Benefits of Strength Training for Adults & Older Adults
Exercise Older Adults
There are many benefits for adults over the age of 65 to participate in sport and exercise. Even if you are under the age of 65, the same benefits apply to you! After the age of 30, the body begins to undergo physiological changes. Typically, these changes manifest as a decline in strength, ranging from 1 - 1.5% per year until the age of 70 (1). While these changes are a normal part of aging, the good news is that resistance training (strength training), can have many positive health benefits. Making the choice to include strength training as part of your exercise routine can have many benefits for aging individuals, greatly improve quality of life, independence and longevity.
Age-Related Changes in Muscular Health:
Significant changes occur over the course of a lifetime, the most common are a loss of bone and muscle mass. Unfortunately, aging women are affected more often than men with this "1 - 2 combo" (2-3). These changes can make activities of daily living more challenging and can increase risk of falls and fractures. Loss of bone mineral density can lead to osteopenia and osteoporosis. Loss of bone is typically linked to physical inactivity, mechanical and genetic factors.
Aging is also associated with a loss of muscle mass, sarcopenia. Dual energy x ray absorptiometry (DXA) has revealed that after age 30, there is a decrease in the cross sectional area of muscle as well as increase in intramuscular fat. Typically, this muscle atrophy is due to physical inactivity and gradual decrease in fast-twitch muscle fibers (Type II fibers)(4). The combination of muscular atrophy and gradual loss of "fast" muscle fibers translates to a decrease in strength, power and even muscular endurance. These changes can negatively impact quality of life and make activities of daily living more challenging such as, stair climbing, getting in and out of a chair, etc.
Benefits of Strength Training:
Your probably wondering what can be done to offset muscular changes that result from aging. Well, it could be as simple as adding 2 days of week of strength training. Whether you are an young adult, older adult or somewhere in between; strength training 2 days per week can be the "perfect" starting point for deconditioned (sedentary or inactive) muscles. It is important though that before you begin participating in a exercise regime, it's important to talk to your health care provider to make sure that exercise and strength training is suitable for you and can be performed without risk. So without further a-do, let's dive right into the benefits:
1) Increased muscular strength, power, muscular endurance and muscular metabolic capacity. When your muscles are deconditioned, it can be surprising how quickly you will make progress during the first few weeks. This is due to the nervous system learning new patterns (5)
2) Regular strength training has been shown to increase lean body mass and decrease fat free mass, which improves resting metabolic rate due to an increase in metabolically active tissues (6).
3) Weight bearing exercise such as squats, overhead press, or chest press, have been shown to increase bone mineral density, which reduces risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis (7).
4) Improved physical functioning; strength training has been demonstrated to improve gait speed, stair climbing ability, balance and overall spontaneous activity.
Program Design:
A well-designed strength training and exercise plan is key to success. Prior to engaging in a exercise program it's important to talk to your physician, especially if you have one or more chronic health conditions. If you've been sedentary for sometime, it's important to start slow and at a very low intensity and volume. While a well-designed strength training program is paramount there are often many overlooked areas that can/could impact your exercise program. These areas include nutrition, sleep, and stress. These areas can impact how quickly you recovery from an exercise program and can impact the design of a training program.
At North Shore Acupuncture and Natural Medicine, we understand the importance of qualified instruction, sensible progression, program variation, and adequate recovery included into an exercise program. We believe that exercise and movement should be included as a part of every individuals life. For more information how exercise can benefit your health and longevity, contact us. We'd be happy to help - your path to wellness begins here!
Meltzer, D. Age dependance of Olympic weightlifting ability. Med Sci Sport Exercise 26:1053-1067 1994
Papaioannou A, Morin S, Cheung AM, Atkinson S, Brown JP, Feldman S, et al. 2010 clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis and management of osteoporosis in Canada: Summary. CMAJ. 2010;182:1864–73.
Ebeling PR, Daly RM, Kerr DA, Kimlin MG. Building healthy bones throughout life. An evidence-informed strategy to prevent osteoporosis in Australia. Med J Aust. 2013;2:1–9.
Level, J. and D. Downham. What is the effect of aging on Type II muscle fibers? J Neurol Sci 107:250-251. 1992
Nathaniel D. M. Jenkins, Amelia A. Miramonti, Ethan C. Hill, Cory M. Smith, Kristen C. Cochrane-Snyman, Terry J. Housh, Joel T. Cramer. Greater Neural Adaptations following High- vs. Low-Load Resistance Training. Frontiers in Physiology, 2017; 8 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2017.00331
Cardoso GA, Salgado JM, Cesar Mde C, Donado-Pestana CM. The effects of green tea consumption and resistance training on body composition and resting metabolic rate in overweight or obese women. J Med Food. 2013;16(2):120‐127. doi:10.1089/jmf.2012.0062
Shanb, Alsayed A, and Enas F Youssef. “The impact of adding weight-bearing exercise versus nonweight bearing programs to the medical treatment of elderly patients with osteoporosis.” Journal of family & community medicine vol. 21,3 (2014): 176-81. doi:10.4103/2230-8229.142972
