It may seem like common sense that if you don’t use your muscles, eventually they’ll atrophy away, yet so many people don’t take heed.

Many believe that cardiovascular training is the ticket to staying in shape, and I certainly wouldn’t blame them as I fell into that trap for over 30 years. It was only after 40 years of running as my exclusive form of exercise that I saw the light and started to open my horizons with respect to exercise.

I learned that cardio is only one aspect of fitness.

This research cited in this study emphasizes the need to keep your muscles in shape as you age, because long periods of muscle atrophy are more challenging to overcome. They also found that older muscle...

It may seem like common sense that if you don’t use your muscles, eventually they’ll atrophy away, yet so many people don’t take heed.

Many believe that cardiovascular training is the ticket to staying in shape, and I certainly wouldn’t blame them as I fell into that trap for over 30 years. It was only after 40 years of running as my exclusive form of exercise that I saw the light and started to open my horizons with respect to exercise.

I learned that cardio is only one aspect of fitness.

This research cited in this study emphasizes the need to keep your muscles in shape as you age, because long periods of muscle atrophy are more challenging to overcome. They also found that older muscles do not respond well to sudden bouts of exercise, so the key is to work out your muscles on a regular basis throughout your life.

The study found that younger muscle tissues had as much as four times more regenerative stem cells compared to old muscle. The authors noted that:

"Two weeks of immobilization only mildly affected young muscle, in terms of tissue maintenance and functionality, whereas old muscle began to atrophy and manifest signs of rapid tissue deterioration.”

So the take-home message is: the older you are, the faster your muscles begin to atrophy if you are not engaging in some form of strength training exercise on a regular basis.