Strength Training Beyond 40

When I start talking about strength training to people my age who have never picked up a barbell or done any sort of strength training before, consistently I get the same response - 'I'm too old for that.' For some reason, there is this huge misconception that lifting weights is for the young. And the simple truth is, while every age group will get an unbelievable amount of health benefits from lifting weights, for people over the age of 40, not only will lifting weights add YEARS of health and independence to your life,

LIFTING WEIGHTS CAN ACTUALLY SAVE YOUR LIFE!!

I could spend hours writing this post and listing the many benefits you will get from strength training beyond the age of 40, but in this blog post, I will try to hit on some of the most important ones. And let me be VERY CLEAR, when I say 'beyond 40', I mean 50. I mean 60. I mean 70, 80, EVEN 90+. It is never too late to start, and you are never so old that you should stop.

I mentioned above that lifting weights can very possibly save your life.

You may be wondering what I mean by that. Simple, from the age of 30, if we do not actively do something (strength training!!) to retain our muscle mass, we start to LOSE around 8% of our muscle mass PER DECADE. Not only do we lose muscle mass, our bones start to lose density (they get weaker too!!), and our joints begin to get stiffer (they start to lose their range of motion). The result of this is a body that is weaker, far less stable and, simply put, more breakable (prone to injury). Did you know that one of the leading causes of death in the ageing population is complications from falls? If they survive the initial fall, there is a good chance of a broken bone (thanks to the loss of bone density). The healing process takes much longer in older adults. During the healing process, there is often a longer period of inactivity. This can cause even faster muscle and bone density loss, body fat gain, loss of cardiovascular conditioning, increased chances of sickness and infection, boredom, depression, loss of independence, and so much more. Due to all of this, quite often, after a fall, their health will begin to decline rapidly.

Strength Training can PREVENT all of this!!!

Keep reading to find out how!!

Fall Prevention - Falls are most often due to loss of strength, stability and mobility. Strength training keeps the muscles strong and keeps the joints stable, not just stable, but helps to retain your full range of motion in your joints. Losing strength, stability and mobility is NOT an inevitable part of aging. You have heard 'if you don't use it, you lose it', right? If you KEEP USING IT, you WILL NOT lose it. Even more important to know is, if you have already started losing it, it is NEVER TOO LATE to get some of it back. Strength loss is reversable AT ANY AGE!!! You heard me right, if you are 90, and want to start strength training, you can still build muscle (you will build it slower than you did at 20, but you ABSOLUTELY CAN BUILD MUSCLE AT 90). You will begin to regain some range of motion in your joints. Increased strength and range of motion = increased stability. Just this alone will already prevent a large number of falls.

But, if you still do fall, strength training can still help!!

Increased Bone Density - Strength training doesn't just strengthen your muscles, it strengthens your bones too!!! Just like I said above regarding our muscles and joints, the bones are the same. If you don't use it, you lose it. But, strength training can fix that too. It causes increases in bone density to be able to support the increasing demands. Stronger bones are harder to break. So, if the fall prevention doesn't already save you, the increased bone density will greatly increase your chances of standing back up with nothing more than a bruised ego (and maybe a few visible bumps and bruises too). I should also mention stronger tendons and ligaments here too, because strength training strengthens them too, not to mention helps keep them supple.

Oh, did I mention 'standing back up'?

Fall Recovery - Another danger of falls to the ageing population is falling while alone and not being able to get back up, or call for help. This is one of the biggest reasons that we lose our independence as we age. Risk of falls with no one nearby to help. I bet you already guessed before I even need to say it, but strength training can make it SO MUCH EASIER to get back up from just about any position after a fall. I think almost every older adult you speak to will tell you their greatest fear (or regret) is losing their independence. So, another win for picking up weight, heavy and often.

Healing and Recovery - Finally, if you do fall, and you do get injured (no matter how much you prepare, it can still happen to anyone), strength training will DRASTICALLY reduce your recovery time. Yep, you will still have muscle and bone loss, but think of it as saving for a rainy day. You have been putting all this extra muscle and bone in the bank for so long, you can just live off your savings for a while. You will still have so much more muscle mass after your recovery than if you started out with less. Not only that, but a well rounded strength program will turn your body into a recovery machine. The human body is so adaptable. When you start exercising regularly, the body builds new blood vessels throughout the body to get the blood and nutrition needed for a faster recovery circulated through the body faster and more efficiently. This extra 'circuitry' will help in any post-injury recovery as well!!

Let me take a quick moment here to also mention cardiovascular conditioning. I am a strength coach, so I will sing the praises of strength training over and over again. But, I would be doing a disservice if I ignored the value of cardiovascular conditioning. Cardio is great for encouraging the body to build even MORE of the additional 'circuitry' I spoke of above. This is to carry the oxygen through the body more efficiently as you push through your cardio trainings (this mechanism is why a well conditioned athlete will not get out of breath as fast as someone with less conditioning... They are using their oxygen more efficiently).

There are so many other benefits of a good strength training program, but I will save them for another blog post!

If all of the above didn't convince you that strength training is indispensable while we age, I will leave you with one comment. Nothing in life that is worthwhile is easy. Strength training is hard. But so is getting old, and frail and weak - losing your ability to go up and down stairs by yourself, to go shopping, to go for a walk, to bathe yourself or get up from the toilet without help. It is up to you. You must choose your hard. No one can do it for you. If you don't choose one, your body will choose the other for you.

Send me message if you are ready to choose strength today...