Remember the phrase “use it or lose it”, well it is true in the fitness industry. You all have heard about body fat but have you heard about sarcopenia.

Sarcopenia or muscle degeneration is the loss of muscle mass due to ageing. Muscle mass starts decreasing progressively after the age of 50. With ageing muscle loses volume, density (becomes squishy), loses strength and becomes increasingly infiltrated with fat. Studies have shown that sarcopenia decreases longevity, decreases muscle mass, decreases immunity, increases risk of falls and greater fragility.

Sarcopenia is associated with poor health and the causes are due to sedentary lifestyle, unbalanced diet (low protein) , and severe stress. There is evidence showing that we can reverse mild muscle degeneration by lifting weights and increasing muscle mass.

According to Otago University researcher Dr Phil Sheard, muscle does nothing on its own. All muscle function is driven by the Central Nervous System. If we continually use our muscles, we are also using the neurons that control those muscles (motor neurons).

In the elderly exercise helps resume balance and strength, resume motor coordination and strengthen the muscles that act with reduced capacity. It also decreases the biological changes of ageing, vulnerability and fragility.

The best solution to reduce muscle degeneration is to exercise regularly, eat healthy diet rich in protein, vitamin D3 and omega 3.

Any exercise that you enjoy is healthy choice for your body and mind. But lifting heavy weights might prove to be a vital prescription for slowing brain ageing.

It goes without saying, consult a doctor and / or an exercise physiologist if you are planning to lift stuff for the first time, no matter how old you are.