Article Advise

submitted: Apr 27th 2008 | by: JoLarsen | Total views: 4 | Word Count: 623 | |

As little girls, most of us grew and grew until we became as tall or taller than our moms and other female relatives.

Suddenly, even though you stopped growing, you kept getting taller and taller over them. What happened?

The reason is that your mom and other female relatives have probably gotten shorter over the years; in fact they could be shrinking!

The medical community used to think that on average, a woman would lose between 2 1/2 and eight inches of her height in her late adulthood. Now medical experts are realizing that it can be prevented.

This shrinking is attributed to osteoporosis, which is a lessening of the density of the bone. Although both men and women have the same issues, it is more of a problem for women. The two best ways to prevent it from affecting you is to take supplemental calcium and have a regular fitness routine.

As you reach 40 years of age, it becomes increasingly vital to start a regular exercise program. Retaining your bone mass (and thus your height) is only one benefit of exercise. Staying fit reduces your risk of developing any of a number of health problems associated with your cardiovascular system, diabetes and even cancer.

Before you set out on your new routine, you should make it a priority to choose an exercise or group of exercises that provide you with a sense of pleasure.Don't jump on any exercise of fitness fad because it seems to be popular. Before you commit yourself, ask yourself what activities you could visualize yourself participating in for the rest of your life. If you actually enjoy the specific exercise, you're much more likely to continue with it faithfully.

Whatever you exercise you choose, you should also incorporate some form of weight training. This will help to keep your bones strong by stimulation of the mineralization and remodelling process. Since every major muscle is attached to the bones by tendons, whenever these muscles contract, the force that is exerted on that bone will help build bone mass.

Weight lifting is the best form of building and retaining bone mass. If you decide to lift weights, you do not have to worry about developing huge muscles like competitive female lifters because that is not what you need to get the benefits.

Miriam Nelson, Ph.D. of Tufts University conducted a study of the benefits of this particular form of exercise, the results are astounding!

Two groups of post-menopausal women were studied by Dr. Nelson. None of women in either group were doing a regular fitness program or taking any hormone replacement supplements.

One group began a basic weight lifting program, twice a week for 40 minutes at a time. The other group remained inactive. The women who lifted weights greatly improved their strength tests after one year. In fact, they had scores which matched women in their late 30s and early 40s. In addition, almost all the women lost inches from their body and lost weight without changes to their diets.

But the most delightful transformation in these women was seen in how they spent their free time. They were freed from the sedentary life they once lived. Some of these postmenopausal women took up canoeing . . . others began to go dancing on a regular basis . . . still others participated in in-line skating.

The bottom line is that there are few "fitness musts" for women over 40. In fact, the only real "must" in the fitness realm is to select an activity or two and keep on doing it. The more active you stay, the stronger your bones will be . . . the taller you'll stand for the rest of your long, healthy life!

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