Natural Bodybuilding Slows the Aging Process as it Maintains Both Mental and Physical Health, Resulting in Longer Life Expectancy

A huge concern amongst Americans today is how they will maintain a healthy lifestyle physically and mentally as they age.  While there are many answers to this question that have proven to work, such as proper dieting and exercise, natural bodybuilding is one preventative measure that will help to maintain mental and physical health with age to the fullest extent.

Bodybuilding and intense weightlifting may be considered a sporting subculture, as it simply is not a mainstream sporting practice, but perhaps it is something that more people who are concerned with their bodies as they get older should look into.

When bodybuilding is performed the right way, naturally, individuals benefit in countless ways, short-term and long-term.  Concerning old age, natural bodybuilding and weightlifting has shown to profit both men and women, as they maintain more muscle strength and joint health and better mental health, along with a general healthier look and feel.  If performed unnaturally, with the use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) such as steroids, the long-term negative effects are endless.  Natural bodybuilding is an extremely helpful preventative step that will slow the aging process dramatically.

Natural Bodybuilding Supports the Maintenance of Mental Health Throughout the Aging Process, Especially Increasing Memory

As the body begins to age, there is an increase in potential risks for declines in mental health.  According to a national poll by Research!America and PARADE magazine, 62 percent of Americans are more afraid of losing mental capacity than losing physical ability.  To this majority of Americans, an answer to this concern is natural bodybuilding and weightlifting.

Intense weight training and aerobic exercise at younger ages can help to prevent potential declines in mental well-being.  According to an article in the March 2006 issue of the journal "Obesity," bodybuilding and intense training improves the brain's adaptive capability, which implies the prevention of possible age-related mental issues such as decline in cognition, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s dementia, stroke, and depression.

While intense weightlifting at younger ages takes preventative steps to mental health maintenance with aging, Alexandra Sifferlin explains in her article that it is never too late to start weight training, as it “helps improve memory and reduces the frequency of those momentary hiccups we call ‘senior moments.’”  She explains with the results of four successful studies that later-aged adults can benefit from weight training programs.  Every study was able to prove that the weight training programs do result in increases in memory and overall brain function.

Natural Bodybuilding Improves Physical Health With Age, Prolonging Joint Health and Life Expectancy

Physical health, another concern that comes with the aging process, can be maintained with the help of natural bodybuilding.  Improving physical health through bodybuilding and intense weightlifting can result in a prolonged life expectancy.  The accompanying graph shows years of life gained based on amounts of physical activity such as weightlifting (100 percent being the recommended amount of physical activity per week).

The graph, used based on results from a study conducted by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), proves that people who get the recommended level of physical activity have a life expectancy 3.4 years longer than those who do not get the recommended amount.  People who get more than the recommended amount gain even more years of life.  More intense and more often physical activity, such as natural bodybuilding and vigorous weightlifting, corresponds to longer life expectancy.

University of Maryland Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach, Seth Diters, explains that natural bodybuilding will keep an aging body much healthier structurally, being able to maintain balance and posture with less extra effort.  When the body ages, bone, muscle, joint, and tendon structures tend to weaken, so natural bodybuilding can help slow this natural declination, allowing the bodybuilder to stay stronger, and in general, healthier for a longer amount of time.

He also mentions, “joint health should be able to be maintained longer,” which would immensely benefit an aging person’s body.  Joint health is a crucial aspect that requires much attention as the body ages.  Healthy, well-maintained joints will help prevent pain and discomfort in the body, considerably decreasing risk for arthritis.  Coach Diters finally states, “You should definitely just stay in overall better shape longer, which would promote a longer life…natural bodybuilding would help every aspect of a person’s life as they age.”

Although Natural Bodybuilding Includes Potential for Negative Effects, the Pros Highly Outweigh the Cons

While the aforementioned points seem to suggest that natural bodybuilding is 100 percent perfect, it is important to point out that there is always a potential for possible negative outcomes.  Coach Diters describes in his interview that there is always a possibility for overuse issues.  Overuse issues could result in general muscle pain or deterioration and Diters explains “there’s no way around that, whether it’s natural or unnatural.  You are going to have some sort of overuse issue, potentially.”

Another minor issue that Coach Diters describes is the possibility of mobility problems later on in life.  Problems like these may only occur if you “are not working through a full range of motion,” meaning that you are only focusing on one or two main muscle groups and not developing all muscles equally.

Minor occurrences like these could result in muscle stiffness and muscle pain as the body ages.  These minor risks can easily be eradicated with simple therapies such as stretching.

Coach Diters emphasizes that these possible problems are "potential” and “situational.”  They are not bound to occur by any means.  Lastly, Diters explains that when it comes to natural weightlifting to maintain a healthy body as it ages, there are so many positive effects compared to a couple potential negative effects, so it would definitely be worth the risk if you want to maintain a healthy body.

Unnatural Bodybuilding Harms an Aging Body's Physical Structure and Causes Mental and Psychological Problems

The key word to be aware of is “natural.”  Natural bodybuilding will help the aging body in seemingly limitless ways, but one of the biggest issues with bodybuilding is the unnatural form, performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).  PEDs such as anabolic steroids will harm the aging body in more ways than one can imagine.

Coach Diters goes into detail describing many problems that a PED user will encounter in his or her life.  Adding higher levels of hormones into the body through unnatural means almost immediately begins to "take its toll on all of your systems because its throwing all of your hormones out of whack," said most simply by Diters himself.  Internal organs, especially the heart and liver, will be negatively impacted, resulting in increased potential for fatal circumstances with age, such as heart disease, liver failure, and blood clots.

Coach Diters undoubtedly explains that there will be muscular gains with the use of PEDs, "but at a certain point your body can't handle that because the tendons are not able to handle the increase in strength that the muscles are producing."  This seriously increases a person's risk for injury, especially as he or she gets older.

The increase and intense fluctuation of hormones causes many mental and psychological problems such as mood swings and aggressive behavior.  Depression is one of the most dangerous risks, because it can lead to suicidal behavior.  Aggressive behavior, commonly known as "roid rage," has in many cases led to manic behavior involving hurting others, and even murder.

"The issues that arise with unnatural bodybuilding are just numerous, and as you do it more and more, it is only going to compound itself later on in life," Coach Diters said.

As Opposed to the Use of PEDs, Natural Bodybuilding Simply Gives an Aging Person a Generally Healthier Look and Feel

Along with the many great long-term effects natural bodybuilding has on the body both physically and mentally, it also gives a later aged adult a better look and feel.  Older aged adults who perform natural bodybuilding almost always look decades younger than they actually are.  It is amazing to see how young physically active, weightlifting 90-year-old people can look!  And not only do they look great, but they are also staying healthy.

While they are able to show the world the awesome younger look that these aging adults have, they also feel just as young as they look on the outside.  They are able to stay physically active in many ways and feel great doing it.  Later aged natural bodybuilders and weightlifters have a great self-esteem and confidence, and are overall happier and feel more alive.  Natural bodybuilding and intense weightlifting gives aging adults so many benefits that will keep them mentally and physically healthier, happier, and alive and thriving much longer, giving them a much more fulfilling life.