15.
Step-ups: Step up onto a box or step (knee height or lower) with your right foot, balance on that foot for 3 to 5 seconds at the top, then step down with your right foot followed by your left. Do one set of 8 to 12 with your right leg, and then repeat the moves with your left leg.
Carry a 20-pound bag of dog food: Hold it with one arm as you walk for 25 feet. Switch arms and carry it in the other direction. “This works on building stability and strength in the spine, which helps with balance,” McCall says.
Stand up and go 10 times: This involves rising from a chair, using just your legs (no hands!), then lifting one foot (so you’re balancing on the other) for 3 to 5 seconds before returning to a seated position. Repeat this move by balancing on alternating feet.
One-leg balance with toe touches: Stand up and balance on your left foot then extend your right leg out to the side and tap your toes down to the ground at the 3 o’clock position; lift your right foot, extend your leg to the 5 o’clock position and touch down. Return to standing on both legs. Repeat this move 5 to 10 times with each leg.
High planks: Assume a regular push-up position, with just your hands and toes on the floor. Hold yourself up straight and flat, as if you were at the top of a push-up, while squeezing your thighs and glutes, for 30 seconds; relax for 30 seconds then repeat, working up to four reps. With this move, “you’re wiring all the muscles in the body to work together and create more stability,” McCall says.
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Warning: Your Physical Fitness Is Declining Earlier Than You Might Expect originally appeared on usnews.com
