From the time when we were born, we are aging. As we age, we may face health issues. Issues may include heart diseases, arthritis, metabolic issues such as blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol level, dementia, sarcopenia and so on.
Although there are strong correlation between aging and encountering these health problems, there is also a strong correlation with less chance of health issues with those who are strength training 2-3 times per week.
Medical technology is there to support, however, there are ways to prevent those conditions or improve them by utilizing strength training while receiving those medical support.
Health Issues are Not Just Because of the Aging
While statistics shows that aging leads to health issues, we also do need to realize that the health issues that we encounter can be taken care of by improving our lifestyle like exercise, nutrition, and sleep. Considering health issues mentioned above to be age related problem, to me, is not in an appropriate context.
Arthritis does not miraculously appear because of aging. It is a sign of wear and tear of the joints do to muscle stiffness that no x-ray or MRI can detect. Heart and metabolic issues happens because of poor nutritional and sleeping habits. Which also means we can reverse the condition when we work at it.
Age may be related to those health problems but there is more baseline issues that leading to those problems.
What Does the Studies Say?
10 weeks of resistance training with 70-year-olds was effective in maintaining functional strength and increasing muscle mass in older adults with pre-sarcopenia. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30414822/)
A multi-dimensional training program produced significant improvements in physiological and functional risk factors for falls and disability in women aged 70-90 years with a recent history of falls. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17726361/)
Intensive resistance training is feasible for people (60–85-year-old) with a hip fracture and improved muscle strength and power. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18760151/)
Resistance exercise training approaches are effective in improving cognitive function and physical performance in older adults with cognitive frailty. This study shows that it is feasible to identify older adults with cognitive frailty in the community and primary care setting for effective intervention to reduce their level of frailty and cognitive impairment. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30272098/)
Combined resistance and aerobic exercise effectively attenuated metabolic syndrome, sarcopenic obesity, and relevant biomarkers in an ethnically diverse sample of sedentary, overweight, or obese survivors of breast cancer. Our findings suggest a targeted exercise prescription for improving metabolic syndrome in survivors of breast cancer and support the incorporation of supervised clinical exercise programs into breast cancer treatment and survivorship care plans. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29356607/)
4 Essential Keys to Strength Training
Strength training in any studies have found to be the best treatment plan for majority of health issues. Here are some key components that you will need to keep in mind.
First is frequency and duration of training session. Majority of studies suggests about 45 min per session of strength training for 2-3 times per week. Training sessions should be 24-48 hours a part. Therefore, if you have session scheduled for Monday, next session should be Wednesday or Thursday.
Second is type of exercises. Focus on complex exercises such as squat, hinge, push, pull and carry. Squat can be squat or split squat. If you have access to machine, you can use leg press machine. If that is still challenging, try sit and stand from the chair. Hinge exercise can be deadlift. This can be done with or without a weight. Push exercise can be chest press and shoulder press. Pull can be cable row, inverted row, lat pulldown and so on. If you have joint issues, choose the exercise that you can perform. Repetitions in many of the studies were relatively higher between 10-15 repetitions.
Third is progressive loading. Using same weight or resistance for more than 2 weeks will not help you progress. Every 2 weeks work on increasing weights. It does not need to be large increase. If you are using 3lb to do shoulder press for 10 reps, see if you can use 5lb to do the same thing.
Fourth is give the body recovery day. We do have tendency to over do things because with think it is good. Strength training is very important for improving our health, however, you need to give 24-48 hours of rest after each training sessions. Consuming whole food with proper amount of protein per day is also important for recovery as well as strength and muscle growth.
Health Issues Can be Reversed
As we age we may be vulnerable to health issues but that does not mean you are required to become the statistics because you are getting older.
I've seen many of my older clients (65+) to improve their health, strength and fitness level through proper strength training, nutrition, and improving their sleep. No matter what health problem you may encounter, those 3 components will always be a solution. It is more effort than taking medication. However, side effect will be able to move better, feel better, and able to do things without too much aches and pain.
Health issues can be reversed.
Kota Shimada
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