Get Started On Your Exercise Program and Never Stop

We hardly give a thought to our muscles. They are on the inside and unseen so we assume all is well and they are working properly. If you are over the age of 30 years you may not have noticed that your muscles are getting smaller. If you haven't that is normal as most people are not aware that adults lose muscle tissue at the rate of one half pound per year until after age 50 when this rate doubles.

Although this loss occurs in both men and women of all fitness levels the biggest impact is on people who have less muscle mass ? usually women (since they have about 1/3 less muscle mass than men). So women tend to become weaker as they get older even though they tend to live longer.

We used to believe that this loss of muscle was because of the aging process. But we now know that this is not so and it is a result of not doing enough muscle building and toning exercise that is the cause. There used to be plenty of muscle using work in our parents and grandparents day but our modern sedentary world is quite different and has had all of this movement or 'work' removed to make our lives easier.

The price for this easy life is a high one as we are beginning to realize. Without this vigorous movement our bodies no longer have the mechanism to remain healthy. We tend not to worry about losing our physical strength but what we need to be aware of is that with this loss our entire body weakens.

It weakens our bones as our muscles are attached to them and without the vigorous pulling of our muscles contracting on the bones of our skeleton they become thin, brittle and weak. Our muscle tissue is our storage depot of protein that keeps our immune system strong so as our muscles shrivel so does the vital capacity that protects us from disease.

This may explain why every second person on this planet now has a chronic 'lifestyle' disease and many have multiple illnesses and conditions. These diseases are called 'lifestyle' as they are caused by the way we live our lives and what we do and don't do on a daily basis. These diseases are totally preventable and include the horror ailments like heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

We can easily keep our muscle tissue strong and therefore keep our entire body strong by replacing this lack of proper muscle building activity with strength training exercise. It is so effective a well conditioned sixty-year old is equivalent to a sedentary forty-year old.

The state of our muscle tissue can keep us younger for longer, slow the aging process and help protect us from disease.

Strength training is accessible for everybody, in a gym or at home with the proper equipment and instruction. It is important to do it correctly otherwise it will not work as it is supposed to. A fitness professional is a great investment to get you started or re started and show you the ropes so you can continue on your own on a regular basis.

So now you know you have to do it, you know you need it to remain in good health. You know you need it to get strong and fit and stay so. So all that is left to do is get started and never stop.