How does the idea of aging sit with you? 🤔
I’ve recently found myself excusing certain physical limitations by saying to myself “it’s because I’m getting old!”. Yes, this is expected to happen, and I have embraced this as being the natural course of aging that we women go through.
But guess what… there is a way for us to get nearer to that fountain of youth. Yay! And another little-known secret, it’s simple,
just lift heavy stuff! đź’Ş đź’Ş
Here’s some of the science behind this.
We all know that being active helps fend off early death, heart disease, and certain cancers. However, it has been identified that older adults who do strength training at least twice a week increase their chances of living longer. 👵 And get this – weight training is super impactful as we age.
It has been revealed that older adults who lift weights twice a week have about a 46% lower chance of dying from any cause, a 41% lower chance of dying from heart issues, and a 19% lower chance of dying from cancer.
Pretty eye-opening stats, right!
In his book “Boundless,” Ben Greenfield talks about how muscles shrink and weaken with age due to a process called sarcopenia. Research suggests that a big part of this decline happens in your muscle cells’ mitochondria, which are the powerhouses of energy production. A 2007 study showed that six months of progressive resistance training, or “lifting heavy stuff,” made the gene expression of aging mitochondria look significantly younger.
What we know for sure is that strength training helps reverse the aging process and burn fat faster. It also plays a part in reducing the risk of diabetes, osteoporosis, lower back pain, and obesity.
Does strength training mean I need to spend hours in the gym?
No, it doesn’t! The best way to get stronger muscles is by lifting weights.
Here are a couple of tips on how to start strength training:
- Start with low weights – you can use dumbbells, a suspension system like TRX, or resistance bands.
- Remember, make sure exercises are performed correctly to help avoid injuries.
- Mix up your workouts with different push and pull exercises to really give you a solid overall workout.
- Examples of pull exercises are things like upright rows, squats, deadlifts.
- Examples of push exercises are activities such as overhead presses, pushups, reverse hyperextensions.
The key is to work your muscles to fatigue. As long as you push your muscles to failure, it doesn’t matter if you’re using heavy or light weights. This is great if you don’t have access to a lot of equipment. Strength training and building muscle aren’t just about looking good , though that’s a nice bonus! It’s also about:
âś… improving your proportions
âś… muscle development
and
âś… slowing down the aging process.
Plus, having more muscle helps with everyday activities like walking, sprinting, and lifting heavy stuff, which boosts your fat-burning, strength, and mobility. And don’t forget, muscle burns fat even when you’re resting. Woo hoo!
How has strength training help me?
Weight training has been an absolute game-changer! It’s helped me stay lean and manage my weight better than any other exercise. I do walk most days, but my main focus is on strength and eating enough protein. I’ve gotten stronger every year. It’s amazing to feel fitter now than I did at 30, and it’s all thanks to weight training.