Why Bodybuilding Can Be Difficult For Seniors

As people age, the way that the body, as well as the way that the muscles respond to exercise changes. While muscle is built the same way whether a person is young or old, the process that your body uses to turn exercise into muscle becomes less effective. It’s this loss in efficacy that makes it so difficult to build muscle in older adults. Understanding how the muscle-building process changes as we age can help those fitness-conscious people stay in shape, no matter how old they are. In this post from the Nutronics Labs blog, we’ll discuss why bodybuilding can be so difficult for seniors, and some ways to stay in shape as you get older. 

How Does The Body Build Muscle? 

As humans perform strength training, exercises that were difficult at first become easier as muscles increase in both size and strength. This process of muscle growth is what’s known as hypertrophy. As muscles get larger, they also get larger muscle fibers and cells, increasing their performance and the individual’s ability to lift heavier weight. As a person continues to train their strength, they’ll be able to increase the weight they are lifting to make their muscles get even stronger, and so on. 

Muscle Contractions 

When a person is lifting weights, they pull and shorten their muscles, which is known as contraction. Contraction is how muscles produce movement, generate force, and do their job as a bodily system. As muscles contract, it causes the levels of various chemicals within the muscle to change, especially when the body has to work hard to perform the contraction, like lifting a weight. 

Chemical Changes 

For a young and of sound health individual specialized chemical pathways within the muscle are triggered as muscle movement is detected. When these chemical pathways are triggered, the production of the proteins that generate muscle fibers startup, which causes the muscles to increase in size. Over time, this chemical change results in noticeable physical changes, like more defined muscles in areas that are frequently worked out. Along with increased size and definition will come increased physical strength in the individual. 

How Muscle Builds In Older Adults

In young muscles, the processes that trigger to build muscle fire frequently, and in large quantities in regards to the chemical changes. When a person reaches 50 years of age, the process fires less, and in smaller amounts. As people get older, their bodies will respond less and less to the exercise they perform.

One study showed that an average of 150 chemicals change in a young man who is performing a strength training exercise. In older men performing the same exercise, an average of only 42 chemical changes were identified. It’s this change in chemicals that best visualizes how young and old people respond differently to strength training, and in turn, muscle building. 

How To Stay Fit As You Get Older 

Staying fit as you age isn’t much different than staying fit as a younger individual. What’s different is how your body responds to the activities you do to stay in shape. This change in the reaction shouldn’t change how an older person stays in shape, but it should encourage them to work harder to stay active instead. 

Exercise 

Exercise should be the number one thing you do as an older individual to stay in shape. While your body may not respond the same way to exercise as it used to, it’s just as important as it was when you were young. There are a number of benefits to exercising as an older adult apart from staying in shape. Exercise reduces the risk of becoming disabled in old age by up to 20%. Additionally, ample exercise helps people sleep, have more energy, and feel generally better. Exercising is one of the best ways to stay fit as you get older. 

Natural Supplements 

Getting your recommended amount of vitamins and minerals is another important factor in staying fit as you age. Iron, calcium, vitamin C, and vitamin D are all critical in general health, as well as building muscle. At Nutronics Labs, we produce a line of natural supplements that contain IGF-1, a natural hormone that can help build muscle within the body. Many of our older customers mention how much it helps them feel better and see more results from exercising. If you’re looking for a way to stay fit as you get older, consider IGF-1 Plus from Nutronics Labs. 

See More Results From The Gym With IGF-1 Plus From Nutronics Labs 

At Nutronics Labs, our natural supplements are doctor formulated to help seniors see better results at the gym. If you’ve been looking for ways to build muscle as an older adult, Nutronics Labs and IGF-1 Plus could be of assistance. Save up to 50% on our natural supplements when you take advantage of our auto-ship program. Need more tips on bodybuilding for seniors? Our blog has tons of information on ways to help build muscle and stay fit in older age. Stay in shape as you age with IGF-1 Plus from Nutronics Labs.