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VOA健康报道2024--Can Resistance Training Keep Us Feeling Young?

时间:2024-07-19 03:27:18

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Can Resistance Training Keep Us Feeling Young?

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

Some experts suggest that lifting weights is the best way to keep our bodies strong and healthy as we age. Weight lifting is a type of resistance training.

Penn State University College of Medicine experts define1 resistance training as "a type of exercise that causes your muscles to work against an outside resistance."

Some experts claim resistance training can even slow aging.

Marcas Bamman has researched the effects of weight-resistance training on aging bodies for many years. He shared his advice recently with the Associated Press.

“Resistance training is in many ways the true fountain of youth,” Bamman said.

Our bodies do have biological limits. But Bamman said older people put too few demands on their bodies, not too many. He said that most age-related loss of strength, flexibility2, and endurance3 comes from the lack of physical demands on our bodies, such as exercise.

Bamman said that strength training for several months can increase muscle mass and ability to the level of people 30 to 35 years younger. He added that a lot of people are interested in that message.

Getting started

Bamman’s advice is mainly for people 60 years of age or older. However, he said no one should wait to start resistance training. He also suggests going to a gym to work out with weight machines. For beginners, he said machines are better.

However, experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say you do not need weight machines to do strength training. You can strengthen your muscles by using free weights — such as barbells or dumbbells — and resistance bands. You can also use your own body weight, for example, by doing push-ups or similar exercises.

Before starting any resistance training, experts suggest getting the advice of a medical doctor. For those using a gym with weight machines, Bamman also suggests getting a trainer, a person to teach you how to use the equipment. “It’s actually quite safe,” he said. But he added that a good trainer “…can teach the movements properly.”

How much is enough?

You can go to a gym, do training at home or work out in a park. However, both Bamman and the CDC suggest doing resistance training twice a week. Bamman added that three times a week is even better. He also suggests non-weight-training days in between. For example, if you strength train on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, then you should rest on Tuesday and Thursday.

He said, before resistance training, start with five to 10 minutes of light activity and stretching to warm up. Then, do between eight and 10 different resistance exercise movements.

Repeat each movement 10 times. Do these sets of 10 repetitions three times. Then move on to the next movement. When you reach the 10th repetition, you should feel you cannot do many more. If you could have done 10 more, you might want to increase the resistance.

Bamman also suggests that people should keep moving during their training. “Sometimes you see people who sit on the machine, do a set and then play with their phone for three to four minutes,” he observed.

Women might gain more than men

Bamman said strength training is important for both men and women. However, he said women might gain even more from resistance training than men.

Resistance training is a way to prevent osteoporosis, the loss of bone density4. Bamman said that over time women face an increased risk of bone loss. They can develop problems in their hips5 and lower back.

Yasuko Kuroi is 72 and started resistance training about 20 years ago. She spoke6 to the AP at a public recreation center in Tokyo. She said, “I saw the men in the gym and I thought I could do that, too.”

The body demands work

Experts at Stanford University say research shows that between the ages of 20 and 80 we can lose between 35 percent and 40 percent of our muscle mass.

There is a popular English expression that can relate to the body’s muscle mass: “Use it or lose it.”

Bamman says we are too easy on our bodies. He criticized health care professionals who are too easy on older people.

“Our human body is a demand-based system,” he explained. He added that if you continuously put low demands on your body, your body will adapt to that low demand.

“That’s why we lose muscle mass, that’s why we get weaker. We’re not demanding much,” Bamman said.

However, if you put higher demands on your body with such activities as resistance training, your body has to adapt to these higher demands. The body adapts by making stronger bones and bigger muscles.

Bamman used the example of space flight, or extended bed rest. In these situations, people quickly lose strength.

“All of our systems as we age are capable of responding and adapting. They just need the stimulus7.” He said he has seen positive effects for people in their 70s and 80s, and even for some in their 90s.

Bamman, 57, joked that he is now closer in age to the people who he studies. But he warned that there are no shortcuts9. He criticized some programs for older adults that use only seated exercises. He said these do not put enough demands on the body.

And that’s the Health & Lifestyle report.

Words in This Story

physiology10 –n. the science dealing11 with how living things physically12 operate

fountain of youth –idiom something that makes older people feel or believe they are young again

flexibility –n. the ability to stretch and move the body, especially the arms, legs and back

endurance –n. the ability to do an activity for a long time

gym (gymnasium) –n. a building that has spaces and equipment for exercise

resistance bands –n. flexible or rubber devices that people stretch using their arms or legs to strengthen their muscles

push up –n. an exercise in which a person lies on the ground and pushes away from the ground with their arms

adapt –v. to ability to change behavior to meet the needs of a new situation or condition

stimulus –n. something that causes a response

shortcut8 –n. a quicker, easier way of doing something that usually means not doing everything that is necessary to get a good result


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 define 4x5xE     
vt.解释,下定义,阐述,限定,规定
参考例句:
  • Please define the words.请解释这些字的意义。
  • It's hard to define exactly what has changed.很难解释清楚到底发生了什么变化。
2 flexibility vjPxb     
n.柔韧性,弹性,(光的)折射性,灵活性
参考例句:
  • Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
  • The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。
3 endurance endurance     
n.耐久力,忍耐力,耐久的时期,持续的时间
参考例句:
  • She reached the end of endurance.她到了忍受的极限。
  • The exercise obviously will improve strength and endurance.这种锻炼会明显改善体力增加耐力。
4 density rOdzZ     
n.密集,密度,浓度
参考例句:
  • The population density of that country is 685 per square mile.那个国家的人口密度为每平方英里685人。
  • The region has a very high population density.该地区的人口密度很高。
5 hips f8c80f9a170ee6ab52ed1e87054f32d4     
abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯,耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 );[建筑学]屋脊;臀围(尺寸);臀部…的
参考例句:
  • She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
  • They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
7 stimulus 3huyO     
n.刺激,刺激物,促进因素,引起兴奋的事物
参考例句:
  • Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
  • Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。
8 shortcut Cyswg     
n.近路,捷径
参考例句:
  • He was always looking for a shortcut to fame and fortune.他总是在找成名发财的捷径。
  • If you take the shortcut,it will be two li closer.走抄道去要近2里路。
9 shortcuts ebf87251d092a6de9c12cc3e85c1707a     
n.捷径( shortcut的名词复数 );近路;快捷办法;被切短的东西(尤指烟草)
参考例句:
  • In other words, experts want shortcuts to everything. 换句话说,专家需要所有的快捷方式。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
  • Offer shortcuts from the Help menu. 在帮助菜单中提供快捷方式。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
10 physiology uAfyL     
n.生理学,生理机能
参考例句:
  • He bought a book about physiology.他买了一本生理学方面的书。
  • He was awarded the Nobel Prize for achievements in physiology.他因生理学方面的建树而被授予诺贝尔奖。
11 dealing NvjzWP     
n.经商方法,待人态度
参考例句:
  • This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
  • His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
12 physically iNix5     
adj.物质上,体格上,身体上,按自然规律
参考例句:
  • He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服,心绪也很乱。
  • Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

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