Strength training is the key to a healthy life. Losing muscle mass and strength is what leads to frailty and disability in the latter decades of life. Strength training is one of the most effective ways to improve health and performance in older adults.
It’s also the most underutilized strategy for staying healthy and fully functional. Why? Because not enough people do it. Even people who are physically active and walk every day neglect working their muscles against resistance.
Here are some grim statistics. According to the CDC, about two-thirds of adults age 50 or older do not perform any strength training, which is unfortunate because strength training slows the aging process and helps lower the risk of chronic diseases, including osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and frailty. Strength training is essential for everyone. It helps you stay fit and functional. Who wouldn’t want that?
Training your muscles against resistance is also one of the most effective ways to shed body fat, increase muscle mass, and burn calories — all without having to jump around or pound your joints against the pavement. With age, you naturally lose lean muscle if you don’t strength train and muscle loss speeds up after middle age. The loss of muscle mass and strength explains why so many people become frail later in life.
Why Strength Training?
The importance of strength training, at all stages of life, cannot be overstated. The benefits of working your muscles against resistance include increased muscle mass, improved bone density, decreased fat, improved metabolism, reduced risk of injury, and greater functional strength. These are all things you lose as you age, and their loss makes you more feeble and injury-prone.
Strength training benefits chronic health problems too. In fact, a meta-analysis of multiple randomized-controlled trials published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine showed that multiple studies reveal strength training is of benefit for these conditions:
- Osteoarthritis
- Fibromyalgia
- Low back pain
- Cognitive function
- Sleep quality issues and insomnia
- Depression
- Fatigue
Don’t underestimate the mental health benefits of working your muscles against resistance either. Along with having a positive impact on your physical health, strength training boosts emotional well-being. Resistance training builds physical strength, but also mental strength and stronger self-esteem.
One of the drawbacks of growing older is many people gain weight and those gains are mostly body fat. Fitness experts say that strength training, especially with heavier weights, is the key to shedding fat and gaining muscle. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, and that speeds up your metabolic rate, so you burn more calories even at rest. Strength training is a subtle metabolism booster.
Strength training also improves insulin sensitivity for better blood glucose control and a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. A healthy metabolism and better insulin sensitivity can help you lose weight, avoid a myriad of metabolic conditions, and have more energy throughout the day.
You don’t just lose muscle with age. Bone loss is another pressing issue, especially for women. The combination of strength training and high-impact exercises can boost bone health and prevent osteoporosis. When performed properly, strength training increases muscle mass and reduces the risk of osteoporosis.
How and Why You Should Start Strength Training
If you’re just starting out, what’s the best way to enter the world of strength training? Lack of a gym isn’t an excuse for not strength training. You can do many exercises with minimal equipment or no equipment at all. Training at home is an amazing alternative to spending hours at the local gym. There are many benefits to strength training at home, including saving money on a gym membership, being able to work out whenever you want, and having the ability to build your own home gym.
No equipment? Start with bodyweight exercises, like pushups, pullups, planks and bodyweight squats. Then, invest in a set of resistance bands, elastic tubes with handles that allow you to do most of the strength exercises you do with weights. In fact, resistance bands have advantages. They’re portable and you can work your muscles in multiple planes of motions, unlike weights and machines that restrict you to specific paths.
If you’re ready to expand your options, you can choose from many types of resistance tubing in nearly any sporting goods store, or online, and hammer out a solid workout at home without having to pay for a gym membership — or buy expensive equipment.
What about aerobic exercise? Aerobic exercise builds endurance and lowers the risk of heart disease, but strength training exercises are important for improving your overall body composition, recovery ability, and muscle building. Strength training has benefits that regular cardio can’t replicate. Make sure you’re doing both to maximize health, functionality, and longevity.
The Bottom Line
If you want to live a long life and continue to do the activities you love, there’s a type of exercise you should be doing. It’s called strength training, and it’s an incredibly beneficial form of exercise. To sum it up, strength training slows aging and enhances longevity, and the right type of workout can improve strength, lean muscle mass, and energy levels.
It’s no wonder that strength training is a popular way to stay in shape. You might worry, especially if you’re female, that lifting heavy weights will cause you to bulk up – but don’t. Women don’t have the hormonal structure to build large muscles. Instead, females who weight train get leaner and firmer, as they gain lean body mass. You’ll look better, feel better, and be healthier. That’s something everyone can benefit from!
References:
- Westcott, Wayne L. PhD Resistance Training is Medicine, Current Sports Medicine Reports: July/August 2012 – Volume 11 – Issue 4 – p 209-216. doi: 10.1249/JSR.0b013e31825dabb8.
- com. “What are the hidden health benefits of strength training?”
- American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Volume 25, Issue 3, Supplement 2, 141-149, October 01, 2003.
- Mental Health Benefits of Strength Training in Adults. September 2010. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine 4(5):377-396. DOI:10.1177/1559827610368771.
- “Resistance Training Improves Mental Health.” https://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/RTandMentalHealth.html.
- “Strength training increases regional bone mineral density ….” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8335581/.
Related Articles By Cathe:
5 Ways To Prevent Muscle Aging and How to Slow the Process
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Is Muscle Strength and Muscle Size Directly Correlated?
Can You Lose Most of Your Fitness Gains in Only Two Weeks?
Strength-Training Frequency: How Does It Impact Strength Gains?
4 Reasons We Lose Strength as a Result of Loss of Muscle as We Age
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How Do You Know if You’re Gaining Muscle When You Strength Train?
Is There a Threshold Intensity at Which You Need to Train for Muscle Growth?
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Do You Have to Lift Heavy Weights to Build Muscle?
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