Save your Muscles

Our muscles play a key role in our health. They allow our skeletal system to move, help us experience day to day life, and our organs are also dependent on muscle movement. Organs such as our heart for pumping blood, stomach for churning food, and intestines for processing food – these are all muscles!  

As we age, our muscle integrity will naturally decline about 3-5% per decade after the age of 30. This age-related muscle loss is called sarcopenia, and it is a natural part of the human body’s life cycle. The average person will lose about 30% their muscle mass during their lifetime, which may lead to an increased risk of fractures from falls, or other injuries. Sarcopenia also influences other internal muscles in the body, such as our pelvic floor. 

The reason for sarcopenia is not clear, but there seems to be a connection with the body’s hormone shifts that influence the muscle mass as well. Testosterone and estrogen both play a role in the maintenance of muscle integrity. As these two hormones begin to decrease in peri-post menopause, many individuals who had a menstrual cycle will start to notice a decrease of muscle recovery after workouts. The beginning of pelvic floor dysfunction is also seen during this time. For more details on peri-menopause, click here to check out the What the Change seminar. 

Although sarcopenia and hormonal declines are part of the natural aging process, that does not mean that our muscles are a lost cause! There are many ways that we can help stimulate and support muscle growth, integrity, and maintenance: 

Protein: the best macronutrient to help support muscle growth and integrity. The body breaks protein down into amino acids, which play a vital role in muscle health. As we age, it is common that the body requires more protein due to a resistance to synthesizing protein. There are many sources and ways of getting protein throughout your day – animal meat, dairy, yogurt, beans, nuts, seeds, and as a last resort; protein powder. Focusing on getting protein in with each meal and snack is a great way to help provide the body with consistent protein throughout the day. Ensuring protein intake before and after workouts is also helpful to support the body’s muscles. 

Stimulation: Stimulating muscles also help to maintain their integrity. Focusing on powerful efforts, not just repetitive movements, helps maintain the muscle and neuromuscular integrity. Stimulating muscles with new movements, like trying new activities, is also a great way to maintain muscle integrity. Working with a personal trainer is best if you are new to strength training, they can help to provide guidance for proper form and injury avoidance. When it comes to pelvic floor muscle stimulation, Emsella chair provides amazing results by providing the equivalent of 11,000 pelvic floor contractions in 28 minutes. 

Recovery: With aging and hormonal shifts also comes a decline in the rate at which muscles recover. Planning your activities and workouts with adequate restful recovery will help to keep your injury free. Muscles need recovery time as they heal from the breakdown process caused by muscle stimulation. In this recovery time, the muscles are able to adapt to the new stimuli by rebuilding the muscle tissue. 

Active recovery: Walking, yoga, stretching, swimming – are all great ways to help support muscle integrity by increasing the blood flow to the muscles, removing toxins that build up with strength training, and help prevent tightness that can lead to injury. 

Although the body’s natural aging process will include a decrease in muscle integrity, there are many ways to help save our muscles! Protein throughout the day helps to keep amino acids in blood circulation to support muscle building. Stimulating muscles with strength training, or for pelvic floor stimulation with the Emsella chair, can help maintain muscle and neuromuscular connections. Recovery and active recovery help support the body by allowing the muscles to be nourished with blood flow, removal of toxins in the muscles, and help with adaptations to new muscle movements.  
 
References: 

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/preserve-your-muscle-mass#:~:text=Age%2Drelated%20muscle%20loss%2C%20called,muscle%20mass%20during%20their%20lifetimes. 
Roar by Dr Stacy Sims 
https://www.vlounge.ca/