How to Navigate Exercise as You Age

Common statements I’ve heard from patients over the years as it pertains to lifting weights:

• I’m too old to lift weights
• It’s not safe
• I will get injured

The truth is that aging unfortunately can lead to the loss of strength, lean muscle mass, and bone density. But it doesn’t have to be that way!

Resistance training is the best way to make sure side effects of aging don’t affect your quality of life. And the research is present to back this up!

Did you know that when you participate in resistance training, you’re influencing the nervous system, cardiovascular system and endocrine system? This helps reduce your risk of injury and will even slow disease progression.^[1][2]

Increased Strength and Lean Muscle Mass

• When Strength deficits are present, this is a direct link to injury in the future. For example, weakness in the hips and trunk (abdominals and back) has been linked with low back pain, hip pain, arthritis, and knee injuries.^[3]
• Did you know that if you are 60+ years old, strength training can reverse some of the normal effects of aging such as muscle loss?

Research is clear that you can still get stronger, improve muscle firing rate, and build muscle mass to help reduce injury.^[4]

Increased Bone Density

• Reduced bone mineral density significantly increases your risk of fractures which can be painful, expensive to manage, and cause long term disability in some cases.
• Bone is actually one of the most adaptive tissues in our body. All tissues and organisms adapt based on the stresses applied to them.^[1] This is particularly noticeable with bone.
• Bone density increases significantly with the stress of muscle contraction, impact such as running, or compressive loading.  But the opposite is true as well. The absence of impact, load, and contraction at a high enough intensity will lead to the loss of bone density.
• Resistance training, especially at high intensities, has been shown to be one of the most effective ways to improve bone density and reduce the risk for fractures in older adults.
• Bone density in women decreases significantly after menopause, which leads to a 3x higher rate of hip fractures in women than men. This makes premenopausal strengthening for women especially important. Don’t wait to get started – it is much easier to maintain density than reverse the effects of osteoporosis.

Improved Cardiovascular Health

• Regular resistance training also helps modify many risk factors of cardiovascular disease.^[1]
• Research has also shown improved aerobic capacity and a reduced resting heart rate.^[2]

Other Benefits of Resistance Training

• Did you know that when you consistently strength train, it will  Improve your cognition such that you will increase your Scrabble performance?
• Did you know that resistance training Improves glucose control, hormone regulation, and insulin sensitivity?

• Improved sleep, and reduced stress levels and a decrease in cardiac events
• Increased mobility for daily function

References

^[1] Mayer F, Scharhag-Rosenberger F, Carlsohn A, Cassel M, Müller S, Scharhag J. The intensity and effects of strength training in the elderly. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2011;108(21):359-364. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2011.0359

^[2] Williams MA, Haskell WL, Ades PA, et al. Resistance exercise in individuals with and without cardiovascular disease: 2007 update: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association Council on Clinical Cardiology and Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Metabolism. Circulation. 2007;116(5):572-584. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.185214

^[3] Saeidifard F, Medina-Inojosa JR, West CP, et al. The association of resistance training with mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2019;26(15):1647-1665. doi:10.1177/2047487319850718

^[4] Kamada M, Shiroma EJ, Buring JE, Miyachi M, Lee IM. Strength Training and All-Cause, Cardiovascular Disease, and Cancer Mortality in Older Women: A Cohort Study. J Am Heart Assoc. 2017;6(11):e007677. Published 2017 Oct 31. doi:10.1161/JAHA.117.007677