A lot of people think you’ve got to hit the weight room to really build muscle. It’s understandable, but they’re mistaken. You can skip the weights entirely. Think about it: real strength isn’t about isolating a muscle group and working it to death. The kind of muscle power you really need should give you functional strength.

Functional strength means you have ability to get yourself up a flight of stairs. It means you can lift your groceries and load stuff into your car. Functional strength is the power to live your daily life. But as you age, that power starts to fade.

My older patients ask me about this all the time. When you’re young, you never think about lifting, pulling or standing up. But when you get older, it hits you: Losing the ability to live your daily life means you lose your independence.  And that can mean winding up in an old-age home… depending on relatives… or having a bad fall and being hospitalized.

When my patients ask me for advice, I tell them to work the “big muscles,” which include your legs, hips, buttocks and lower back. About 85% of your muscle mass is below your waist, and this is where your functional strength comes from.

The simple act of getting yourself out of a chair is a good example. Try a little experiment: Sit on the edge of your chair. Put you hands in your lap. Lean forward, push up with your legs and stand up.

Was that difficult? If it was, you may be losing muscle mass in your legs. And that’s a problem. That pushing power you get with your legs keeps you agile, balanced and mobile. When you lose it, even getting out of bed becomes a problem.

Unless you do something about it, you’ll lose muscle as you age — about 2% every year. That doesn’t sound like much. But if you make it to 80, it means you’re body will be little more than fat and bone.

Building those muscles doesn’t require a lot of work or sacrifice. And the payoff is huge. You can use “body weight” exercises and never have to step foot in a gym — or even leave your home.

If you’re familiar with my PACE program, you know that I use calisthenics with my patients to help them build functional strength. Here’s one you can try right now:

With your hands on your hips, take a step forward with your right leg until your front knee is bent 90 degrees and your back knee almost touches the ground. Push off from your leading foot and return to the starting position. Repeat with your left leg.

These are called alternating lunges. They’re great for building leg strength. But to keep mobility and balance, you need to keep your hips flexible too.

[Ed. Note: Dr. Sears, Chairman of the Board of Total Health Breakthroughs, has written over 500 articles and seven books in the fields of alternative medicine, anti-aging, and nutritional supplementation.If you want a total picture of the kind of exercise you need for optimum health, strength, and fitness, click here.]

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