A few weeks ago, the bug of procrastination bit me and I skipped my brisk evening walk. That day changed to the next and the next one. I used every excuse I could, from ‘it is raining’ to ‘I am so tired’ and ‘I will start tomorrow’, in the following days and before I realized it, a few weeks had passed with me skipping my everyday brisk walk.
The realization brought guilt with it and I finally did go for a walk only to find myself huffing and puffing within 10 minutes of starting it. My lack of strength shocked me and made me notice that those weeks of slacking off had made my stamina come down drastically. All those late nights spent binge-watching shows, midnight snacking, lack of exercise and proper sleep had wiped away all the effort I had put in the last year.
I began to think back on my previous efforts and all the things I had done in the past to ensure that my body retains muscle strength and immunity as I age.
Exercise: As we grow older we tend to lose muscle mass[1]. This makes us feel tired faster and many times weak as well. I recently took the muscle age test and the results were unexpected.
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I have realized after taking the test and my slacking off that the key to getting results from exercising is consistency. Exercise has to become part of your life. I understood that lazing off meant taking a break and the break turned out to be longer than I had imagined it would be. This slacking off showed me how I had lost the stamina I had built up by exercising regularly. I have gone back to exercising regularly and recognized that maintaining consistency is the key. Regular exercise means a stronger me.
Eating right: A regular intake of home-cooked food, hand-in-hand with exercise ensures that you are stronger, fitter, have strong immunity, and retain muscle mass. A healthy, well-balanced diet gives you the nutrients that you need. However, as we grow older, we may also need additional supplements along with our diet of nutritious food. My doctor started me on Ensure last year. Ensure is complete, balanced nutrition for adults. It contains 32 high protein nutrients that support strength, immunity, and energy. One mug of Ensure a day and I can feel my strength, energy, and stamina improving by the day.
Sleep: Most people are very particular about what they eat and exercise regularly. However, a good, solid sleep cycle is one of the most underrated aspects of being strong and healthy and towards developing immunity as we grow older. Good sleep not only refreshes you but it is the time when muscles repair themselves and regenerate cells[2]. Sleep provides essential support to our immune system. Having a fixed time to go to bed and waking up make sure that I wake up refreshed and I am ready to face the day.
Hydrate: Drinking water helps carry oxygen to the body cells which results in the smooth functioning of our systems. A regular intake of water also helps flush out toxins from the body helping the immune system to strengthen.[3] An added benefit for better skin.
Growing older should not mean slowing down. It should mean living life just as you want to, if not better. With Ensure, I #EnsureStrongerInsideOut. Have you tried Ensure too?
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2804956/#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20most%20striking,60%20%5B4%2C5%5D.
[2] https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/what-happens-when-you-sleep
[3] https://www.culligan.com/blog/how-water-can-boost-your-immune-system
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Muscle age alongwith bone age is very important but often neglected. I checked out the muscle strength test and will ask my family members to take it as well
It is so easy to make excuses and once you make that routine it becomes so easy. I have been inundated with work and as I type this comment, I have had far too may skipped gym sessions 🙁 . These pointers you shared are valuable and very doable as long as you are regular.
I used to do yoga and thought its enough for my age, fitness, and health. But this January I fell ill and had borderline diabetes. It really shook me and I started a one-hour walk. My sugar is fine now and after taking this muscle test, I have included Ensure in my diet to #EnsureStrongerInsideOut
I was nodding my head while reading the post. This is the first time in so many years that I haven’t done my workout since the past 2 weeks. I kept giving excuses and I am finding it difficult to get back to it. So, I could relate to your struggle to get back. But I am glad you did. Daily workout should be a part of lifestyle similar to brushing our teeth, has to be done daily without fail if not twice in a day.
Thanks for this informative post Mayuri.
Love the way you have shared your experience and indeed this entire WFH has messed up so many things.
I have to take this test yet. These are an important 4 ways that we should not ignore as we age. Great post.
Good post. From your link i have teaken the test and shocked to see my muscle age is more than my age.
True our muscles are asleep during the pandemic. Time to do something about it.
I really need to work upon this. Specially good diet n exercise. Will check out this muscle test .
Our stamina drops quickly although it takes months to build up. With complete nutrition with Ensure and an active lifestyle our muscles will get stronger too. This test is such an eye-opener.