Martial arts as a weapon against aging: how to prevent muscle loss

Aging can be quite unpleasant sometimes. You start to feel some aches, you're a bit slower, and your muscles... well, they seem to get smaller. After your thirties, you gradually lose muscle, did you know that? That's actually quite early, in my opinion. And the older you get, the faster it happens. For instance, someone who is 80 has about half the muscle mass of someone who is 30. That's quite something.

Your muscles don't like to stay still

Maybe you're thinking now: 'Well, that's nice, but what can I do about it?' Fortunately, you can do quite a lot yourself. Because that muscle loss is mainly due to your lifestyle. Simply put: if you move less and eat poorly, your muscle loss accelerates. I'm not sure, but I think your muscles just want to stay active. Once they realize they're not being used anymore, they think: 'Hey, we’re not needed anymore, bye!'

Why martial arts specifically?

Exercising is good for you anyway. But martial arts really works well. Why? Because in martial arts, you use many different muscles. Not just your arms, like in tennis, or just your legs, like in cycling. No, you engage your whole body. It's as if your muscles in martial arts think: 'Hey, we are being used everywhere, let's stay strong!'

I think you can compare martial arts to a kind of 'full-body maintenance'. You train strength, balance, and flexibility at the same time. It's actually perfect as you age. And not just physically, because you also become mentally stronger. You know, discipline, self-confidence, and those kinds of things.

Eating is just as important as training

Well, just training isn't enough, of course. You can train hard, but if you don't eat well, then it’s actually pointless. Your muscles need building blocks. Protein is especially important. Almost no one eats enough of it, I think. Especially older people don’t. And that is precisely the problem. The older you get, the more protein you actually need to keep your muscles healthy.

So make sure you get enough protein. Think of chicken, fish, dairy products, or – I don't know if you like it – a good protein shake now and then.

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