如果你經(jīng)常爬樓梯,請(qǐng)舉手示意。拎著沉重的雜貨袋? 接送孩子或?qū)O子? 我們中的大多數(shù)人都會(huì)舉起手來(lái),因?yàn)槲覀兠恐苌踔撩刻熘辽僖銎渲幸患隆?/p>
隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng),完成某些體力活動(dòng)會(huì)變得越來(lái)越困難,甚至是那些日?;顒?dòng)。然而,在這時(shí)將身體健康放在首位有助于你完成日常工作,而且不會(huì)在一天結(jié)束時(shí)感到身體疲憊。
這還有助于你繼續(xù)與家人和親人留下特別的回憶,但如果你不積極鍛煉身體,你可能無(wú)法擁有這些回憶。例如,在我父親60多歲時(shí),我曾和他一起跑過(guò)兩次半程馬拉松!
我是一名運(yùn)動(dòng)生理學(xué)家,研究人們?nèi)绾卫米枇τ?xùn)練來(lái)提高人體機(jī)能,無(wú)論是在運(yùn)動(dòng)和其他娛樂(lè)場(chǎng)合,還是在日常生活中,或者兩者兼而有之。我還是一名經(jīng)過(guò)認(rèn)證的體能專(zhuān)家。我的職業(yè)生涯讓我有機(jī)會(huì)為兒童、大學(xué)生運(yùn)動(dòng)員和老年人設(shè)計(jì)鍛煉計(jì)劃。
隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng),保持體育鍛煉并不一定要跑半程馬拉松或成為健美運(yùn)動(dòng)員。這可以很簡(jiǎn)單,只需在爬樓梯后不感到上氣不接下氣即可。雖然隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng),我們的肌肉力量自然會(huì)變?nèi)酰覀兛梢酝ㄟ^(guò)一些方法來(lái)解決這一問(wèn)題,從而提高我們的老年生活質(zhì)量。
肌肉流失與慢性疾病
無(wú)論我的訓(xùn)練對(duì)象是誰(shuí),鍛煉計(jì)劃中最重要的部分之一就是進(jìn)行適當(dāng)?shù)淖枇τ?xùn)練,以增強(qiáng)肌肉力量。隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng),肌肉功能會(huì)出現(xiàn)一定程度的減退,這是正常的,也是不可避免的。但是,通過(guò)結(jié)合安全的且適合任何能力水平的阻力訓(xùn)練,可以減緩肌肉功能衰退的速度,甚至在一定程度上防止肌肉功能喪失。
這一與年齡有關(guān)的肌肉功能和質(zhì)量喪失的疾病的醫(yī)學(xué)術(shù)語(yǔ)是肌肉減少癥。肌肉減少癥可能早在40歲就開(kāi)始了,但在60歲及以上的成年人中更為常見(jiàn)。肌肉減少癥與許多健康問(wèn)題有關(guān),如跌倒、心血管疾病和代謝疾病等風(fēng)險(xiǎn)增加。
在團(tuán)隊(duì)之前的一項(xiàng)研究中,我們發(fā)現(xiàn)患有肌肉減少癥的健康個(gè)體在向肌肉輸送重要營(yíng)養(yǎng)物質(zhì)方面存在問(wèn)題。這可能會(huì)導(dǎo)致患各種疾病的可能性增加,比如2型糖尿病,并減緩運(yùn)動(dòng)后的恢復(fù)速度。
最近的估計(jì)表明,全球老年人口中有10%至16%患有肌肉減少癥。但即使一個(gè)人沒(méi)有被臨床診斷出肌肉減少癥,仍可能有一些潛在的癥狀,如果不加以處理,就可能導(dǎo)致肌肉減少癥。
力量訓(xùn)練是關(guān)鍵
那么問(wèn)題來(lái)了,怎樣才能扭轉(zhuǎn)這種衰退呢?
最新證據(jù)表明,導(dǎo)致肌肉減少癥的關(guān)鍵因素之一是肌肉力量不足。換句話(huà)說(shuō),對(duì)抗或逆轉(zhuǎn)肌肉減少癥,或兩者兼而有之,最好的辦法可能是以提高肌肉力量為重點(diǎn)進(jìn)行適當(dāng)?shù)淖枇τ?xùn)練。事實(shí)上,肌肉力量的下降速度似乎比肌肉體積的下降速度要快得多,這就強(qiáng)調(diào)了隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng)進(jìn)行適當(dāng)力量訓(xùn)練的重要性。
事實(shí)證明,繼續(xù)定期進(jìn)行中等到高強(qiáng)度的力量訓(xùn)練,不僅能有效地對(duì)抗肌肉減少癥的癥狀,而且如果方法得當(dāng),還非常安全。確保力量訓(xùn)練正確的最佳方法是尋求具備相關(guān)資格的人士的指導(dǎo),如私人教練或體能專(zhuān)家。
盡管力量訓(xùn)練有明顯的好處,但事實(shí)表明,在50歲及以上的美國(guó)人中,只有約13%的人每周至少進(jìn)行兩次某種形式的力量訓(xùn)練。
找到適合自己的方法
那么,隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng),如何進(jìn)行適當(dāng)?shù)牧α坑?xùn)練呢?
美國(guó)國(guó)家體能協(xié)會(huì)(National Strength and Conditioning Association)是世界范圍內(nèi)促進(jìn)體能訓(xùn)練的領(lǐng)先組織,該協(xié)會(huì)指出,對(duì)于老年人來(lái)說(shuō),每周進(jìn)行兩到三天的力量訓(xùn)練對(duì)保持肌肉和骨骼健康以及對(duì)抗多種慢性疾病大有裨益。
該組織建議的鍛煉包括一到兩次涉及各主要肌肉群的多關(guān)節(jié)鍛煉,每組重復(fù)6到12次。該訓(xùn)練的強(qiáng)度是所謂的單次重復(fù)訓(xùn)練最大強(qiáng)度的50%到85%——單次重復(fù)訓(xùn)練中你能承受的最大強(qiáng)度——但使用自身體重作為阻力的體重訓(xùn)練(如俯臥撐)除外。
我還建議在每組動(dòng)作之間休息2到3分鐘,如果這組訓(xùn)練具有挑戰(zhàn)性,甚至可以休息5分鐘。對(duì)于老年人,尤其是60歲及以上的老年人,美國(guó)國(guó)家體能協(xié)會(huì)的指南建議,每周進(jìn)行兩到三天這樣的鍛煉,兩次訓(xùn)練之間間隔24到48小時(shí)。
讓生活變得更輕松
上述指南只是眾多方案中的一種,但提供了相關(guān)框架,你可以根據(jù)該框架制定自己的計(jì)劃。不過(guò),我強(qiáng)烈建議你向該領(lǐng)域的專(zhuān)業(yè)人士尋求具體的鍛煉計(jì)劃建議(可以根據(jù)你的需求和目標(biāo)量身定制)。
遵循這樣的計(jì)劃會(huì)給肌肉帶來(lái)極好的刺激,增強(qiáng)力量,同時(shí)還能有足夠的恢復(fù)時(shí)間,這是隨著年齡增長(zhǎng)一大至關(guān)重要的考慮因素。你可能會(huì)覺(jué)得這看起來(lái)需要投入大量時(shí)間,但這樣的日常鍛煉可以在一小時(shí)內(nèi)完成。這意味著,每周不到三小時(shí)的力量訓(xùn)練就能幫助你改善肌肉健康,降低患肌肉減少癥和相關(guān)健康問(wèn)題的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。
同樣重要的是要注意,阻力訓(xùn)練沒(méi)有唯一正確的方法,也不需要使用傳統(tǒng)的負(fù)重器械。普拉提和瑜伽等集體課程,或者那些涉及循環(huán)訓(xùn)練和使用阻力帶的課程,都能產(chǎn)生類(lèi)似的效果。關(guān)鍵是要定期出門(mén)鍛煉(不管需要做什么運(yùn)動(dòng))。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:中慧言-王芳
如果你經(jīng)常爬樓梯,請(qǐng)舉手示意。拎著沉重的雜貨袋? 接送孩子或?qū)O子? 我們中的大多數(shù)人都會(huì)舉起手來(lái),因?yàn)槲覀兠恐苌踔撩刻熘辽僖銎渲幸患隆?/p>
隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng),完成某些體力活動(dòng)會(huì)變得越來(lái)越困難,甚至是那些日?;顒?dòng)。然而,在這時(shí)將身體健康放在首位有助于你完成日常工作,而且不會(huì)在一天結(jié)束時(shí)感到身體疲憊。
這還有助于你繼續(xù)與家人和親人留下特別的回憶,但如果你不積極鍛煉身體,你可能無(wú)法擁有這些回憶。例如,在我父親60多歲時(shí),我曾和他一起跑過(guò)兩次半程馬拉松!
我是一名運(yùn)動(dòng)生理學(xué)家,研究人們?nèi)绾卫米枇τ?xùn)練來(lái)提高人體機(jī)能,無(wú)論是在運(yùn)動(dòng)和其他娛樂(lè)場(chǎng)合,還是在日常生活中,或者兩者兼而有之。我還是一名經(jīng)過(guò)認(rèn)證的體能專(zhuān)家。我的職業(yè)生涯讓我有機(jī)會(huì)為兒童、大學(xué)生運(yùn)動(dòng)員和老年人設(shè)計(jì)鍛煉計(jì)劃。
隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng),保持體育鍛煉并不一定要跑半程馬拉松或成為健美運(yùn)動(dòng)員。這可以很簡(jiǎn)單,只需在爬樓梯后不感到上氣不接下氣即可。雖然隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng),我們的肌肉力量自然會(huì)變?nèi)酰覀兛梢酝ㄟ^(guò)一些方法來(lái)解決這一問(wèn)題,從而提高我們的老年生活質(zhì)量。
肌肉流失與慢性疾病
無(wú)論我的訓(xùn)練對(duì)象是誰(shuí),鍛煉計(jì)劃中最重要的部分之一就是進(jìn)行適當(dāng)?shù)淖枇τ?xùn)練,以增強(qiáng)肌肉力量。隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng),肌肉功能會(huì)出現(xiàn)一定程度的減退,這是正常的,也是不可避免的。但是,通過(guò)結(jié)合安全的且適合任何能力水平的阻力訓(xùn)練,可以減緩肌肉功能衰退的速度,甚至在一定程度上防止肌肉功能喪失。
這一與年齡有關(guān)的肌肉功能和質(zhì)量喪失的疾病的醫(yī)學(xué)術(shù)語(yǔ)是肌肉減少癥。肌肉減少癥可能早在40歲就開(kāi)始了,但在60歲及以上的成年人中更為常見(jiàn)。肌肉減少癥與許多健康問(wèn)題有關(guān),如跌倒、心血管疾病和代謝疾病等風(fēng)險(xiǎn)增加。
在團(tuán)隊(duì)之前的一項(xiàng)研究中,我們發(fā)現(xiàn)患有肌肉減少癥的健康個(gè)體在向肌肉輸送重要營(yíng)養(yǎng)物質(zhì)方面存在問(wèn)題。這可能會(huì)導(dǎo)致患各種疾病的可能性增加,比如2型糖尿病,并減緩運(yùn)動(dòng)后的恢復(fù)速度。
最近的估計(jì)表明,全球老年人口中有10%至16%患有肌肉減少癥。但即使一個(gè)人沒(méi)有被臨床診斷出肌肉減少癥,仍可能有一些潛在的癥狀,如果不加以處理,就可能導(dǎo)致肌肉減少癥。
力量訓(xùn)練是關(guān)鍵
那么問(wèn)題來(lái)了,怎樣才能扭轉(zhuǎn)這種衰退呢?
最新證據(jù)表明,導(dǎo)致肌肉減少癥的關(guān)鍵因素之一是肌肉力量不足。換句話(huà)說(shuō),對(duì)抗或逆轉(zhuǎn)肌肉減少癥,或兩者兼而有之,最好的辦法可能是以提高肌肉力量為重點(diǎn)進(jìn)行適當(dāng)?shù)淖枇τ?xùn)練。事實(shí)上,肌肉力量的下降速度似乎比肌肉體積的下降速度要快得多,這就強(qiáng)調(diào)了隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng)進(jìn)行適當(dāng)力量訓(xùn)練的重要性。
事實(shí)證明,繼續(xù)定期進(jìn)行中等到高強(qiáng)度的力量訓(xùn)練,不僅能有效地對(duì)抗肌肉減少癥的癥狀,而且如果方法得當(dāng),還非常安全。確保力量訓(xùn)練正確的最佳方法是尋求具備相關(guān)資格的人士的指導(dǎo),如私人教練或體能專(zhuān)家。
盡管力量訓(xùn)練有明顯的好處,但事實(shí)表明,在50歲及以上的美國(guó)人中,只有約13%的人每周至少進(jìn)行兩次某種形式的力量訓(xùn)練。
找到適合自己的方法
那么,隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng),如何進(jìn)行適當(dāng)?shù)牧α坑?xùn)練呢?
美國(guó)國(guó)家體能協(xié)會(huì)(National Strength and Conditioning Association)是世界范圍內(nèi)促進(jìn)體能訓(xùn)練的領(lǐng)先組織,該協(xié)會(huì)指出,對(duì)于老年人來(lái)說(shuō),每周進(jìn)行兩到三天的力量訓(xùn)練對(duì)保持肌肉和骨骼健康以及對(duì)抗多種慢性疾病大有裨益。
該組織建議的鍛煉包括一到兩次涉及各主要肌肉群的多關(guān)節(jié)鍛煉,每組重復(fù)6到12次。該訓(xùn)練的強(qiáng)度是所謂的單次重復(fù)訓(xùn)練最大強(qiáng)度的50%到85%——單次重復(fù)訓(xùn)練中你能承受的最大強(qiáng)度——但使用自身體重作為阻力的體重訓(xùn)練(如俯臥撐)除外。
我還建議在每組動(dòng)作之間休息2到3分鐘,如果這組訓(xùn)練具有挑戰(zhàn)性,甚至可以休息5分鐘。對(duì)于老年人,尤其是60歲及以上的老年人,美國(guó)國(guó)家體能協(xié)會(huì)的指南建議,每周進(jìn)行兩到三天這樣的鍛煉,兩次訓(xùn)練之間間隔24到48小時(shí)。
讓生活變得更輕松
上述指南只是眾多方案中的一種,但提供了相關(guān)框架,你可以根據(jù)該框架制定自己的計(jì)劃。不過(guò),我強(qiáng)烈建議你向該領(lǐng)域的專(zhuān)業(yè)人士尋求具體的鍛煉計(jì)劃建議(可以根據(jù)你的需求和目標(biāo)量身定制)。
遵循這樣的計(jì)劃會(huì)給肌肉帶來(lái)極好的刺激,增強(qiáng)力量,同時(shí)還能有足夠的恢復(fù)時(shí)間,這是隨著年齡增長(zhǎng)一大至關(guān)重要的考慮因素。你可能會(huì)覺(jué)得這看起來(lái)需要投入大量時(shí)間,但這樣的日常鍛煉可以在一小時(shí)內(nèi)完成。這意味著,每周不到三小時(shí)的力量訓(xùn)練就能幫助你改善肌肉健康,降低患肌肉減少癥和相關(guān)健康問(wèn)題的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。
同樣重要的是要注意,阻力訓(xùn)練沒(méi)有唯一正確的方法,也不需要使用傳統(tǒng)的負(fù)重器械。普拉提和瑜伽等集體課程,或者那些涉及循環(huán)訓(xùn)練和使用阻力帶的課程,都能產(chǎn)生類(lèi)似的效果。關(guān)鍵是要定期出門(mén)鍛煉(不管需要做什么運(yùn)動(dòng))。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:中慧言-王芳
Raise your hand if you regularly find yourself walking up a flight of stairs. What about carrying heavy bags of groceries? How about picking up your child or grandchild? Most of us would raise our hands to doing at least one of those weekly, or even daily.
As people age, it can become more and more difficult to perform some physical tasks, even those that are normal activities of daily living. However, prioritizing physical fitness and health as you get older can help you go through your normal day-to-day routine without feeling physically exhausted at the end of the day.
It can also help you continue to have special memories with your family and loved ones that you might not have been able to have if you weren’t physically active. For example, I ran two half-marathons with my dad when he was in his 60s!
I am an exercise physiologist who studies how people can use resistance training to improve human performance, whether it be in sports and other recreational settings, in everyday life, or both. I am also a certified strength and conditioning specialist. My career has given me the opportunity to design exercise programs for kids, college athletes and elderly adults.
Staying physically active as you get older doesn’t need to include running a half-marathon or trying to be a bodybuilder; it could be as simple as trying to get through the day without feeling winded after you go up a flight of stairs. Although our muscles naturally get weaker as we age, there are ways we can combat that to help improve quality of life as we get older.
Muscle loss and chronic disease
One of the most important parts of exercise programming, no matter who I am working with, is proper resistance training to build muscle strength. Some amount of age-related loss of muscle function is normal and inevitable. But by incorporating resistance training that is appropriate and safe at any ability level, you can slow down the rate of decline and even prevent some loss of muscle function.
The medical term for a condition that involves age-related loss of muscle function and mass is sarcopenia. Sarcopenia can begin as early as age 40, but it tends to be more common in adults age 60 and older. Sarcopenia is associated with a number of health issues such as increased risk of falling, cardiovascular disease and metabolic disease, among others.
In one of our team’s previous studies, we saw that otherwise healthy individuals with sarcopenia had issues delivering vital nutrients to muscle. This could lead to greater likelihood of various diseases, such as Type 2 diabetes, and slow down recovery from exercise.
Recent estimates suggest that sarcopenia affects 10% to 16% of the elderly population worldwide. But even if a person doesn’t have clinically diagnosed sarcopenia, they may still have some of the underlying symptoms that, if not dealt with, could lead to sarcopenia.
Strength training is key
So the question is, what can be done to reverse this decline?
Recent evidence suggests that one of the key factors leading to sarcopenia is low muscle strength. In other words, combating or reversing sarcopenia, or both, may be best done with a proper resistance-training program that prioritizes improving strength. In fact, the decline in muscle strength seems to occur at a much faster rate than the decline in muscle size, underscoring the importance of proper strength training as people age.
Continuing to regularly strength train with moderate to heavy weights has been shown to be not only effective at combating the symptoms of sarcopenia but also very safe when done properly. The best way to make sure you are strength training properly is to seek out guidance from a qualified individual such as a personal trainer or strength and conditioning specialist.
Despite the clear benefits of strength training, it’s been shown that only about 13% of Americans age 50 and older do some form of strength training at least twice a week.
Finding what works for you
So how does a person properly strength train as they age?
The National Strength and Conditioning Association, a leading organization in advancing strength and conditioning around the world, states that for older adults, two to three days per week of strength training can be incredibly helpful for maintaining healthy muscle and bone and combating a number of chronic conditions.
The organization recommends that these workouts involve one to two exercises involving multiple joints per major muscle group, with six to 12 repetitions per set. These are done at an intensity of 50% to 85% of what’s known as one-repetition maximum – the most weight you could handle for a single repetition – with the exception of body weight exercises that use one’s own body weight as the resistance, such as pushups.
I would also recommend resting for about two to three minutes between sets, or even up to five minutes if the set was challenging. For older adults, particularly those age 60 and older, the National Strength and Conditioning Association guidelines suggest that a program like this be performed two to three days per week, with 24 to 48 hours between sessions.
Making life’s tasks lighter
The guidelines above are only one example out of many options, but they provide a framework that you can use to build your own program. However, I would highly recommend seeking out a professional in the field to give specific exercise programming advice that can be tailored to your own needs and goals as you age.
Following such a program would give your muscles an excellent stimulus to enhance strength, while also allowing enough recovery, a very important consideration as people age. You might think it looks like a huge time commitment, but an exercise routine like this can be done in less than an hour. This means that in less than three hours of strength training per week you can help improve your muscle health and reduce the risk of getting sarcopenia and associated health issues.
It’s also important to note that there is no one right way to do resistance training, and it needn’t involve traditional weight equipment. Group classes like Pilates and yoga or those that involve circuit training and work with resistance bands can all produce similar results. The key is to get out and exercise regularly, whatever that entails.