Is lifting weights the secret to anti-ageing?
In a society that often associates ageing with decline, maintaining physical strength and vitality becomes crucial. As you age, strength training emerges as a powerful tool to support a healthy, active lifestyle. In this blog, I’ll explore why Strength Training is essential for ageing adults to ensure the longevity of your overall health.
Did you know that our bone mass tends to go downhill at a rate of 1% a year after the age of 35?
A recent research study found that “resistance training has been recommended as a promising therapeutic strategy to encounter the loss of bone and muscle mass due to osteosarcopenia. To stimulate the osteogenic effects for bone mass accretion, bone tissues must be exposed to mechanical load exceeding those experienced during daily living activities.”
Did you also know that a woman can lose up to 20% of her bone density in the 5-7 years following menopause? And that 1 in 2 women over the age of 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis?
This research study focuses on the effects of strength training on bone health in women before and after menopause. It emphasizes the significance of resistance training for maintaining bone density.
In our modern society, we are starting to see the effects of bone loss and muscle loss a lot more with younger people in their thirties and forties. That’s not how humans were intended to be! When it comes to exercising, age is the least contributing factor as to why ageing adults can’t or shouldn’t do exercise. In fact, it is the accumulation of years/decades of sedentary living and inactivity as to why we pay the higher health tax later in life.
Fortunately, there is a solution to this problem and numerous research studies prove that there is a more potent form of exercise that has the ability to help us build and maintain muscle, improve bone development, increase metabolism and provide numerous physical and mental health benefits. That modality is called Strength Training or Resistance Training.
Although there is a lack of direct research looking at how people in older age specifically respond to resistance training, we know that there is a known age-related decline in overall muscle mass and strength as you age. Integrating resistance exercise protects our skeleton and helps reduce the risk of falls with age, as the stronger the muscles, the more resilient you become and are less likely to get injured.
Ageing typically means loss of muscle. Men at the age of 80 have typically lost 50% of the muscle they had in youth. Let me emphasise that – 50%. That sad statistic shows why Strength Training is crucial, and why it’s never too late for older men and women to start lifting weights.
But does ageing cause muscle loss, or is ageing just associated with it, being caused by something else, such as lack of activity? The short answer to that question, in my opinion, is that muscle loss and aging cause and feed on each other in a vicious cycle. Current exercise prescriptions for older men and women are inadequate and out of date. We need to be doing more than just walk, even for our cardiovascular health.
Aging-related muscle loss is thought to be related to anabolic resistance, the condition in which ageing muscle doesn’t respond to growth stimuli as well as does younger muscle. This means you won’t be as “sensitive” to resistance training over time, but you can still make an overall difference to your body composition.
In an interesting study of older men doing high-intensity weight training, men aged 60 to 75, trained for 16 weeks using heavy weights.
The results after less than 4 months of training were: -
Body fat dropped by 3 percentage points, from 24.5 to 21.6%, with no dietary intervention.
Muscle strength increased from 50 to 80%.
Aerobic capacity (VO2max) increased.
Cholesterol/HDL ratio went from high to moderate risk.
You might falsely think that resistance training is a young person’s game — this could not be further from the truth. Being “over the hill” may seem like a deterrent, but there is absolutely nothing stopping you from getting into the weights room.
Strength Training has no age limitations. 17 and 70-year-olds alike can build muscle. The pace and magnitude of your gains might just be a bit different than someone 20 years your junior (or senior).
The benefits of Strength Training on your physical body are clear, but what about its effects on your mental wellbeing? In this study the relationship between strength training and cognitive function in older adults is examined. It sheds light on how exercise can positively influence mental well-being in ageing individuals (within Strength Training you are learning new skills and techniques and thus improving memory function).
Some health authorities are now catching up with the research and increasingly recommend elements of Strength Training to patients. Even with all the emphasis on aerobic capacity as a promoter of good health, lifting weights significantly improves aerobic capacity in older adults.
Though using resistance bands or your own body weight, as much as it will help you increase some strength, it isn’t going to cut it for the long-term. Every older person that’s capable of it should lift weights – and heavy weights at that.
Conclusion
Strength training is a key to aging gracefully and enjoying an active, independent lifestyle. By understanding the importance of strength training, its benefits, and incorporating effective exercises, you can unlock the secret to a healthier and more vibrant life as you age.