Exercises which involve lifting weights above your shoulders present a risk to your shoulder joint. Injuries can be acute, such as a tear or dislocation or chronic such as a rotator cuff injury or frozen shoulder. But lifting objects above your shoulders is requirement of daily living. We need shoulder strength and mobility to stay functional and active. Strong muscles supporting the shoulder joint can also protect the ligaments and bones of the upper body. Exercise selection and progression are important. For seniors, unsupervised use of overhead pressing with barbells may present a higher risk. Alternatives are dumbbells, shoulder press machines, medicine balls, sandbags and kettlebells. All of these exercise tools help keep your shoulder joint aligned in the neutral position to reduce the risk of injury due to repetitive overloaded inflammation of your shoulder joint. I prefer kettlebell presses as the lift starts from the centre line and the movement is vertical. This is a safer op...
Strength/resistance training is essential for good health and longevity. A loss of skeletal muscle mass leads to immobility and loss of independence and is linked to a decline in our immuno-resiliance, increased susceptibility to infections and chronic inflammatory diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancers. Two key concepts in strength training are intensity and recovery. One consequence of an intense workout is delirium. Delirium is a disturbance in our mental abilities. Intensity Intensity is a measure of how hard we work during an exercise. Intensity is a function of the load, the number of repetitions and the length of the workout. As we age, we may have difficulty increasing the load, but we can still continue to maintain and develop strength by increasing the number of repetitions and the length of the workout. Recovery Recovery is the period that our muscles are give to rest in between each set or in between each workout. For this discussio...
Becoming immobile in your old age will make you dependent on others. When you are no longer able to move, unaided, from a seated position, to a standing position, you will then be unable to care for yourself. Being unable to stand up independently will lead to an increased rate of muscle loss and a more rapid deterioration of your physical and mental health. Moving from a sitting to a standing position requires the combined activation of your quads, glutes, core and back muscles. Growing old with vigor will require you to safely train these muscles. How do I start if I have never trained before. You may wish to start by benchmarking your level of fitness against fitness norms for seniors. A good place to start is the Rikli and Jones Senior Fitness Test. This bank of 8 tests is designed to help gage your level of fitness. Ideally these test should be performed with the aid of a trainer - but the tests are quite simple, and another person can help you determine your leve...
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