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March 13, 2020 By Vandana Juneja Leave a Comment

Strength Training Benefits For Aging Bodies

strength trainingStrength training is important for everyone, not only to improve muscle strength but to maintain and improve your overall health, regardless of your age. Whether you are 25 years or 65 years, some form of strength training should be included in your routine. Though the strength session will be different for all, according to the age group.

In this article, I would like to talk about the changes in our body that happen once we cross our 30s/40s (and they may not be pleasant ones) and how strength training is important to help us reverse these changes and improve the quality of life!

I have experienced the positive changes that my body has undergone over the last 4-5 years just by incorporating a strength training routine in the form of workouts with weights, using my own body weight and practicing yoga. One can even use resistance bands or other gym equipment.

What Happens As We Age?

The human body changes as we age. Some of the effects are obvious as we cross middle age. Even healthy, normal ageing includes:

  • Slower metabolism
  • Decreased muscle mass and strength
  • Increased body fat
  • Reduced bone density
  • Increased bone porosity
  • Stiff joints
  • Slower reflexes and reaction time
  • Decreased aerobic capacity

These are normal changes that we may experience as we age. Although, the severity varies from person to person. One of the most important reasons to exercise and specifically include strength training is to slow and minimize these changes.  

Benefits of Strength Training

1. Increases Muscle Mass
As you age, you lose muscle mass. It is a condition called Sarcopenia. People who are physically inactive lose between 3 to 5 percent of their muscle mass per decade after the age of 30. It accelerates at around 65. By the age of 70, the average adult has lost 25 percent of muscle mass. This is mostly due to disuse and inactivity. Any kind of exercise can reverse this loss and build muscle mass and strength. Weight lifting, strength training, and resistance training are the best. After six months of twice-weekly strength exercise training, the biochemical, physiological and genetic signature of older muscle is “turned back” nearly 15 to 20 years.

2. Improves Bone Health
Bone fractures and breaks are all too common in older adults because of loss of bone density and osteoporosis. There can be other causes of osteoporosis and it may need to be managed medically. However, there is plenty of evidence that exercise can improve bone density. Osteoporosis can also be prevented and treated through strength training. Like muscles, bones become stronger when they are active. Weight-bearing exercise strengthens bones by making them produce more cells.

3. Improves Functional Ability/Movement
Increasing strength through training is essential for improving overall day to day functions. Older adults can gain more mobility, walk a greater distance and even reduce the need for assistive devices like sticks and walkers with regular strength training.

Building strength also helps with all kinds of other functional movements like walking, sitting on and getting up from a chair/bed, climbing stairs, carrying groceries, etc. This in turn just makes life easier and gives you the confidence to involve yourself in many other activities you always wanted to do.

4. Boosts Metabolism
Strength training is one of the best ways to boost your metabolism (the rate your resting body burns calories throughout the day). When you do strength training, your body demands more energy based on how much energy you’re exerting. That means some calories are burned during the workout and more calories are burned after the workout while your body is recovering to a resting state. Also, Testosterone and DHEA, the hormones that affect strength and energy levels, decrease as you age.  But with regular strength training, these levels can be enhanced within 8-12 weeks.

5. Improves Brain Health
Getting older can put you at risk for loneliness and social isolation, depression and other mental health issues. Building strength which increases mobility, function and improves overall health, also boosts your mood and overall quality of life. Resistance training can also slow down the cognitive decline associated with aging. Lifting weights improves memory, attention span and the ability to resolve conflicts.

6. Improves Health Conditions
Strength training reduces blood sugar levels and improves sensitivity to the hormone insulin, which helps blood sugar get inside the cells and thus improves the way the body uses the blood sugar. If strength training is properly applied, it simultaneously engages both the muscular system and the cardiovascular system. When our muscles are stronger, there is less demand placed on the heart. This allows the lungs to process more oxygen with less effort. The heart pumps more blood with fewer beats and the blood supply directed to your muscles is increased.

How Often Should You Do It? 

Recommended intervals are 3-5 times per week for 20-30 minutes at a moderate intensity-level or 2-3 times per week for 15-20 minutes at a high-intensity level. Before you begin any workout, check with your doctor especially if there is a medical condition associated. Take professional help as knowing the proper technique will help you prevent injuries. Focus on activities that target larger muscle groups as they will give bigger returns.

We hope this article helps you care for your muscles a little more and helps you improve your physical and psychological well-being as well. If you’re about to begin your strength training routine, #LevelUp with LIVE coaching sessions from our experts on GOQii Play. 

Apart from strength training, there are many more ways to live longer. Explore the secrets to longevity in our IndiaFit Report 2020.

#BeTheForce

November 16, 2019 By GOQii Leave a Comment

Dinesh’s Ultimate Trick to Completing the GOQii Trail Challenge

Dinesh Thakur

(L-R) Vishal Gondal, Vandit Panvelkar, Dinesh Thakur after completing the GOQii Trail Challenge

From everything you have heard about the GOQii Trail Challenge, you’re aware that it puts your limits to the test. The endurance event challenges you, shapes you, breaks you and after each step closer to the finish line, it transforms you with an overwhelming sense of joy of having completed the arduous trail! While GTC is not a race, you can’t deny a human’s ambition to fight against all odds, battle time and fatigue and still hold the desire to win. Does completing a 50km trail that snakes through rough terrain within 8 hours seem impossible? Our very own Dinesh Thakur was able to do this after starting 30 minutes late! How did he do it?

Who Is Dinesh Thakur?

Dinesh Thakur has been a part of GOQii since 2014, working in the Logistics Department. He is 31 years of age and lives with his parents in Mumbai. Before the GOQii Trail Challenge, he didn’t have anything specific that he was looking forward to. He just wanted to experience the trail, enjoy nature and get his mind off everything – much like most of us today. 

Apart from playing cricket with his colleagues on a daily basis, he wasn’t into any specific activity. He enjoyed it as it helped him alleviate a lot of stress. When the GTC was announced, he decided to walk a total of 7km from his home to the office and back home every day in order to get used to walking. To achieve this, he even locked his bike in the garage, not using it at all.

Unfolding Destiny

During the trail, Dinesh Thakur was not meant to be a participant despite the fact that he trained for it. He was at the venue as a part of the support team. His participation wasn’t planned although he wished to test himself against the trail before him. When the other participants embarked on the trail, he couldn’t just stand there. The will to achieve sparked within him and he incessantly convinced his manager to let him walk too.

Who’d deny a man’s passion? His manager gave him the signal and Dinesh rushed the trail 30 minutes after the other participants. For someone who wanted to reach the finish line first, this was a clear disadvantage. However, it did not deter him and he decided to compensate for his lost time by not taking any breaks throughout the entire trail.

Grit, Guts and Broken Shoes

At this point, Dinesh’s only strategy was to keep walking until he reaches the finish line. He wasn’t geared enough as he didn’t carry a proper pair of shoes as he was only going to volunteer. In fact, he didn’t even carry a bottle of water. He got one at the first checkpoint.

As he reached Checkpoint 3, the sole of his shoes gave way. He had to tie it with a string so that it wouldn’t come apart. Using his wits, he decided to take his shoes off and walk in just socks on flat terrains, saving the shoes for rocky and difficult patches. By the time he reached Checkpoint 4, he was exhausted. He had to request support for an energy bar to fuel him.

With that being his fuel, Dinesh raced on when he came face to face with his competition – another participant who was vying for first place. Dinesh and his competition were neck-to-neck as they inched towards the finish line. His supposed opponent, a little ahead, tried his best to block Dinesh on a narrow path. This continued for quite some time. When they came close to the finish line, Dinesh decided it was all or nothing and gave his opponent a shock by coming from behind, jumping over a bush and landing on the finish line ahead of him. With nothing but grit and guts, Dinesh was the first one to complete the trail in 8hours and 12 minutes.

Recounting the Experience

Dinesh praises the location chosen for the trail. He loved the fresh forest path, the water bodies which he encountered and the encouragement he received from the locals. He says it was a memorable experience and him finishing the trail before anyone was just a cherry on the proverbial cake. In his own words he says, “I never realised when I started and when I completed it. All I knew was that I had to keep walking.”

There are so many things one can take away from this story. Whether you’re ready or not, prepared or unprepared, at the end of it, it is your determination which counts and your willpower which pulls you through. That’s the real trick – your own determination and willpower! 

We hope you’re excited for GOQii Trail Challenge 2019! We know we are ready to #BeTheForce!  

May 3, 2019 By GOQii 5 Comments

Strength Training and It’s Benefits

strength training

Having covered so many topics across health and fitness, we wanted to focus today’s topic on Strength Training. I have always been fond of strength training. If performed correctly, strength training can provide significant functional benefits and improvement in overall health and well-being.

Weight training can increase Bone Mineral Density and Muscle Mass. It also increases the strength and toughness of our tendons and ligaments, improves joint function and range of motion, and reduces potential for injury. Strength training will tone your muscles.

benefits of strength trainingStrength training or weight training or anaerobic training all are same. In anaerobic exercise, cells use ATP (Adenosine Tri Phosphate) as a source of energy or glucose in the absence of oxygen. It usually lasts up to 2 minutes.

I began strength training at the age of 16 with traditional Indian squat, Surya Namaskar and push ups. At that time, my knowledge was limited. After some time I realized that my immune system is performing better. I used to fall sick more often with fever and/or cold but weight training really helped me make my immune system stronger.

Weight training can be done using body weight, elastic bands, dumbbells, barbells, and kettle bells. I prefer using my body weight as there is no investment which is required and sometimes, I use dumbbells for weight training.

If you are feeling depressed or stressed, try weight training. It helped me overcome depression and might work wonders for you! After a weight training session, endorphin levels increase in the body. Endorphins are the neurotransmitters released by the pituitary gland which makes one feel good. Neuro-muscular coordination improves.

One benefit of strength training is that during training you are burning calories but the effect will remain for more time because of the increased muscle mass. So weight training will help to increase the B.M.R. as muscle needs more energy to survive.

What Happens in Strength Training?

During strength training, there will be a wear and tear in the muscle fiber but that damage will be repaired after sleep and proper nutrition. Your muscles will become stronger. Your muscular strength and muscular endurance will go up after 2-3 sessions. For hypertrophy (increase in muscle mass), you need more training sessions, proper nutrition and rest.

During weight training, blood flow will increase to a particular muscle. There will be more supply of nutrients to that muscle and muscle will increase in size and strength. Smaller muscles need less time for recovery but bigger muscles like the hamstrings or quadriceps need more time and nutrition.

But before starting weight training you have to prepare your body and mind. Start with a good warm up. During or before you exercise, try ballistic stretching where you are not holding the stretch. After your training session, perform cool down and static stretching where you will hold the stretch for 10-15 seconds.

Want to know more about Strength Training? Leave your queries in the comments below!

#BeTheForce

April 16, 2019 By Anusha Subramanian 3 Comments

Why is it Difficult to Make a Lifestyle Change?

lifestyle
In a user story I recently wrote, the player said, “Making a lifestyle change is easy. What is difficult is the commitment to follow through with determination”. Rightly so, it’s indeed considered a tall order and hence, many give it up midway. Most consider it forced, rather than a positive change to bring about within themselves.

This very attitude and constant cribbing of people around me prompted me to write this piece on why is it so difficult to make a lifestyle change?

Many of us have tried it at some point in our lives. Some of us have succeeded, while many have found it extremely taxing. Making a lifestyle change is challenging, especially when you want to transform many things at once. Lifestyle changes are a process that takes time and requires support and lots of patience.

lifestyle1

Here are a few tips that you could follow from my personal experience:

1. Start Small

After you’ve identified realistic short-term and long-term goals, break them into small steps that are well defined, that can be managed and measured. If your long term goal (6-8 months) is to lose 20 kilos, then a good goal would be to reduce about 2 kilos a month in a healthy way.

Physiologically smaller goals give you a sense that it’s achievable and keep you motivated for the long term goal. Look at healthy eating options. Eat smaller, balanced meals at regular intervals. Replace a dessert with a healthier option, like Yoghurt. At the end of the month, you’ll feel successful knowing you met your goal.

2. Change One Behavior at a Time

It is said that old habits die hard. It is simply because behaviors develop over the course of time. Replacing then will take a while. Focus on one goal at a time. If need be, get professional help to understand what changes you need to bring within yourself to become healthy and fit. The problem arises when you try to change things really fast. Take it slow!

3. Have a Buddy, a Personal Coach or a Trainer

It can be anyone from a friend, to a  family member, a co-worker or your personal trainer. Your buddy and you can go for a walk, cycle or run together and keep each other motivated and charged. You can challenge each other to create some excitement in your training and make sure that it is not boring. Having someone with whom you can share your struggles and success makes the work easier and the mission less intimidating.

4. Make a Plan That You Will Stick To

You will have to devise a plan in such a way that it will be your guide. Think out of the box and have things in your plan which you have never done before. For instance, an adventure or sports climbing (artificial wall climbing). But, don’t go haywire and be specific. Manage time well.

Detail the time of the day when you want to exercise, how long you want to exercise or when you can take walks and how long you’ll walk. Maintain a diary in which all your tasks are jotted down and ask yourself if these activities and goals are realistic for you. If not, then start with baby steps.

5. Have Support Around You

Having people around you to support you while you are on your journey will keep you away from slacking. Don’t feel shy to ask for support wherever and whenever needed. If you feel you are unable to meet your goals on your own, get help!

6. Self-Motivation

All the above points will help you in your journey to change your lifestyle. But the biggest factor of all and one of the most important factor is being self-motivated. No matter how many buddies you have, no matter what support your dear and near ones will give you, no matter how good a plan you make, none of this will be effective till the time you are self-motivated and want to make the change.

Do it for yourself, do it on your own and feel good at the end of it all!

Making the changes that you want takes time and commitment. You can do it! Just remember that no one is perfect. You will have occasional lapses. Be kind to yourself. When you eat a brownie or skip the gym, don’t give up. Minor bumps on the road to your goals are normal and okay. Resolve to recover and get back on track.

#BeTheForce

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