Certainly you have heard the term “use it or lose it”... but unfortunately, in these days of perpetual couch lock fueled by the raging uncertainty of COVID-19, that tried-and-true adage proves not to apply to one’s ample backside. As our trainer Lauren will often tell clients in our new Standing Virtual Group Training: wake up those glutes! While one’s derriere may not dwindle in response to lack of movement, our muscles will certainly grow sleepier unless they are woken up daily… and seniors are facing the highest risk.

Sarcopenia is a challenging thing to address in the midst of a pandemic. We already have enough to focus on without an overly clinical term struggling up to the forefront of the mind. Perhaps more easily grasped as skeletal muscle loss, this syndrome has haunted the 55+ population since the turn of the indoor lifestyle. When ‘Pa and ‘Ma were working the fields, baling hay and chasing after livestock, skeletal muscle loss was much less of a “thing.”

Now that our populous is mostly confined to the white walls and motorized transportation of our modern life, we do not get the opportunity to as regularly or vigorously work on increasing muscle without a good deal of planning. Building and maintaining muscle, as those who have tried it can attest, is actually pretty hard. Even more challenging, once an individual reaches 40 years old, the decline in muscle mass due to lifestyle choices can be exponential.

With so many amazing tools and aids in our culture, one might think that it is simple to get around a loss of strength or stamina and still live a considerably rewarding quality of life. Unfortunately, the loss of skeletal muscle mass is so much more than that. The muscles act as a secondary reinforcer of the bones, so when we loose skeletal muscle mass, we are losing a huge part of what keeps our joints and spine aligned.

Developing a floppy exoskeleton isn’t quite as awesome for humans as it is for butterflies. For humans, there is a substantially increased risk of falls— unstacking of bones and joints with the inability to correct a downward momentum. There is also an increased risk of conditions like arthritis— inflammation of and damage to the cartilage of the joints which can be caused by lack of skeletal support— and there has even been a high correlation between skeletal muscle loss and insulin resistance, which in turn leads to other problems such as cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders.

One of the primary factors of the development of sarcopenia is twofold: lack of protein synthesis meets Vitamin D deficiency. Missing the mark in your protein consumption (getting less-than-ideal proteins, or eating them at times when your body can’t use them effectively) plus long days indoors (none of those fancy D vitamins), and voi’la— the stage is set for muscular decline, with any additional lack of movement in the supporting role. Enter the coronavirus stage left and the drama of an already challenging dance becomes a tiresome tragedy starring all seniors sheltered in place.

Luckily there is no aggressive routine needed in order to combat this loss— just due diligence implemented in a few small steps throughout the day.

First, support your body with what it needs to make and maintain your muscle mass. Make sure that you are consuming a moderate to high amount of protein at each meal: 25-30g (3 oz of chicken or steak, 4 oz of salmon, 1c of cooked beans, or 8oz of yogurt) should get you there. This is the perfect time to upgrade your quarantine by bringing your eating into a celebratory status.

Incorporating resistance-based exercises throughout the day is the other major player to combating muscle loss: this can be something as simple as pushing against a wall to activate your muscles, using elastic bands, or walking slowly with articulated movements. Even short, low intensity periods of physical activity such as weight bearing or walking have shown to be of benefit in the face of skeletal muscle loss.

The repetition of these practices— eating high protein content foods just before or just after a moderate exercise (plus supplementing those D’s as supported by your doctor)— is truly the key to maintaining your physical health during these challenging times.

Wake Up Your Glutes: A COVID-19 Tail

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