What I learned this week -  From the book, Forever Strong - A new, science based strategy for aging well.  Our muscle health is important in every decade but it is especially important to pay attention to our strength and protein as we get older because our hormones are decreases that can help us.  Plus it is never too late to work on strengthening you muscle health. 

She says start young - it is never too early to get your kids into strenthening their muscles.  In early ages you can do more fun things with them, frog jumps, crab walk, kangaroo and one-leg crawl.  Anything that can keep them moving and add to their muscle strength.  Resistance training early helps our bodies with muscle memory as we age as well. 

In our 20s and 30s - eat protein, strength train and you can build and optomize your muscle and even your bone health through these decades.  For fertility for women and men muscle health is important.  When women get pregnant, their bodies start producing more insulin to help the baby grow.  If you have good muscle health you can handle the increase and don't have to worry about gestational diabetes.  Remember especially as young moms, you are probably doing a lot of ligting and strength training as you carry your kids around, everything adds up.  When I was in my 20s I worked with my husband as an apartment manager.  I would clean the hallways each day and was able to have my oldest son who was a baby at the time.  I would clean, carry his stroller up and down the stairs every morning.  I didn't realize how that really got me into to develop good strength.  So you may be doing more than you think.  At the age our hormones can really help us out. 

In our late 30s and early 40s -  This is when our hormones begin to decrease in production which then has an effect if we don't change a little bit of what we are doing.  Again protein and adding resistance training during this decade can be really helpful.

In our late 40s - It is at this age that if you don't continue to do resistance training or eating protein you can start to see a decline in your muscles.  “That’s why exercising isn’t just a vanity thing.  If you stop moving, your muscle starts shrinking.” (66) 

In your 50s  - If you don't continually work on your muscle health this is where can really can begin to see a decline.  Especially is it usually in this decade where women then go through menopause.  A reduction in estrogen in the body and therefore and increase in both insulin and testoserone can leave women with more fat at their belly.  Again her advice - to add extra protein which helps your body in this time as well as resisitance training.  For men they can go through andropause and too have a resuction in their hormone testoserone.  But with consistent exercise that can help balance that decrease.  "Remember while getting older is inevitable, the health declines cause by diminished muscle mass are NOT! A muscle-centric lifestyle incorporating nutritional and movement changes can rewrite your life story.” (73)

In your 60s and beyond - The most common cause for death at people 65 years and older is fall related.  If you continue to prioritze your muscle health and protein consumption, that can help negate some of the things that we normally think are age related.  “The best way to safeguard your independence is to protect your skeletal muscle mass.” (74) 

She always want to point out that it is never too late to start improving your muscle health. 

The big takeway from this chapter of this book was that muscle strength is important to work on your whole life as well as eating protein.  And that you need more protein and resistance training as we age.  And it is never too late to start.  We can always benefit from any type of effort to strenthen our muscle health.