By David Freeze
Strong legs, better health!
Strong legs matter! Over my back accident recovery, the most glaring concern was strength and balance with my legs. Early on, I had to be careful with every step and knew the chance of falling had greatly increased.
As we age, strong legs help boost mobility, stability and independence by protecting joints, reducing falls and improving one’s quality of life. A sturdy lower body can provide plenty of health benefits as well, among them regulating blood sugar and fighting diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease. Stronger legs allow us to move more, improve our social interactions, and enhance cerebral blood flow and neural development.
No matter our physical condition, even a minimum walking, sitting down and standing up routine will help to start building and maintaining leg strength. For extra credit, perform 10 squats every 45 to 60 minutes throughout the day, especially if your workday or leisure time involves sitting for extended periods. Over a day, this has been proven to be helpful in regulating blood sugar and is as effective as a 20- to 30-minute walk.
If you find walking too easy and can manage several sets of 10 to 20 reps of squats in a workout, consider adding a weight vest or carrying dumbbells. Weight vests are gaining popularity, especially when you can just go about your daily activities while wearing one. Add stairs or hills to your walk to make it harder. You can also replicate this leg workout on stationary bikes or elliptical machines by increasing the resistance or incline, respectively.
For those who already train in the gym with weights, keep doing it and never stop. Whether you use kettlebells, dumbbells or machines, the added resistance training will continue to improve and maintain your leg strength. If you haven’t tried this routine, get a jump on resolution time ahead of your friends. The stability and durability of your lower body are the foundation of your longevity, because continued movement leads to a happier, healthier life.
Mix a cardio option with leg strength training in circuits such as the following. Repeat three to four times:
- Walk, jog or bike for 5 minutes.
- Air squats 10 reps
- Lunges 5 reps per leg
- Kettlebell deadlifts 5-10 reps
Research suggests that maintaining strong legs can support an improved quality of life physically, mentally and emotionally. What is good for the legs is also good for the heart, lungs and brain.
More benefits of strong legs include:
They can improve cognitive aging. Lower-body strength is associated with both cognitive aging and overall brain structure. Long-term, lower-body activity designed to enhance leg power may contribute to achieving the broader objective of promoting healthy cognitive aging.
They can result in fewer falls for the elderly. Lower body strength should be one of the factors assessed and treated in older adults at risk for falls.
They improve quality of life and make us more mobile. For older adults with and without mobility issues, a decline in muscle mass, strength, power and physical performance increases the fear of falling. That possible outcome keeps us from wanting to be social, leading to a decline in overall quality of life and affecting our mental and physical health.
Calf muscle size can help the heart. The calf muscle pump, or CMP, serves as an integral part of the cardiovascular system by facilitating venous return from the legs to the heart.
Locally, our next race is the October 4th Back Creek Church Harvest Run 5K and Fun Run for kids, 9 and under. If you love running through scenic rural countryside, this is your race. A high-quality commemorative shirt, a pancake breakfast and great awards for nine age groups in the 5K add to the amenities for a run/walk where proceeds will benefit various Christian ministries.
Look for these and plenty of other upcoming events at www.salisburyrowanrunners.org
