Muscles in Motion
When you think about muscles, you probably think about the ones in your arms, legs, back or abs. However, muscles do far more than move the body. A muscle is a type of tissue, a group of cells that work together to accomplish a specific job, like movement. They regulate metabolism, support the immune system, influence mental health, help you breathe, pump your blood and move food through your gut. In order to stay healthy, it’s important to keep yourself active and your muscles strong!
There are three types of muscles:
- Skeletal muscles help you move, sit up straight, and influence your balance and posture. There are over 600 skeletal muscles that account for about half of your body weight.
- Smooth muscles work to keep your body healthy without you having to think about moving them. Smooth muscles help focus your eyes, move food through your body, and go to the bathroom.
- Cardiac muscles are your heart muscles (the heart is considered both a muscle and an organ). Like smooth muscles, cardiac muscles are involuntary. They contract and relax automatically to pump blood through your body.
As you can see, muscles do a lot to help keep your body healthy. Everyone begins to lose muscle as they age, but this process can begin to accelerate after the age of 60. If you’re not careful, loss of muscle strength can lead to mobility challenges, brittle bones, and difficulty doing daily chores and activities. This is why it is so important to stay active as you age. As the saying goes: “If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.”
Keep Your Muscles in Motion
One of the best ways to keep your muscles strong is by constantly moving them. Being physically active keeps you healthy and decreases your chances of getting hurt or tired as you go about your daily life. No matter your age, you can always increase your strength. There are many types of fun workouts to choose from, including lifting weights, walking, hiking, swimming, running, playing sports, dance, biking and more. Try to include a variety of different exercise types – cross-training will give you balance in your body and help prevent you from overusing any one muscle group.
Staying active has the added benefit of improving the health of your heart. Any activity that makes your heart pump blood faster will exercise this important muscle. We often rely on cardiovascular exercise to improve heart health, but strength training may be just as important. Weight training increases oxygen demand, prompting the heart to pump more vigorously. This boost in cardiac output improves blood flow, ensuring the efficient distribution of oxygen and nutrients throughout the body.
We now know how important it is to keep our muscles strong and in motion. As the population continues to age, more people choose to remain active much later in life than in the past. I find that when I am teaching my Senior dance and fitness classes I can always tell who has exercised throughout their life and has been consistent and disciplined. Having strong muscles gives you confidence and motivates you to do things that perhaps you would have never done before. It is such a good feeling to be strong and fit. Our mental strength is just as important as our physical. With a positive attitude and a great self-image, we can accomplish anything. Strong mind! Strong body!
And if you’re looking for a way to have great workouts at home, be sure to check out the For the Young at Heart membership plan on my website! I offer dozens of fun and active dance and fitness workouts that will get you healthy and feeling great. Until next time, have fun, keep moving and be happy and healthy!
This article originally appeared in Coastal View.
