Expect to Lose 12% of Your Strength Each Week

For each week of inactivity we older folks can expect to lose roughly 12% of our strength. When we become sick or injured that rate of loss can even higher.

While recovering from my heart attack I didn’t know this statistic, but I knew, as an athlete, that I would lose the strength and fitness I worked for over the years if I didn’t get up asap to move. And I knew that if I didn’t stay active my recovery would be slower. My health would diminish if I didn’t get moving.

Movement heals.

So I got to walking and stretching, some air squats, and just getting up to putter in my room or hallway as much as I could. Walking to the bathroom counted.

Yup, it’s true, “move it or lose it”.

So, I moved it to save myself.

Doing nothing is not an option. I have become part of a few new statistics in the past two months. Such as only 10% of people who experience a cardiac arrest survive, this one I am happy to be included in. But, I do not want to be part of this one, “expect to lose more than 12% of your strength” during recovery.

Not then.

Not now.

Before the heart attack I saw my future as I grew older maintaining the ability to do the things I love, to have mobility and independence, to be without pain, to feel secure and safe in my own body. I was on that trajectory.

Yes, I hear you. Decline isn’t an option as I get older, but the rate of my decline is manageable.

The vision of my future wasn’t “lets see if I can spend the latter part of my life in a whirl of medications and Dr appointments".”

Nobody wants to spend their days being held together by medications, and a calendar filled with more medical appointments than social events.

Exercise for me is a “must”.

Which brings me to you dear reader.

How are you doing?

Do you feel strong? Have you recently lost strength? Do you feel frail or fragile? Have you recently lost weight? Are you lifting weights regularly, committed to 2-3 times each week? Are you meeting your required protein intake to build that muscle?

I have so many questions for you!

It’s time to pack on some muscle reserve-it’s always time to pack on muscle- for when those unforeseen periods of disuse hit. Or to hold onto the muscle you have as you age.

What are you doing to protect yourself?

No matter what your age, it is possible to shift into activity. It may be a challenge requiring more focus and diligence, but it is possible.

And it is worth it.

You are worth it.

Our culture isn’t as focused on prevention as we could be or even should be. Certainly prevention could reduce much angst created around preventable injury, and illnesses.

But you can do something about this.

Muscle is an organ we can voluntarily exert control over.

We can exercise, have optimal protein intake, and let go of the focus on being thin where eating as little as possible at the end of the day is considered a “good” day. And where cutting calories, no matter what, to avoid body fat gain shifts to eating optimally to avoid muscle loss. Where the fear of getting “bulky” is recognized as the myth that it is.

WE want and need to keep muscle because muscle loss is not acceptable. Muscle loss increases chance of injury, decreases performance, creates a loss of power, strength, balance, and energy, to name a few.

We become more vulnerable and invisible as we literally shrink in size.

But we don’t have to. We can thwart disease, become more bullet proof to life’s never ending challenges, we can help our family and community.

An elevated split squat builds hip strength, improves balance, builds muscle, and confidence!

The power is literally in our hands.

Let’s get started one dumbbell lift at a time.

Let’s create a new herd of unicorns that don’t fit into the population that loses 12% of their strength after life throws a hook, but a new statistic that shows active older men and women recovering and thriving in spite of one of those unexpected life experiences.

This is my plan, this is my direction.

Join the herd.