No matter how well you treat it, at a certain age your body starts to show signs of wear and tear. The shape is no longer what it used to be and it no longer responds to activities and physical exertion as it did during your 20s.

The truth is you really can't use age as an excuse for losing strength and fitness, gaining weight or being out of shape. Loss of youth does not have to mean the loss of these very important factors that determine your overall state of health.

But, while we may know about watching our weight, diabetes risk, arthritis and how we mustn't fall, do we really know how to best prepare ourselves for daily life as we get older? Chances are we do not. Conflicting advice simply tells us to do something - walk, garden or swim or something that we "enjoy!" In fact, a common phrase is "Anything that gets you moving is better than nothing".

This may be true to a certain extent but only a proper exercise program that contains strength building exercise will work to counter the aging process and keep your body functioning properly. Starting at age 30 each of us will lose 6-7 pounds of lean muscle tissue every single decade of our life if we don't work at keeping it.

Typically, researchers say, people lose about 30 percent of their muscle strength between 50 and 70, and another 30 percent per decade after that if they do nothing to stop it.

This translates into less body efficiency and slows the body's metabolism - the rate your body burns fuel. To make matters worse, the loss of lean body mass makes people lose strength, which cauese them to become even more sednetary. Then a downward spiral continues with the unhealthy cycle further contributing to the ongoing loss of lean body mass.

Though, we cannot control the aging process, but we can control to some degree the rate at which aging occurrs. Some people unwisely decrease their exercise and activity levels as they age, assuming that it is proper to grow old gracefully. But this places limits on their mobility, self-reliance and quality of life.

We need to work at keeping our strength as we get older and we can do that by spending 2-3 hours per week on a proper exercise program. This is achieved by challenging them with a load greater than what we experience in everyday life. This is especially important now that all meaningful activity has been removed from our everyday technology driven lifestyles.

With increased muscle strength, the body's calorie burning efficiency improves. Adults who strengthen muscle tissue use more calories all day long, thereby reducing the likelihood of fat accumulation which can lead to other health problems such as diabetes, back and knee problems and heart disease.

Thus, mere movement is not really sufficient if you truly wish to be prepared for your later years. For best results seek the help of a fitness professional who will set up your program and teach you correct exercise technique. You also need to be shown what level of intensity (degree of difficulty) you need to apply to each exercise along with the right duration and frequency.

To motivate yourself remember that exercise training helps you become healthier and stronger which greatly contributes to your overall quality of life. It is never too late to start exercising.