Why Strength Training Matters More As You Get Older

Exercise scientists say most people’s fitness habits are lopsided: plenty of running, cycling and step-counting, but almost no resistance work – even though strength training may do more than cardio to protect quality of life in later years.

“Strength is the neglected sibling at the health dinner table,” says Stuart Phillips, a muscle physiology researcher at McMaster University in Canada. While aerobic exercise is well established as a way to live longer, Phillips and other researchers argue that resistance training is what allows people to live well while they are here. “A simple way to put it is this: aerobic fitness likely helps you live longer, but muscle strength helps you live better while you are here. Ideally, we want both,” he says.

Getting started matters most

The biggest health gains come not from advanced training but simply from starting, according to Jess Gorzelitz, an epidemiologist at the University of Iowa and a competitive powerlifter. “The riskiest group are those who do nothing… That’s a big message for people who are new to this,” she says.

Phillips recommends beginners aim for two sessions a week of 20 to 30 minutes, built around a handful of movement categories repeated for two to three sets: lunges, step-ups and squats to build the legs; wall or standard press-ups plus chest presses for upper-body pushing strength; banded rows or a rowing machine for pulling muscles; and planks or “loaded carries” – walking while holding weights – to work the core. Gorzelitz notes that none of this requires a gym: a chair can substitute for bodyweight squats, a couch or bed helps practise controlled sitting and standing, and tins of food or water bottles work for bicep curls. For those who do train in a gym, she suggests building around compound “big three” lifts that work the whole body, plus shoulder presses, since your back can never be strong enough for posture and spine stability.

Progression should be gradual rather than dramatic, both experts say. “That does not need to be dramatic. Small increments repeated over months are where the magic lives,” Phillips says, while cautioning against overdoing it: “You do not need to crawl out of the gym like a wounded animal. Progress gradually.”

The numbers behind the advice

The research backing this is substantial. A large review of studies found that just 30 to 60 minutes of muscle-strengthening activity per week was linked to a 10-17% reduction in deaths from any cause, while another major study found that 90 minutes to two hours of resistance training weekly cut the risk of early death by 13% – rising to a 58% lower risk for people who combined it with cardio. Benefits extend well into old age: Gorzelitz’s own research on people past 70 found mortality odds were lower for those lifting weights regularly than for those who skipped it entirely. “In particular as we age, we can see improvements in functionality, physical function and muscle mass,” she says.

Beyond mortality figures, Phillips frames strength training as insurance for the future: “When illness, injury, surgery or ageing arrives, and they usually do, you want more in the tank. I think of resistance training as a pension contribution for your future self.” Gorzelitz also points to mental health gains, describing the gym as a release for “a lot of physical tension and anxiety.” Both researchers agree the real key is finding exercises simple enough to fit into daily life rather than chasing an ideal routine.

Source: BBC News