You Need Muscles

Dr. Geoffrey B. Frankson

You have muscles – the same number as Mr. Universe, and they serve the same purpose in his body that they do in yours. His muscles are enlarged from overuse; yours are probably wasting away from lack of use. The average adult, not exercising, loses one to two percent of his or her muscles with every passing year, and that is the simple and avoidable reason that old people are weak.

There are several types of muscles in your body. The so called “smooth” muscles - like the ones that operate your bowels - are always working and are not under your control (although yogis claim otherwise). Your heart is simply a special muscle that pumps blood through your arteries, unceasingly, untiringly, requiring only a good supply of blood in order to keep on working efficiently throughout your life.

Most of your muscles, however, (most of your body, unless you are very obese) are of the type that we admire on Mr. Universe, and ignore in ourselves at great cost. These are the muscles with which we work - and play. The more we work them, the stronger and more efficient they get, and equally, the converse: put a cast on one leg and within a matter of weeks it will have shrunk to a half of the size of the other one.

Strong, efficient muscles are as important a requirement for good health as are well-functioning organs. Muscles consist of cells, which are little factories wherein we burn oxygen and glucose and other nutrients under the direction of several hormones. If those factories are not doing a good job we lack energy and can suffer from diabetes and other disorders. What keeps the factories going is exercise, without which no one can truly be healthy. The notion that one can get more energetic by taking tablets is so misguided that advertisements to that effect ought to be banned.

People with diabetes, in particular, need to recognise this. It really does not matter how carefully they diet if they are not getting any exercise. It takes efficient muscles to burn up glucose and thus avoid the problems of high blood sugar, and so it is almost a waste of time for a person with diabetes to go on a special diet if he or she is not exercising.

Unfortunately, we have come to associate muscles with healthy, young bodies. In fact, muscles are much more important for healthy, old bodies. And the older the age group, the more important it is to have strong muscles. A half of the health problems of the elderly are caused by plain and simple muscular weakness. It has been estimated that fifty percent of the medical costs incurred by retirees could be saved by doubling the amount of exercise that they take. Strong muscles prevent falls; exercise strengthens the heart, improves circulation, controls blood sugar, lowers blood pressure, mobilises the bowels, stimulates the nerves, uplifts the spirit and invigorates the mind.

There is a large and untapped market for gym owners among the older folk. The challenge is to change the notion that all they need to do is walk. Somehow – and one suspects the medical profession is at fault – people have come to believe that “walking is the best exercise”. It is not. For the younger age groups, anything – swimming, cycling, sports - is better than walking, and for the older age groups, strength-building will provide more benefits.

Walking is the easiest exercise. It is free, it is uncomplicated, it is relaxing, and it is far better than sitting around. But for those who want to optimise their health and enjoy the benefits of physical strength and vigour well into their eighties and nineties, walking is not enough. For those who want to lose weight, it is certainly not enough, and indeed, for the very obese and the arthritic, the stress on the knees and ankles probably exceeds the benefits.

You certainly do not need to look like Mr. Universe to be healthy, but you do need strong muscles. You will not get stronger by eating well, or stretching and meditating, or praying and managing stress, or any of the many other things that we all need to do in order to keep well. You will only get stronger by working your muscles, and that is true whether you are nineteen or ninety. And it is never too late to start: in a recent experiment, senior citizens in their eighties and nineties were able to triple their strength by doing the appropriate exercises.