Tag Archive for: sarcopenia

seniorsskiing

This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Sep. 21)

/0 Comments/in /by

Snow Is Happening Now, Winter Weather Prediction, Portillo Report, XC Binding News.

So it begins.  There’s snow in British Columbia, some parts of Washington, Idaho, and Montana. Check out the very recent snow map above from Snow-Forecast.com.  The green represents snow; it’s not very much accumulation, —though we did hear Banff got blasted just today—but it’s there. Someone please ring a bell or something.

Sundeck at The Remarkables, Queenstown, New Zealand’s famous resort. Big snow happening there this summer. Credit: Snowbrains.com

And, we have heard that four resorts in New Zealand’s South Island have been forced to close because of too much snow this week. That reminds us of the snow-heavy winter we had in 2015-16 when the California Sierras were inundated. Such is the nature of climate change.  Go to Snowbrains.com for the story on how epic snow closed the mountains in En-Zed. 

Free (or Almost Free) Skiing For Seniors Listing Almost Ready.

This week, we are getting back into full swing here at SeniorsSkiing.com. Our correspondents are sending in early season stories which you should be seeing in a week or two. We have completed our research on where seniors can ski for free (or almost free) at ski resorts in North America.  Yes, indeed, we are including Canadian resorts this year in our listing.  It’s amazing how many resorts there are that do offer a significant break for seniors. Those discounts are out there; you have to look.  We know our annual listing will certainly help.

We’re busy designing the Free Ski list and getting it ready for publication.  Stay tuned.  Until then, you can still access last year’s listing under Subscriber Only Content. 

This Week

The Woolly Bear knows what winter will bring. Credit: TheInfiniteSpide

We’ve been paying perhaps too much attention to the winter weather forecasts this time around. That ol’ El Nino seems to be hanging in there, and if it does, it will definitely play a role in what happens in snow country. So, just to corroborate what we’re been hearing from the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center, we branched off to collect some tradition folk nostrums of what winter will be.  Find out what the old-timers looked to around this time of year to predict how much snow was in store for winter.  We also checked the annual Farmers Almanac prediction.  Read all about it.

Chile-based correspondent Casey Earle continues his series on skiing in Chile. He wrote some great articles orienting folks to what to expect down there and a recap of some of the principal resorts. This time, he zones in on Portillo, the venerable Chilean resort every skier knows about. Check out his resort review here.

Filled with amenities Hotel Portillo is the only place to stay at the resort. Credit: ChileSki.com

Cross-country editor and XCSkiResorts.com publisher Roger Lohr brings us some breaking news on the xc ski binding front. He describes the brand new Rottefella binding with a Move Switch that allows you to adjust the weight distribution on your skis. This could be an important break thru for senior xc skiers because it can actually enhance both glide and grip.  Certainly worth a look if you are thinking about new xc gear.

On a more serious note, we have a new article on Sarcopenia this week, a condition where muscles become less efficient in seniors. We found it remarkable that we never knew about this condition until we were introduced to it through a contributed article by one of our readers last year.  If we didn’t know, then probably a lot of our readers don’t either.  Study this one, dear readers.  The good news is that the weakening effects of sarcopenia can be mitigated through weight lift training.

If you have any story ideas, or want to submit an article, please let us know at info@seniorsskiing.com.  The season has started, and it is time to get ready.

Remember, readers, there are more of us every day and we aren’t going away.

 

 

 

BowlerSkier_489
mikemaginn

Conditioning Can Beat Sarcopenia: Pay Attention Seniors

/1 Comment/in /by

Sarcopenia Weakens Muscles In Aging Bodies, But It Can Be Managed.

If you’ve been lax about starting, continuing, or expanding your current conditioning program, it is time to get with the program. Many seniors are susceptible to weakened muscle as a natural effect of aging. When was the last time you picked up trash barrel, laundry basket, your bike, kayak, or even your skis, and you realized that they seem heavier than they used to be. The condition is called Sarcopenia, and it affects 13 percent of 60 year olds and as many as 50 percent of 80-plus.

In a recent New York Times article, Jane Brody, a personal health and fitness columnist, says that although the condition is fairly prevalent, not many seniors know about it.

Few practicing physicians alert their older patients to this condition and tell them how to slow or reverse what is otherwise an inevitable decline that can seriously impair their physical and emotional well-being and ability to carry out the tasks of daily life.

Dr. John E. Morley, a St. Louis University School of Medicine geriatrician, says that sarcopenia is to muscles as osteoporosis is to bones. “Sarcopenia is one of the most important causes of functional decline and loss of independence in older adults.”

The good news in all this is that the effects of sarcopenia can be reversed by exercise.

No matter how old or out of shape you are, you can restore much of the strength you already lost. Physical therapist, Marilyn Moffat, a professor at New York University, noted that research documenting the ability to reverse the losses of sarcopenia — even among nursing home residents in their 90s — has been in the medical literature for 30 years, and the time is long overdue to act on it.

That’s yet another reason to get back to conditioning.  Start a strength-building program using weights, bands, or machines.  As Dr. Moffat points out,

Start with two repetitions and, using correct form through the full range of motion, lift slowly and lower slowly. Stop and ask yourself how hard you think you are working: ‘fairly light,’ ‘somewhat hard’ or ‘hard.’ If you respond ‘fairly light,’ increase the weight slightly, repeat the two reps and ask yourself the same question. If you respond ‘hard,’ lower the weight slightly and do two reps again, asking the question again.

If you respond truthfully ‘somewhat hard,’ you are at the correct weight or machine setting to be exercising at a level that most people can do safely and effectively to strengthen muscles. Continue exercising with that weight or machine setting and you should fatigue after eight to 12 reps.

Now here’s a surprising insight. Your current exercise program might not be adequate to hold sarcopenia at bay.

The fact that you may regularly run, walk, play tennis or ride a bike is not adequate to prevent an incremental loss of muscle mass and strength even in the muscles you’re using as well as those not adequately stressed by your usual activity. Strengthening all your skeletal muscles, not just the neglected ones, just may keep you from landing in the emergency room or nursing home after a fall.

Exercise and paying attention to protein in your diet are the keys to remaining strong or at least as strong as you can be as you age. Read Jane Brody’s article and get busy.