The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recently had a feature on Strengthening Activities and Older Adults.

When people age, they lose muscle.  Thus, muscle strengthening activities can provide many health benefits especially as you age.  According to the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, older adults gain substantial health benefits from 2 hours and 30 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity in combination with muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week.

A brisk walk is enough for the aerobic activity.  When doing muscle strengthening be sure to focus on all seven major muscle groups:

1. Legs
2. Hips
3. Back
4. Abdomen
5. Chest
6. Shoulders
7. Arms

Muscle strengthening activities will slow the rate of muscle loss associated with aging and can also help maintain bone strength, improve your balance, coordination, and mobility.  This means you’ll be less likely to have falls – a scary reality for many aging Americans.

Tips for Getting Started:

• Choose activities that work all seven major muscle groups of your body (legs, hips, back, chest, abdomen, shoulders, and arms), such as lifting weights, working with resistance bands, doing exercises that use your body weight for resistance (such as push-ups and sit-ups), or yoga.
• Try to do 8–12 repetitions per strengthening activity. A repetition is one complete movement of an activity, like lifting a weight or doing one sit-up. To develop muscle strength and endurance, the number of strengthening activities needs to be done to the point where it’s hard for you to do another repetition without help.
• Strive to increase the weight that you currently lift when it becomes too easy. Muscles are strengthened by progressively increasing the weight you lift over time. When you can lift the weight 8–12 times easily, it may be time to increase the amount of weight at your next session.
• You can do muscle-strengthening activities in a number of settings, including your home or a gym. For examples of activities you may want to try, visit Growing Stronger – Strength Training for Older Adults: Exercises, Muscle Strengthening at Home, and Muscle Strengthening at the Gym.

(Read the full Feature from CDC here)