Why should you strength train? Envision this. You’re well into your golden years, but instead of feeling frail and fragile with achy joints, you’re still going strong. You’re carrying groceries, two packages at a time, with ease, playing with your grandkids, and tackling stairs without breaking a sweat. What’s the secret to this vitality? Two words: muscle strength.
Many people strength train to get six-pack abdominal muscles and flashy biceps when they flex. But there’s another reason to work your muscles against resistance – doing so can lead to a longer, healthier, and more functional life. Think about the freedom to be able to do all the things you enjoy while only barely breaking a sweat! Muscle strength is a key part of the equation for building a long, healthy life. It’s like having a secret weapon against the harsh and relentless hands of time.
The Magic of Strength Training
But how exactly does strength training work its magic and help you stay fit and functional? When you work your muscles against resistance, you break down microscopic muscle fibers that must be repaired. In response to the challenge thrust upon your muscles, your muscle fibers become thicker and more resilient, and you get the added benefit of having more strength and muscle definition.
But there’s more. The benefits of strength training go beyond just bigger muscles. Your nervous system gets in on the action too. When you strength train regularly and use progressive overload to continue to challenge your muscles, your brain, and muscles learn to work together more efficiently. It’s like they’re doing a perfectly choreographed dance, allowing you to generate more force and power with each movement.
Your nervous system, in response to strength training, teaches your muscle cells to team up and fire simultaneously, unlike untrained muscles that fire in a more disorderly manner. Plus, strength training also silences feedback that tells your muscles not to contract with too much force to reduce the risk of injury. So, you can generate more force.
So, building strength through strength training comes from a choreographed interplay between your brain, nervous system, and muscles. The result is the ability of your muscles to generate more force.
Strength Training Across the Lifespan
Strength training is important at all stages of life, but it’s even more important as the years advance. Muscle loss begins around the age of thirty-five and picks up later in life, around the age of sixty-five in women and seventy in men.
The importance of strength training becomes even more obvious as we age. Sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass and strength and gains in body fat, typically begins around age 30-35 and speeds up after age 65 for women and around age 70 for men.
Sarcopenia isn’t just an aesthetic issue, it increases the risk of falls and metabolic issues, like insulin resistance. So, think beyond the muscles to what strength training does for your body composition and the health benefits of having less body fat, particularly around the waistline.
The good news is you can build strength and muscle size at any age and add years of functionality to your life. It’s never too late to start reaping the benefits of strength training.
The Longevity Connection
So how exactly does muscle strength impact longevity? In a study that followed 2,239 men for 44 years found those who had the greatest grip strength during midlife were 2.5 times more likely to reach the age of one hundred compared to those who had the lowest recorded grip strengths.
Research suggests that grip strength is a marker of body strength. Measuring grip strength is an easy way to get an idea of how strong someone is. It’s easy to measure grip strength with a special instrument called a dynamometer. You can even buy one to use at home.
How Can You Enjoy the Benefits?
If you haven’t already, it’s time to make friends with weights. We know from studies that strength training at least two times per week can help you build strength and functionality. Plus, you enjoy the health and fitness benefits that working your muscles against resistance offers – greater metabolic health, greater insulin sensitivity, better heart health, and less depression. Experts also suggest combining it with 1-3 hours per week of moderate aerobic exercise for heart health and to maximize the health and longevity benefits.
Importantly, both strength training and aerobic exercise independently reduce mortality risk. But people who perform both types of exercise experience the greatest benefits, with an approximately 40% reduced risk of all-cause mortality and 50% reduced risk of cardiovascular disease mortality.
Conclusion
Now you know why you need to strength train to maximize your health, functionality, and longevity. Strength training is your not-so-secret weapon, and more people are discovering the short-term and long-terms benefits of working their muscles against resistance. Doing so helps maintain muscle mass, improve mobility, and increase the healthy years of life. When you combine it with aerobic exercise and healthy lifestyle habits, the longevity benefits are even more profound.
So, no matter where you are on your fitness journey, whether you do another form of workout, like aerobics, you still need the benefits that strength training provides. Make sure your approach to fitness is balanced. With a balanced approach that includes bodyweight exercises and weights, you’re setting yourself up for success and will be on your way to building a strong, healthy body that can thrive well into your golden years.
References:
- Rantanen T, Masaki K, He Q, Ross GW, Willcox BJ, White L. Midlife muscle strength and human longevity up to age 100 years: a 44-year prospective study among a decedent cohort. Age (Dordr). 2012 Jun;34(3):563-70. doi: 10.1007/s11357-011-9256-y. Epub 2011 May 4. PMID: 21541735; PMCID: PMC3337929.
- https://www.facebook.com/NIHAging. “How Can Strength Training Build Healthier Bodies as We Age?” National Institute on Aging, June 30, 2022. https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/how-can-strength-training-build-healthier-bodies-we-age.
- Scientific American. “How Does Exercise Make Your Muscles Stronger?” Scientific American, October 27, 2003. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-does-exercise-make-yo/.
- Niemann MJ, Tucker LA, Bailey BW, Davidson LE. Strength Training and Insulin Resistance: The Mediating Role of Body Composition. J Diabetes Res. 2020 May 8;2020:7694825. doi: 10.1155/2020/7694825. PMID: 32455135; PMCID: PMC7235686.
- “Lifting Weights May Help with Depression | Psychology Today.” 13 Jun. 2018, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brainstorm/201806/lifting-weights-may-help-depression.
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STS Strength 90 Day Workout Program
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Total Body Workouts
Lower Body Workouts
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