If you’re at the age where your physical stamina is just not what it used to be, take heart. Despite misconceptions, senior citizens can make changes in their activities that will improve physical strength and coordination.

Unfortunately, as our bodies age it is natural for us to lose some muscle mass and strength. However, you can have more control over the rate that your muscles age than you think. Loss of strength in senior citizens probably results from lack of use as much as the aging process itself. Research in this area has led to the conclusion that most senior citizens could receive considerable benefit from a strength training program. And the best news is that now is a perfect time to start.

Here’s how strength training works. Our muscles require stimulation in order to grow. If we become less active, the muscles undergo less stress and become smaller and weaker as a result. A strength training program literally builds muscles and reverses these negative effects. Stress applied to healthy muscles, bones or tendons will cause these structures to become stronger, larger and more dense. In fact, improvements usually begin to occur as soon as two to three weeks following the start of a strengthening program.

Physical therapists often see patients who are concerned that this type of exercise program may be so strenuous that it will cause further damage to arthritic joints or create stress on their cardiovascular health. Of course, anyone beginning a new exercise program should consult his or her family physician to ensure personal safety.

Your general exercise program should work both the upper and lower body parts and should be performed on alternate days at least three days per week. Allowing a day of rest in between resistance exercise will permit muscles to recover before the next exercise period. Free weights as well as weight machines are components of a good program. Items around the house such as a can of soup also may be used as weights.

Emphasis should be placed on performing a full range of motion and in a smooth and controlled manner. It is very important that you pay attention to your breathing during exercise. As a general rule of thumb you should exhale while lifting the weight and inhale while lowering it. Most importantly, remember to breath in a nice controlled manner, and never hold your breath.

Perhaps the most exciting result of strength training for the elderly population is an increase in daily function. Research has shown that individuals who participate in a resistance exercise program walk faster, climb stairs better and fall less frequently. The reduction in the frequency of falls is probably a result of increased strength in the leg muscles. In addition, exercises performed while standing likely will have a positive effect on balance for standing and walking. People that take part in resistance programs demonstrate less loss of bone density as they age. This is because bone, like muscle, adapts to the common stresses placed on it.

Be encouraged, no matter what your age, to initiate a resistance exercise program. And involve your doctor. He or she can help you get on the right track and monitor your positive progress along the way.

(Courtesy of David Vaughn at Vaughn, Buchanan Shelley and Associates, Physical Therapists, in Greenville, South Carolina, phone 864-234-5842.)