Getting older doesn't have to mean losing energy and strength. Many ailments we take for granted as “part of getting older” are caused by something else: your muscles are atrophying. In this blog, Fenn Leijen, manager at Happy Bodies Haarlem, explains how you can stay strong, mobile, and independent with two short workouts every ten days. Now and in the future.
From the age of thirty, your muscle mass slowly decreases. After fifty, this accelerates, dropping by as much as one to two percent per year if you do nothing. This loss is called sarcopenia, and you often only notice it when something you always did easily suddenly becomes difficult. You can read more about this in the blog about loss of muscle mass.
Losing muscle strength affects precisely the things your independence depends on: climbing stairs, carrying groceries, getting up from a low chair, maintaining your balance when you stumble. Your energy depends on it too: the fewer muscles you have, the more effort ordinary activities require. Staying strong is therefore not just for the gym; it is the foundation for a comfortable old age.
The good news: muscles respond to training at any age, even at seventy. Research shows that people over sixty become measurably stronger if they train regularly. Moreover, strength training keeps your bones strong, your metabolism active, and your balance sharp. You can read exactly how that build-up works in the blog about beautiful muscles.
At Happy Bodies, you train in the Milon circuit under the guidance of your coach. The machines are set to your level, the movements are controlled, and you don't have to lug around free weights. Your coach determines the right entry level with you so that you start safely and prevent injuries. The 35 minutes include no rest time, allowing you to train effectively in a short amount of time without overexerting yourself.
You don't have to rely on your gut feeling. The Milon Circle software tracks your strength and progress during every session. This way, you see in black and white that you are getting stronger, which often proves to be a welcome motivation to continue.
You don't need hours a week. With 35 minutes twice every ten days, you maintain your strength and build up steadily. Think of it as investing in the version of yourself who, in ten or twenty years, will still be able to walk up the stairs and lift the grandchildren on their own. You start today.