This is an excerpt from the new book I’m writing called Stronger Next Year. Hope to provide you some very informative information on health, fitness, and aging. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.
Introduction
Hello, my name is Darvis Simms and I’m an American Council on Exercise certified personal trainer with
over 28 years of experience in the health and fitness industry. I’m also a competitive Masters
Powerlifter and I hold a World Record in the deadlift at 529 pounds at the age of 62.
I started competing in powerlifting in my late 50s and found that my body really responded to heavy
weight lifting and I quickly gained muscle mass and strength. After a couple years of training and
competing, I found myself stronger than I’d ever been in any period of my life. This lead me to question
the correlation between age and muscle loss and strength loss.
What I found was most of the aliments that are associated with age are primarily due to a loss of muscle
and strength. While muscle loss as you age is a fact of life, you can mitigate and even reverse this
through strength training and consuming enough protein in your diet.
Myths About aging
Over the Hill
Who hasn’t heard the saying “once you past the age of 40 your over the hill”? Exactly, what does “over
the Hill” mean? To most people it means the days of their youth are behind them. The days of youthful
health and vitality ends for some people in their 30s, some in their 50s, some in their 60s, and for some
they never end.
Ever wonder why some people never seem to age? They never lose that youthful health and vitality. I
believe it’s because they have a healthy attitude about aging. They never think of themselves as old.
They know they have to age, but they don’t have to get old.
Aging and old age are two completely different things. Aging is a natural process of life, it’s the number
of years you’ve lived. As long as you continue to live you will continue to age, but that doesn’t necessary
mean that you’re getting old. It is commonly believed that a decrease in your health and vitality comes
when you hit a certain age in your life, and this is called “old age”.
By this definition, some people are “old” by their 40s and others aren’t “old” in their 90s. My
grandmother is the perfect example of someone who never grew old. She was 92 when she passed
away, but she was never old. I don’t ever remember her being sick other than a common cold until she
died. She lived a healthy and independent life until her final days on earth.
So, living a long and healthy life begins with your attitude about aging. Studies are now revealing that
people who have an optimistic outlook on life live longer, healthier, and more fulfilled lives than those
who are pessimistic.
Strength Loss and Frailty
In my profession I hear something akin to this often, “I’m not as strong as I use to be since turned a
certain age”, or “I don’t heal as fast as I use to”. Every cell in your body is renewed every 11 months no
matter how old you are. That means you get a completely new body every year.
In my experience in the health and fitness industry, the reason you are not as strong and don’t heal as
fast as you use to is mainly due to a lack of exercise, and poor eating habits. Give your body regular
exercise, and a healthy diet and it will result in optimal health and strength no matter your age.
With the above being said, there is a natural process of muscle and strength loss associated with age.
This process can begin as early as your mid-30s and it accelerates over time if you don’t do anything to
mitigate it. By the time you are in your 50s you can lose 1 to 1.5 lbs of muscle each year. The good
news is you can slow-down, and even reverse this process by strength training on a regular basis.
Studies show that people well into their 90s gain muscle and strength when they strength train 2 to 3
times each week.
Loss of Independence
Loss of muscle and associated strength loss leads to frailty and loss of independence. The inability to
climb a flight of stairs, step in and out of a bath tub, and to carry in your groceries has very little to do with
age and everything to do with muscle and strength loss. As I mentioned above, strength training 2 to 3
times each week can reverse the process of muscle loss and weakness.
