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6A Daily News ��� Tuesday, April 9, 2013 Vitality health & fitness Consider re-balancing your workout to lessen likelihood of injury By Julie Deardorff Chicago Tribune (MCT) In her 20s, Lori Popkewitz Alper loved the intense cardio workouts at her Boston gym. But, as her life and her body changed, so did her fitness repertoire. During pregnancy, Alper found yoga. Soon she was pushing a jog stroller or hauling children in a double-wide bike trailer. Now 47, Alper has returned to some of the high-impact routines of her youth, but her approach has matured. "I'm more aware of my body's needs, and I try not to be too hard on it," said Alper, who regularly incorporates strength training for bone health and yoga for her sanity. "(Exercise) is such an important piece of my existence ��� I hope it always will be." Workout programs are like 401(k)s ��� they need to be re-balanced over the decades, said fitness expert Tom Holland. "As we age, we need to gradually take out the risk and put in more 'blue chip' elements," he said. These four basic-yeteffective exercises ��� a squat, pushup, bicep curl and abdominal crunch ��� should remain in your program as long as you can perform them correctly, Holland said. "When you're young, blue chips are often perceived as being too easy, yet they are the key to cre- ating and maintaining a strong foundation," he said. "You may have to modify them slightly as you age ��� not going down as far on a squat, for example ��� but you keep them in as long as possible." decreases by 1 percent a year in healthy men and women. By the time you've hit 30, muscular strength begins to head south. But the majority of the decrease occurs after age 50, when it As the body ages, it naturally begins to fall apart, with some functions breaking down faster than others. After age 20, the maximal amount of oxygen your body can use ��� also known as VO2 max ��� falls at the rate of 15 percent per decade. Bone mineral density also decreases with age; in women the rate accelerates after menopause. What to do ... Experts say the ideal combination of exercise for healthy aging should include a combination of aerobic, strengthening and flexibility exercises. Balance exercises are also vital in helping prevent falls, which can lead to fractures. And though higher-intensity training programs are effective, less rigorous works can be just as effective, as long as they are done consistently. Kim Evans, 56, a fitness professional in Grand Haven, Mich., stresses functional fitness and deemphasizes cardio as her clients age. "Older folks still need to get up and down off of the floor, to be able to chase after grandkids and play a round of golf or tennis without having to recover for several days," she said. "Aging is not for sissies. You need to face it head on," Evans said. "Pay attention to your limitations, keep up your strength, keep trying new things and have a good attitude." Tweaking your workout can keep you active well into your golden years. Here's how to reduce the risk in your exercise portfolio: ... if you're a runner Train like a triathlete, Holland said, because if you only run, you'll be forced by injury to switch to swimming and biking to rehabilitate overuse injuries. ... if you're a swimmer Add gravity. Be sure to incorporate strength training, walking or anything weight bearing to help prevent the loss of bone density, said Pete McCall, an exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise. Also spend an equal amount of time on your back to help balance out the curves of the spine, recommends Jill Murphy, a physical therapist, licensed athletic trainer and strength and conditioning specialist in Neenah, Wis. ... if you're a tennis player Balance the other side. "Do resistance training and in the form of dumbbells, bands and tubing to balance the strength on each side of the body," Olson said. "If you are right-handed, most of the joints and muscles on the right side of the body will be better developed than those on the left side. With free weights, each arm has to independently hoist the weight such as shoulder presses with the left side versus the right side." ... if you don't work out Start moving. "Don't worry about weights, just get up and walk or try something fun Learning how cells age may lead to anti-aging treatments DEAR DOCTOR K: I see advertisements about various treatments that stop your cells from aging. Is there anything to that? What happens to our cells as we age? DEAR READER: There are no treatments that can stop our cells from aging. But in the past 10 years scientists have made giant steps in understanding what caus- es cells to age. That knowledge could lead to true ���anti-aging��� treatments. As for what happens to our cells as we age, I���d rephrase the question: What happens to us as our cells age? Our bodies are made up of trillions of cells. As we get older, so too do our cells. And like us, our cells do not live forever. Each time a skin cells continue cell divides, a litto divide regulartle bit of the ly, even if the skin telomere ��� DNA hasn���t been at the tip of each injured, though at chromosome ��� is a pace that slows lost. Thus, telomover time. eres of young Cells can split cells are longer only a limited number of times. Dr. K than the telomeres of middle-aged For example, by Anthony L. fibroblasts, the Komaroff, M.D. cells, which in turn are longer collagen-producing skin cells, typically than the telomeres of old divide about 50 times. cells. When the telomeres Once a cell reaches this become very short, the end point, it enters a stage cell can no longer divide, in which it no longer and it dies. (I���ve put an divides and finally dies. illustration of cell division When the cell receives and its effect on telomere certain chemical signals length on my website, that its time is up, the cell AskDoctorK.com.) Along with telomeres switches on a program called apoptosis that leads that get shorter, older to the cell���s death. In other cells also suffer increaswords, a cell that learns ing damage to their DNA. its time has come com- In addition, the mitochondria ��� the little mits suicide. Most of the cells in our bodies today were not with us when we were born. From birth through adulthood, new cells are constantly forming; that���s how our bodies grow larger. Cells ���grow��� not by getting bigger, but by dividing in two. This process is called mitosis. Normally, the two cells that result from mitosis are identical right down to the last bit of genetic information. Once we reach adulthood, our cells don���t need to divide to help our bodies grow bigger. They divide only to replace cells that have died or been damaged. This happens differently in different organs. Liver cells, for example, multiply only in response to injury. But ���batteries��� inside each cell that supply its energy ��� start to become less efficient. The bottom line is this: We get older because our cells get older. What makes a cell age, and what could help keep a cell young, were nearly total mysteries just 25 years ago. Since then, medical research has provided many answers. Because of that research, I believe that someday we will be able to slow aging. Dr. Komaroff is a physician and professor at Harvard Medical School. 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