Why You Need To Be Strength Training
Sarcopenia is the loss of muscle mass, muscle strength and muscle function as you age. It is indicated that between 3-5% of your bodies muscle mass is lost every 10 years from the age of 30!........
think about that for a second.......
Don't worry, this isn't abnormal. It is natural, but if left unattended, can lead to significant problems in staying functional, physically independent and also putting on those undesirable kg!
HOW TO COMBAT SARCOPENIA
Resistance (strength) training is the best way to increase and maintain your muscular function. Making sure you progress the weights you are lifting over time is key. Your body will adapt to the stimulus you put it under and in order to see prolonged benefits of improved muscular function and strength you need to increase the resistance of your exercises. Try to lift weights that are about 80% of your maximum ability for each exercise. We term this 80% of your 1 rep max (1RM).
BENEFITS OF STRENGTH TRAINING YOU MAY NOT KNOW
1. More muscle can lead to a healthier weight
Increasing your overall muscle mass will also increase your resting metabolic rate (RMR), meaning you will burn more calories at rest just for having more muscle. This is extremely important for keeping a healthy weight as you age because having a higher RMR makes it harder to put on weight.
2. Osteoarthritis is improved by stronger muscles
Improving muscular strength around joints that maybe experiencing symptoms of osteoarthritis can actually improve their functionality, making day to day tasks easier. Osteoarthritis is a common degenerative musculoskeletal condition for seniors and there are now reasons to believe that muscle weakness could be a direct cause.
So strength training will not only help this condition but also prevent it!
3. Delay the onset of cognitive diseases like alzheimers
There have also been a number of recent studies indicating that resistance training can actually improve cognitive function and depressive symptoms. This is exciting research and a study conducted by the University of Sydney found a direct correlation between strength gains and improved cognitive function in seniors. According to the results, memory tasks and ordering tasks improved immensely for those seniors who followed a 6 month strength training program. The study suggested that strength training actually improved those impaired cognitive functions which eventually lead to diseases like alzheimers.
Hopefully you found this article helpful and have a better understanding of the importance and benefits of strength training as you age. If you would like further information on this topic feel free to contact me with any questions or queries. I am here to keep you mobile and my aim is to help you age with prolonged physical independence.
References:
Latham & Liu (2010) Strength training in older adults: The benefits for osteoarthritis
Nelson & Seguin (2003) The benefits of strength training for older adults
White (2016) Strength training benefits for ageing bodies (and how to go about it) http://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2016-05-27/strength-training-in-old-age-benefits-muscle-mass-ageing/7396464