The stranger who sneaked into the home of 82-year-old Willie Murphy, in Chester, New York, a few months ago, did not realize that there was a big surprise waiting for him.

As soon as the intruder stormed the house, Murphy punched him and hit him with a broom, and he only fired his legs to the wind. The irony - or, if you will be surprised - is that the old Murphy is slim, yet she is a weightlifting enthusiast.

Not surprisingly, the news became popular in the city center, so people grabbed the pictures of Murphy as she flexed her muscles in front of the cameras.

Although older men and women do not need to become weightlifting players, or athletes like Murphy who lift huge weights, experts say that practicing bodybuilding with heavier weights can be an important factor in a healthy life in the future.

According to the Washington Post, men and women lose, by the age of thirty, a muscle mass estimated at 10% every ten years to the age of fifty, after which they accelerate their rate of muscle loss by 15% every decade.

atrophy
By the age of eight, muscular dystrophy has worsened and the strength decreased sharply, which greatly affects the quality of life due to the potential for increased falls and bone fractures and the health problems that may result.

Building physical strength may help one become self-sufficient as he gets older. Seth Larsen, a primary care physician and fitness coach in Fort Worth, Texas, says that physical strength will deteriorate rapidly if it is not preserved.

And he adds that without practicing a sport to strengthen muscles, the everyday tasks one does - such as carrying a bag full of groceries, opening a kitchen cupboard, sitting or getting up from a chair - get tedious.

Larsen continues that exercising that raises heavy things may be an antidote, but picking up two iron balls tied to a five-pound (2.27 kilogram) bar and arm muscle won't make you get what you want.

One must always lift things heavier than five pounds, the doctor and fitness instructor explain. He may have to prevent himself from falling or getting out of the ground, and in both cases it takes greater physical strength.

And Larsen advises that a person should not initiate exercises to lift heavy loads unless after a medical examination, especially if he is middle-aged or older.

Problems
It is also important for one to be certain whether he has muscle or bone problems that need to be addressed before he begins a new exercise.

And Larsen stresses that if the blood vessels are healthy, there are not many prohibitions, but one has to start with light exercises and then increase the dose little by little.

Willie Murphy - the only five-foot (1.52-meter) weightlifter who beat the intruder who slipped into her home - told NBC satellite how she started lifting weights in her mid-seventies in order to maintain her health and fitness Physical, and to remain self-reliant.