Aging and Functional Decline

I used to be able to…
 

While playing, kids run, jump, climb, crawl, throw, and perform hundreds of other actions for hours without planning or worrying about overtraining. The volume of exercise, while non-specific, is tremendous. Unfortunately, once we get jobs, cars and other responsibilities the amount of general activity decreases substantially. Going from high activity to low activity is detraining.

Use it or lose it. Maintaining muscle and bone density is metabolically expensive-- unless it is being used regularly the body will break it down to repurpose the stored energy. The extreme example of this is the rapid atrophy that astronauts experience from going into space. In a zero-gravity environment, there is no physical stress on the body. Some of the first astronauts on longer trips had problems walking when they returned to earth.

The same thing happens when someone has very little daily activity. Our bodies are built to be physical. Sit in the car to go to work. Sit at a desk all day. Sit in the car to go home. Sit in front of the TV until it is time for bed. This is common. This provides little to no positive physical stress to the body. On the flip side, tennis players are one of the only examples of major bilateral bone density differences- the dominant arm can often have up to 20% more bone density due to repeated training and constant bone remodeling.

Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands

 image credit vinelandheritagehealth.com

If you sit all day, and your body gets very good at sitting. You don’t need much muscle or strength to plop on a couch. Bone density? Nope let’s get rid of that too. Cardiovascular conditioning? Haha... right, those stairs look like Mt. Everest.

Even worse, when one spends most of their waking hours sitting down the body starts to mold itself to a seated position. Shoulders slump forward. Hip flexors shorten. Abs no longer fire to stabilize the spine. This is the all too common “desk guy” posture.

The poor posture coupled with sedentary lifestyle is worse than being simply deconditioned. The lack of joint alignment predisposes one to injury, making even simple, every day movements inefficient and sometimes painful, thus harder to perform. The normal reaction to something being hard/painful is to do less of it. Moving less leads to further detraining and the cycle continues.

Well Now What?

The longer the period of low to no activity, the simpler the exercise program needs to be. Usually there are many aches and pains with origins that can be traced to poor posture. Range of motion for most joint actions is limited (i.e., arms can’t be held above the head, hips only move a few inches downwards before people collapse into a chair). This can be from not having the strength to support that movement or something is so tight that it prevents a joint action.

At Cascade Peak Performance, we start with foam rollers, lacrosse balls, and other items that can be very effective at improving range of motion and decreasing general achiness. These self massage techniques - or properly referred to as self myofascial release (SMR) – work by releasing knots in muscles and loosening the facial sheath that surrounds each muscle.

Next specific stretching and activation exercises are selected for each member’s program. The goal in this phase is to improve posture and range of motion. Depending on a client’s conditioning level this may allow them to do normal physical activity, or if they have had a longer period of inactivity special programming might still be needed.

Finally exercises are chosen to develop strength over the new range of motion. If this is not done mobility is not improved. In fact, expanding range of motion but not developing strength to support it can lead to injuries.

Well What Does That Mean?

When someone wants to get back in shape but hasn’t been active in years it is still possible, it just requires a different approach. When someone is healthy and carrying a few extra pounds changes to food intake and activity levels can produce the desired weight loss. This is not the case with the deconditioned. They no longer have the ability to expend much energy (lack of muscle, and can’t do anything for more than a minute or two). They get injured very easily or are already injured. All this is very discouraging. They have to exercise, but jumping into any regular activity leaves them exhausted and broken.

Start Small

For some this might mean only doing a couple of workouts each week that focus on SMR, specific stretches and activation exercises (essentially come into the gym and warm-up), and only a few strength exercises. Over time the emphasis of the workout shifts from most of the hour dedicated to the warm-up to primarily strength exercises (40min warm-up:15min strength to 20min warm-up:35min strength). On non-gym days increasing daily activity level such as only sitting for 12 hours a day instead of 15 hours.

With range of motion increasing along with strength, the workouts can become more intense and more frequent. The body also becomes better at expending calories so the original weight loss goals are now more possible. Slow progressions in intensity and difficulty of exercise need to be observed. Continuous small improvements need to be the goal, not fixing everything at once.

It’s Not That You Are Getting Older

Recovery rates are slower. The tissues of the body become less pliable. But that’s not why you can’t move. Not moving took it away. With the correct exercise programing, virtually anyone can get stronger and move better regardless of age. At Cascade Peak Performance we have helped many people in their 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s do exactly that. Age is not the limiting factor some think that it is. Nor should it be used as an excuse for not living the active lifestyle that you want.