Once we get past age 30 and we begin to experience the effects of the aging process we tend to accept them as a fact of life and one that we have little or no control over. Although we cannot stop this process recent studies have shown that we can alter the rate that our body moves through our life cycle. We now have a better understanding of what makes this cycle more difficult for some people and not others.

It is now believed that we can slow down and even reverse many of the negative symptoms of aging and can be in much better health in the last third of our life than we were in the second third. These studies have pin pointed the cause of many of the problems associated with getting older as simply a lack of muscle building and maintaining exercise.

As people get older they tend to do less and less physical activity. Perhaps that fact is left over from old fashioned beliefs that we should 'slow down' and 'take it easy' as we get older. Well that misguided belief has cost millions of people the enjoyment of that last third of their one and only life as they slide down a slippery slope of premature and preventable disability.

If you have any doubts about this go and take a look in a nursing home. The residents there are not sick; they are weak and frail and cannot take care of themselves. This is the result of years and decades of a sedentary life, of 'taking it easy' and 'slowing down'.

Not really a very nice way to spend that last third is it? Not something that any of us would look forward to.

This state of dysfunction could be compared to a person spending a month in bed. One's strength, endurance, mobility and cardiovascular performance measured before and after this complete bed rest can be equated to 30 years of aging. This is what is happening to a lesser degree in people that do not do enough strength building exercise.

The reason we must do this type of exercise is because there is no longer any physical 'work' left in our modern day lives. Everything that even remotely resembles anything that requires any physical effort has long since been removed to make our lives easier.

Our bodies are hardwired for the stimulation of intense movement to keep us healthy and well. Without it the cells do not get the necessary chemical instructions to renew, rebuild, replace and repair themselves.

The really good news is that simply spending a couple of hours each week partaking in a proper exercise program that must contain strength training exercise is all it takes to avoid this huge downside of getting older. We can increase our strength, improve bone density, improve flexibility, reduce excess body fat, speed up reaction time, improve our heart/lung function, lift our spirits and reduce our risk of serious disease and illness.

You would have to agree these are huge benefits that can be obtained for so little outlay.

A fitness professional is the right person to set up your program and teach you correct exercise technique. It is important that you perform your exercises at the right level of intensity (degree of difficulty) otherwise your program will not be effective.

Getting older can be a scary thing but the best way to deal with it is to face it strong and fit. Then the negative symptoms can be minimized so they are merely an inconvenience rather than a disaster. Then you can focus on making the most of the second or last third of your life.