We all want to live longer and maintain a high quality of life as we age. For older men, strength training is a vital part of remaining “healthy” in those later years. It’s important to remember that ‘health’ is “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. That’s where strength training is crucial…
The stats:
• Average retirement age for Australian Males is 65
• Pension qualifying age is currently 65 – this will rise to 67 by 1 July 2023
• Average lifespan of Australian Males is 82.5 years
ONLY 17.5 years of Retirement? Then after 2023, it will reduce to 15.5 years of retirement (on average), assuming the average lifespan remains the same. So, we have approx. 15-17 years to reap the rewards of all those years of hard work… except:
• 1 in 5 Australians will experience chronic pain, and after the age of 65 the prevalence increases to 1 in 3.
• 16% of the Australian population have back problems
• 70-90% of people will suffer from lower back pain at some point in their lives
• 1 in 3 Australian men over the age of 50 are on pain medication
Musculoskeletal Healthcare matters
Musculoskeletal health is particularly important for maintaining an active, productive and prolonged (working) life. Impaired musculoskeletal health can be the cause of acute and chronic pain, with lower back pain (LBP) and shoulder disorders being the most common and debilitating.2
There is a strong relationship between painful musculoskeletal conditions, lack of physical activity and resulting functional decline, frailty, loss of independence, withdrawal from social activities, decreased mental health, well-being and quality of life.
Why do we lose muscle as we age?
The natural aging process leads to distinct muscle mass and strength loss, with a 15% loss per decade over the age of 50! Age related factors contributing to loss of muscle mass & strength include:
• Loss of anabolic factors such a neural growth factors, growth hormone, androgens and estrogens (male andropause occurs around age 50)
• Decreased physical activity
• Chronic conditions such as heart disease and rheumatoid arthritis
• Insufficient nutrient intake
• Muscle atrophy and sarcopenia
How can strength training help?
Studies show that strength training (aka weight lifting, progressive resistance training) can improve muscle mass and strength. This can help to combat the musculoskeletal issues associated with aging.
Functionally, strength training is an activity in which muscles move dynamically against weight (or resistance). Small but consistent increases in the amount of weight lifted are made over time.
The benefits of strength & resistance training include:
• Increased lean muscle mass
• Increased metabolic rate
• Preserve/increase bone density & joint health
• Increased balance & decreased risk of falls or injury
• Prevention of muscle loss associated with aging
• Improved sleep
• Improved mental health & reduced depression
• Reduced risk and symptoms of some chronic diseases
• Improved cognitive function
• Potential to reduce risk of dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease
Strength training, in both highly controlled environments to minimally supervised home-based programs, has significant results overall in ageing adults.
How to change
To maintain your current physical health – you need to do at least 3 x 30min sessions of moderate exercise per week. To improve your physical health and build muscle mass; the intensity, frequency or duration (or all) need to increase.
We all know the barriers to changing or maintaining a healthy lifestyle – pain, functional capacity, mental health conditions, time, cost, motivation, family, work and social commitments etc. BUT if you want to be able to enjoy your later years and get the most out of retirement, changes need to be made sooner, rather than later.
Where to get help…
As Allied Health Professionals who specialise in using exercise as medicine, Exercise Physiologists are the best professionals to help you remain active at all ages.
Strength training, also called weightlifting or resistance training, does more than just build muscular strength, though getting stronger is certainly a major plus. And, the good news is that if you’re not a fan of the gym, you can also strength train at home, in a park or outside, or just about anywhere in between because you don’t actually need traditional weight machines or a squat rack loaded with every weight plate imaginable to get in a good strength training workout. In fact, any form of resistance works, from dumbbells to barbells, kettlebells to weight machines, and resistance bands to just your own bodyweight—the key is just to place your muscles under a load.
UnsplashA good set of resistance bands, adjustable dumbbells, or even a TRX suspension trainer can be all you need at home to get in a challenging, total-body strengthening workout. If you’ve been counting yourself out of strength training workouts because the gym just isn’t your scene or you’ve been reluctant to venture over from the cardio equipment at your gym to the weights, keep reading for a list of the benefits of strength training, which may be just the inspiration you may need to diversify your workout routine and take your fitness to new levels.
Benefits of Strength Training
In addition to its versatility and convenience, strength training is an efficient and effective workout that provides a variety of physical and mental health benefits, including the following:
Strength Training Strengthens Muscles and Connective Tissues
The first one is straightforward: strength training makes your muscles, tendons, and ligaments stronger. By requiring your muscles to work against a load, they develop more strength, which can make everything easier, from running a marathon or sprinting down the court to sink a layup to carrying a bag of groceries up the stairs.
Strength Training Builds Lean Body Mass
UnsplashParticularly if you are lifting for hypertrophy, which refers to increasing muscle size and involves lifting heavy weights or working under high loads, strength training can build lean body mass. Putting on muscle not only can look good and cause favorable shifts in your body composition, but it also improves markers of health, increases your metabolic rate, and make you stronger and fitter.
Strength Training Reduces Body Fat
Like all forms of exercise, strength training burns calories, but the main metabolic payoff is that by building lean muscle mass, strength training helps increase your metabolic rate. Because your muscle mass is the primary determinant of your metabolic rate, putting on more muscle helps you burn more calories in a day, even at rest. Because of these beneficial body composition changes, weight training is one of the best forms of exercise for those looking to reduce body fat. Studies have found that 8-12 week strength training programs are usually just as effective—if not more so—at reducing waist circumference and body fat percentage as long-duration cardio exercise workout routines.
Strength Training Increases Bone Density
PexelsIncreasing your bone density is critical for the prevention of fractures, particularly as you age. Strength training loads the bones, which signals them to lay down a denser, more mineralized boney matrix. Furthermore, when stronger muscles contract, they pull more forcefully on the bones, which also signals your body to deposit more minerals and strengthen the structure of your bones and create new bone cells.
Strength Training Helps Prevent Injuries
UnsplashStrength training reduces the risk of overuse injuries from other sports (running, cycling, tennis, swimming, basketball, etc.) as well as activities of daily living because it strengthens your muscles, tendons, joints, ligaments, and bones. Building muscular strength allows the muscles and tendons to absorb more of the forces involved when you land during each step, running stride, or jump, removing undue stress that your bones and cartilage absorb when otherwise weak muscles fatigue.
Strength Training Improves Neuromuscular Control
Some of the greatest initial gains in muscular strength after embarking on a strength training program are actually due to enhancements in the communication between the brain and the muscles via nervous impulses. Strength training helps your brain and muscles coordinate their activities, such that a greater number of muscle fibers are recruited with an impulse from the brain and they contract in a more coordinated fashion, which makes for more forceful contractions. This can translate to overall improvements in coordination and muscle control, whether taking on fine motor skills or large, gross movement patterns.
Strength Increases Core Strength
PexelsParticularly when you perform unilateral exercises, such as a single-arm farmer’s carry or a rear-elevated Bulgarian split squat with a lateral rotation, strength training can improve core strength. Your core muscles, which include the abs, obliques, glutes, hip muscles, and lower back muscles, connect the upper body and lower body muscles and are instrumental in movement efficiency.
Strength Training Boosts Athletic Performance, Speed, Power, Efficiency, and Economy
By increasing strength, power, force generation, coordination, core strength, and balance, strength training increases your overall athletic performance, movement efficiency, and fitness. Gains in the weight room can lead to faster running, higher jumping, better swinging and hitting, and further throwing.
Strength Training Can Improve Markers of Health
UnsplashStudies have demonstrated the ability of strength training workout programs to improve numerous markers of health. For example, resistance training programs have been shown to lower blood pressure, improve blood sugar control, and decrease triglycerides and cholesterol.
Strength Training Can Optimize Hormonal Balance
Strength training can improve your hormonal balance by stimulating the production of hormones like testosterone and growth hormone and inhibiting stress hormones like cortisol, which when high, can contribute to weight gain.
Strength Training Can Boost Your Mood and Reduce Anxiety
UnsplashAll forms of exercise produce endorphins, the feel-good chemicals that can elevate your mood. It’s also a great way to relieve stress and anxiety, as it has been shown to reduce stress hormone levels.
Strength Training Can Increase Your Confidence
Let’s face it, when you feel good about your body, you walk around with confidence and a little more swagger. As you get stronger, you feel better about yourself and that can carry through into all areas of your life, from workouts to work to relationships.