Peter Denny says he is stronger than he's ever been. And he's ready -- for whatever life might throw his way. The 72-year-old Boulder man has already made it through a complete hip replacement, recovering ahead of all of the doctor-set benchmarks. He mountain-bikes. He has been helping his wife recover from cancer for five years, and he says he has energy to spare. 
His secret: Muscle. Denny's got a lot of it. And he only started building it about seven years ago -- very slowly, at first. As people grow older, they hear a lot about staying "active." But building muscle is just as important, experts say. In fact, the YMCA says strength training is the only way to maintain muscle and metabolism as we age, and should be a part of every senior fitness program. Denny works out at Functional Fitness in Boulder twice a week for 90 minutes. His trainer, Wendy Woods, says she started by educating him about his body, getting him stabilized, stretching to improve his imbalances and correcting his biomechanics. Then she added light weights, and they worked their way up. This methodical process helped Denny build muscle while not creating more injury. She says she doesn't hold back on him now. She knows his history and his abilities, and they go for it. "You can teach an old dog new tricks," Woods says. "His gait has changed completely." Denny says by building up his smaller muscles, by learning how to move more efficiently and use the correct muscles, he has completely erased his knee pain. "My goal now is to keep building my strength, because it feels good," he says. "But also, I know that as I age, things are going to happen, and I want to be in a good position to be able to recover." Still, one of the main reasons seniors don't work out is they get used to their pain and don't realize it is something they can rehabilitate or rebuild, says Boulderite Denny. Other times, people simply don't think they can take on another commitment, especially a physical one, he says. Some are looking for a quick and temporary fix, like a pain pill. "It means you are going to go through a fair amount of new adjustment at an age where that might not seem so attractive," Denny says. "But a even a minor amount of strength training for older people is really worthwhile." Read more: Strength training can benefit older adults - Boulder Daily Camera http://www.dailycamera.com/lifestyles/ci_17774899#ixzz1IxB0vK5U DailyCamera.com
His secret: Muscle. Denny's got a lot of it. And he only started building it about seven years ago -- very slowly, at first. As people grow older, they hear a lot about staying "active." But building muscle is just as important, experts say. In fact, the YMCA says strength training is the only way to maintain muscle and metabolism as we age, and should be a part of every senior fitness program. Denny works out at Functional Fitness in Boulder twice a week for 90 minutes. His trainer, Wendy Woods, says she started by educating him about his body, getting him stabilized, stretching to improve his imbalances and correcting his biomechanics. Then she added light weights, and they worked their way up. This methodical process helped Denny build muscle while not creating more injury. She says she doesn't hold back on him now. She knows his history and his abilities, and they go for it. "You can teach an old dog new tricks," Woods says. "His gait has changed completely." Denny says by building up his smaller muscles, by learning how to move more efficiently and use the correct muscles, he has completely erased his knee pain. "My goal now is to keep building my strength, because it feels good," he says. "But also, I know that as I age, things are going to happen, and I want to be in a good position to be able to recover." Still, one of the main reasons seniors don't work out is they get used to their pain and don't realize it is something they can rehabilitate or rebuild, says Boulderite Denny. Other times, people simply don't think they can take on another commitment, especially a physical one, he says. Some are looking for a quick and temporary fix, like a pain pill. "It means you are going to go through a fair amount of new adjustment at an age where that might not seem so attractive," Denny says. "But a even a minor amount of strength training for older people is really worthwhile." Read more: Strength training can benefit older adults - Boulder Daily Camera http://www.dailycamera.com/lifestyles/ci_17774899#ixzz1IxB0vK5U DailyCamera.com
