Outsmart your body: no matter your age, these eight tactics will slow down the the worst intentions of Old Man Time

Men's Fitness, Sept, 2003 by Myatt Murphy

Getting older and wiser comes with a few other things most of us shudder to think about. Love handles. Ear and nose hair. That day we switch from looking at what's under a car's hood to wondering if the trunk has enough room for the twins' stroller. But before you think this article is about middle-aged guys, think twice: It's about you--and, how to slow down the creep of time.

For the health-conscious man, aging represents the stiffest challenge, as it conspires to deny you all the hard-earned results you've built up over a lifetime of fitness effort. "Studies have shown that men after age 30 begin to lose an average of 10 to 16 ounces of lean body mass each year, mostly in the form of muscle tissue," says Jeff Bell, C.S.C.S., N.A.S.M., A.C.S.M., co-owner of Spectrum Wellness in New York City.

To make matters worse, your body revolts against you and puts on the metabolic brakes, which causes you to add a pound of adipose tissue each year. "It's a pound-for-pound switch your scale never warns you about, but secretly you're losing what you most want to keep and gaining what you most need to lose," says Bell. "Saying hello to middle age can also mean saying goodbye to your flexibility, reflexes, libido and overall health." But it doesn't have to.

FIRST, THE GOOD NEWS

Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas found that a six-month endurance-training program of moderate intensity--not a workout designed for the obsessively committed--was able to reverse 30 years of age-related decline in aerobic performance born of a sedentary lifestyle. The long and short of it is this: Hitting middle age doesn't have to mean hitting the wall when it comes to strength, stamina, sex drive and the size of your midsection. "Reversing the rest of what breaks down over time just takes a few extra tweaks to the healthy lifestyle you probably already lead," says Jim Sloan, author of Staying Fit Over 50.

Avoiding all the gains and losses that come with getting older just takes a little understanding of why the body breaks down and what you can do to prevent it. "Focus on the right amounts of exercise, foods, supplementation and sleep, and all your health habits can combine to keep you feeling and looking younger than you really are," says Bell. Conversely, follow the habits of your youth--even some of those that seemed healthy at the time--and you may cause yourself to age even faster than nature intends.

Try heeding the following tips today, so you can keep what you have tomorrow and the days after.

1 ADD ONE HOUR OF SLEEP TO STOP YOUR BODY FROM CANNIBALIZING ITSELF

"Too many men think that sleep is expendable from their list of priorities," says Pamela M. Peeke, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and the author of Fight Fat After Forty. You may feel you're losing valuable time by grabbing a few extra winks, but staying well rested can actually be what you need to retain muscle.

"A sleep-deprived body places itself in a higher catabolic state [meaning your body cannibalizes its own muscle for energy], your adrenaline rises, and your body's ability to repair itself from all your hard work decreases," says Bell. It's during sleep that your immune system finally has time to rest and heal itself. "If you don't allow it to repair itself, it's left with very little energy to repair the rest of your body later on and keep almost every major health problem at bay," adds Peeke.

Increasing your hours in the rack to a respectable number is the trick. "You need to get a minimum of seven or eight quality hours of sleep per night," says Bell.

To give your levels of human growth hormone a further boost, try taking the amino acid 5-hydroxy tryptophan (a derivative of tryptophan) right before bed. At a dose of 100 milligrams a day (best taken on an empty stomach), this sleep aid has been shown to also assist the brain in regulating the release of growth hormone.

SLEEP: THE MISSING PIECE

Not getting enough sleep can cause your human growth hormone levels to plummet. "Without that HGH, your body's left with even less to grow from," says Pamela M. Peeke, M,D. Less HGH means your body makes less muscle and burns less fat--so welcome, Porky.

2 STAY LOOSE AND LIMBER TO KEEP YOUR MUSCLES STRONG AND FUNCTIONING WELL

Maybe you don't care how flexible you are today, but forgetting to stretch regularly will only weaken your muscles in the long run. "As you age, the elasticity of tendons, ligaments and joint capsules decreases as collagen fibers cross-link or 'mat' together," says Suzanne Girard Eberle, M.S., R.D., sports nutritionist and author of Endurance Sports Nutrition.

"Eventually this process foreshortens the belly of each of your muscles, causing them to tire out a lot faster," says Peeke. A lack of flexibility also prevents each muscle from working through the most complete range of motion possible, which, if you work out, denies you all the benefits you're after in the first place. To make matters worse, letting tendons and other connective tissues shrink increases the likelihood of pulling them, leading to injury and leaving you sidelined from exercise or any other activity.