Gone are the days when middle-aged men would take up golf or buy a motorbike, instead the UK’s male 40-somethings are more likely to be hitting the gym to bulk up.
Health on Female First
A survey of over 2,000 people who work out regularly, conducted by sports nutrition company www.BodybuildingWarehouse.co.uk shows that 40-somethings are the fastest growing age group of people who have taken up bodybuilding in the last 12 months.
Middle-aged men are driving the trend and they now represent more than one in ten of the nation’s bodybuilders.
These so-called ‘MAMILs’ (Middle Aged Men in Lycra) are taking up bodybuilding partly to battle the onset of middle-aged spread, but also as a way to improve their long-term health. Just under a quarter say they have taken up bodybuilding as a way to improve their performance in other sports.
This new trend could be due to the rise of muscular over 40s role models including Hugh Jackman, Gerrard Butler and current ‘Hercules’ actor Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.
The survey also revealed that over a third of these men take daily work out supplements, such as protein shakes, to maximise the effectiveness of their workout.
Managing director of www.BodybuildingWarehouse.co.uk, Kieran Fisher said of the study, “It’s great to see that men aged 40 and above are not viewing their age as an excuse to slow down, but as an extra motivation to look after their fitness and overall well-being.
“Working out four times a week or more is an excellent way to maintain health, prevent middle age spread and maintain a positive mental attitude.”
Professor Tony Kochhar, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon and Uzo Ehiogu, Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist expound upon the numerous wide-ranging benefits of weight training:
Manages other conditions – “Weight lifting can help to manage chronic conditions such as back pain, arthritis, heart disease and diabetes, when used in conjunction with an overall management plan”, explains Professor Kochhar.
Improved bone density – “Physical impact and weight-bearing stimulates bone formation. Just as a muscle gets stronger and bigger the more you use it, a bone becomes stronger and denser when you regularly place demands upon it”, comments Professor Kochhar. “In general, the greater demand the impact involved in the activity, the more it strengthens the bones. That’s why, for example, the bones in the racquet arms of tennis players are denser than the bones in their non-dominant arms. When muscles and gravity aren’t pulling on the bone, humans can lose bone mass rapidly”, continues Professor Kochhar.
Injury prevention – “Muscle strength through medium resistance training has been shown in several research studies to protect against injury. A biomechanical relationship exists between muscle and joint loading, which may be influenced by muscle performance. Muscle tissues act as shock absorbers improving the distribution of load throughout the body” explains Uzo Ehiogu.
Mental health – “Research suggests that even a modest amount of weight training 3-4 times a week for 20-30 minutes can boost your self-esteem as you improve your physical abilities. Training muscles can improve your general posture and overall muscle tone. It can be used to sculpt your body by selective attention to specific areas improving your body image. It can improve your quality of life and reduce fatigue during normal daily activities” says Uzo.
Despite the numerous advantages of weight training, there can be serious risks for those who do not perfect their technique and follow a suitable programme. Some of the most common pitfalls include:
No warm up – “A warm up is usually a low-intensity, high-rep, quick-paced exercise modality used to increase blood flow to the muscles. This helps to raise the temperature of the involved muscles, while also decreasing blood viscosity and promoting flexibility and mobility. Riding a stationary bike, jogging, swimming and stair climbing are all recommended forms of warm up”, explains Professor Kochhar.
Incorrect technique – “Using too heavy a weight when you are not ready will cause an injury”, warns Professor Kochhar. “It is always better to start off small and move up a weight. Trying to lift a weight with sheer momentum will also cause you to hurt yourself. Don’t try and cheat a rep in this way! Remember that, as with any new skill, it is always a good idea to have someone teach you the correct technique. If in doubt, start off small and work your way up to a heavier weight. Your body will let you know if you are doing too much”.
More is not better – “Recovery is an essential part of the training process”, explains Uzo. “If you are to benefit fully from weight training then you need to think of quality rather than quantity. Inadequate recovery affects performance and can cause fatigue and overtraining. It can be useful to keep a training diary to record details of all your sessions, amount of sleep, and rest days”, says Uzo.
Uzo Ehiogu offers a three-point plan to improve bone mineral density and fend off fractures:
Use resistance exercises that load all regions of the body and multiple muscle groups at the same time. For example, the squat, deadlift, leg press machine, lat pull down machine, pull-ups and the bench press. This relates to the specificity of loading and involves using exercises that directly load a particular region of the skeleton. If the body views this load as unusual or new it will send signals to bone cells to stimulate growth in the area subjected to strain.
Progressively increase the weight as you become accustomed to the training load. Bone responds favourably to mechanical stresses imposed upon it. Training must apply greater than normal demands on the exercising muscles to get stronger and so increase bone mass.
Vary the exercises you use on a monthly basis to continually present a different stimulus for new bone formation. The skeleton has a mechanism through which it can compensate for new stress patterns experienced by bone. To dissipate the new forces imposed by training, the direction of specialised fibres in the bone will change to conform to the stress experienced.
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