As we age, we start to lose strength, bone density, and our muscles begin to deteriorate, which can give you that flat “flabby” look. This is all a part of getting older, but what you probably didn’t know is that this process can start as early as your 20′s! Although that is in rare cases, it typically starts for most people in their 30′s. This process typically starts slow but continues to increase as we get older.

As we age we start to lose strength, bone density and our muscles begin to deteriorate, which can give you that flat “flabby” look. This is all a part of getting older, but what you probably didn’t know is that this process can start as early as your 20′s! Although that is in rare cases it typically starts for most people in their 30′s. This process typically starts slow, but continues to increase as we get older.

You can lose as much as 1 – 2% of muscle mass per year, and this number increases with each decade! This can eventually accumulate to as much as a 50% loss of muscle mass in the coarse of a lifetime. That muscle doesn’t just disappear into thin air, it turns to fat. So what’s happening is your body is losing muscle mass and gaining fat which just further increases that “flabby” look. If putting on that extra fat wasn’t bad enough, a decrease in muscle mass means a decrease in your metabolism. Muscle burns calories, and too many calories can equal fat, so a decrease in metabolism means your putting on more fat each year!

If you want to stop this process, good! Regardless of your age, it’s never too late to slow this process down, stopping it from happening, or even reversing the effects of it all together. All you need to do is get active, start moving around, and add some strength training into your routine.

Strength training is the most important part of stopping this aging process from happening to you. Strength training includes any kind of weight bearing activity, such as weight lifting, body weight exercise, and even resistance training. These type of training not only help prevent the breakdown of muscle but can help build new muscle and even strengthen your bones. This helps reduce the risk of injury, and in women can help prevent osteoporosis.

-Scott