Interrelation Between Aging and Sports

Introduction:

The human body undergoes several anatomical and functional changes that make elderly individuals more susceptible to cardiovascular and musculoskeletal stress. With age, the exercise dose's safety margin tends to shrink. Older adults frequently suffer from exertional injuries, primarily associated with degenerative aging processes. Elderly athletes who participate in sports requiring a high level of coordination, reaction time, and balance, such as ball games, downhill skiing, and gymnastics, frequently have acute injuries. Preventing sports-related injuries is the best therapy. Essential elements of injury prevention include appropriate training regimens, the use of safe, well-known equipment, cautious warming up and cooling down, multiphasic training, which includes the training of neurophysiological functions (balance, coordination, and response time), and muscular strength.

What Is Aging?

The permanent biological changes that occur over a lifespan are called aging. As people age, their immune systems become less efficient and diminish the ability of the body to fight against infection. The following changes are observed with aging:

• Loss of taste and smell.

• Diminished gastrointestinal function.

• Altered vision and hearing impairments

• Decreased bone density and body weight.

• Mental illness.

• Decreased heart rate.

• Altered muscle strength.

• Increased fat or blood cholesterol level.

• Increased blood pressure.

• Altered respiratory function.

• Decreased body movement and flexibility.

What Changes Occur in Body Composition in Response to Aging?

Between the ages of 40 and 45, both men and women experience a progressive loss of fat-free mass. Growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor levels are declining in older adults (60 to 80 years old), which is related to a 30 percent decrease in muscle protein synthesis compared to 20-year-olds. The following conditions are noticed in body composition about aging are

• Decreased Height: Individuals' height declines between 30 and 40 due to poor posture and compression of the intervertebral disks.

• Increased Body Weight: It is commonly seen between the ages of 25 and 45 due to decreased levels of physical activity, the consumption of food with high-calorie content, and reduced capacity to mobilize fat deposits. After age 45, weight stabilizes; between ages 65 and 70, weight declines as a result of diminished appetite.

• Decreased Bone Density: Common in males and females, beginning in women aged 30 to 35 and males aged 45 to 50.

• Osteoporosis: Common in males and females, beginning in women at 40 to 50 and in males at 50 to 60. The major contributing factors arepoor diet and decreased estrogen after menopause.

• Sarcopenia: A condition commonly seen in older people over 50. It is characterized by the loss of muscle tissue and contractile strength, making it difficult to get out of a chair or bed.

• Decreased Muscle Strength: The decline in muscle quality increases the fracture risk. Skeletal muscle proteins, lipids, and DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) are subject to oxidative alteration and damage due to oxidative stress. As a result, there is a constant loss of muscle mass and function, cellular dysfunction, and muscle protein degradation.

• Hormonal Impairment: Changes in hormones like growth hormone and testosterone, which appear to decline more dramatically after age 60, are accompanied by decreased strength.

What Effect Does Aging Have on Physical Activity?

Physical activity tends to fall significantly with aging, with decreased physical activity harming physiological function. Loss of skeletal muscle and strength is noticed with aging. With exercise, older adults can improve their fat-free mass and reduce their weight, body fat percentage, and fat mass. Compared to women, men seem to undergo more alterations in body composition. Endurance training cannot stop the aging process and loss of muscle mass, but strength training can preserve or grow the muscle fiber cross-sectional area in older men and women.

What Exercises Can Be Done to Help With Aging in Healthy People?

The modes of exercise that can be performed with aging are

• Aerobic Exercise: Aerobics is a naturally rhythmic, moderate-to-vigorous exercise. They have performed intervals of three to five days a week for at least 30 minutes a day and increased gradually. Aerobics has a significant impact on considerable muscles. The most common aerobic exercise are

  • Walking.

  • Jogging.

  • Running.

  • Dancing.

  • Stair climbing.

  • Window washing.

  • Rowing.

  • Brisk walking.

  • Rope jumping.

  • Sweeping.

  • Vacuuming.

  • Mopping.

• Resistance Exercises: Resistance exercises are multi-joint exercises that involve more than one muscle group. Each muscle group was trained for two to four sets of exercises in a repetitive motion with a two- to three-minute rest interval, which targeted both agonist and antagonist muscle groups. Strength training or resistance exercise involves weight lifting, maintaining and increasing muscle strength and endurance. The exercise comprises six to eight strength training exercises with 8 to 12 repetitions.

• Stretching Exercise: The stretching exercise involves the neck, shoulder, pelvis, hip, leg, and upper and lower back for ten minutes. Testing activities are performed along with strength-training activities.

What Are the Benefits of Weight Training for Older Adults?

The capacity to increase muscle strength or hypertrophy is not hampered by aging; older persons receive the same health advantages from exercise training as younger and middle-aged adults. In addition, healthy individuals who engage in endurance exercise training see similar absolute increases regardless of their age, sex, or baseline level of fitness. The significant benefits of weight training programs for elder individuals are

• Increased stability and posture.

• A more comprehensive range of motion and increased flexibility.

• Increases bone density and lowers the risk of fractures.

• Increases muscle endurance and strength.

• Decrease depression, back pain, arthritis, osteoporosis, and diabetic symptoms.

• Reduces the risk of falling due to improper balance.

• Decrease sarcopenia (age-related skeletal muscle loss).

• Maintain blood pressure and blood glucose level.

• Decrease cholesterol level.

• Regulate gastrointestinal function.

• Increase bone density,

• Burn out body fat.

• Regulate heart or cardiovascular function.

• Decrease the risk of arthritis.

• Enhance muscular strength and endurance.

• Improves body movement and flexibility.

Conclusion:

Most athletic performances typically diminish with age because of reductions in muscular and cardiovascular endurance and strength. Additionally, aging alters general strength and cardiorespiratory fitness to a lesser extent. The key components of injury prevention are appropriate training regimens, the use of safe, well-known equipment, thorough warming up and cooling down, multiphasic training including the training of neurophysiological functions (balance, coordination, and reaction time), and muscle strength. However, the quality of life is improved by maintaining an active lifestyle, which is also connected with a minor increase in lifespan.