Does strength training help with healthy ageing?
Strength training is one of the best-supported interventions for healthy ageing: training two to three times per week with progressive resistance demonstrably improves muscle strength, mobility and independence, even at an advanced age.
Strength training is one of the best-supported ways to age healthily. An overview of 137 systematic reviews involving more than 30,000 participants shows that all forms of strength training clearly improve muscle strength, muscle size, explosiveness, endurance, balance and physical function compared with doing nothing at all. The effects on strength are large. This is not early or experimental evidence, but the highest category of summarising research.
Do you want to become as strong as possible? Then train with heavy weights (more than 80% of the maximum weight you can lift once), multiple sets and three times per week. For muscle growth, the weight matters less: all training methods work comparably. A higher volume (ten or more sets per muscle group per week) and extra attention to the downward phase of the movement give the best results.
For older people, strength training is especially valuable, and the evidence is strong. It actively counteracts the age-related loss of muscle mass and strength (also known as sarcopenia). It also reduces physical frailty, improves mobility and independence, and has positive effects on chronic diseases and psychological well-being. An international expert consensus considers progressive strength training indispensable for older adults with sarcopenia, frailty or osteoporosis, including in nursing homes.
Combine strength training with cardiovascular training, balance exercises and cognitive tasks, and you improve multiple aspects of frailty as well as cognitive function in older adults, while also reducing the risk of falls. That evidence is somewhat less extensive than for strength training alone, but the direction is clearly positive.
Creatine supplementation is sometimes combined with strength training, particularly in postmenopausal women. Women naturally have 70 to 80% lower creatine stores than men. Supplementation in combination with training may improve muscle mass and muscle function. The evidence is still limited. Two of the four authors of the relevant study are also scientific advisors to a creatine manufacturer, so keep that conflict of interest in mind.
Based on multiple summarising reviews (including one overview of 137 systematic reviews involving more than 30,000 participants), international expert consensus and one meta-analysis on neuroplasticity. The claims about creatine come from one review with a possible conflict of interest.
Is strength training still safe and worthwhile after the age of 70?
Strength training after 70 is both safe and worthwhile: the evidence for greater muscle strength and reduced fall risk is strong, and even short, light sessions already produce measurable results. When training heavily, it is worth keeping an eye on the potential impact on your blood vessels; blood flow-restricted training with light weights is then a well-supported alternative.
Why is muscle strength so important for healthy ageing?
Muscle strength is one of the best-supported pillars of healthy ageing: losing it increases the risk of falls, disability and premature death, while resistance training demonstrably reduces those risks. So do regular strength exercises, and if you are unsure how, discuss it with a physiotherapist.
Can intense exercise actually make you age faster?
Extremely high levels of exercise can increase cardiac damage and oxidative stress, but telomere studies actually show positive associations in active people. Build high training loads up gradually and give your body sufficient time to recover.
How often and how hard should I strength train?
Start with 2 to 3 training days per week, sets of 8 to 12 repetitions close to your maximum, and increase the weight as soon as you can add extra repetitions. This approach demonstrably builds both strength and muscle mass at every level.
Does strength training work as well as medication for osteoporosis?
Strength training demonstrably improves bone density and offers additional benefits that medication does not provide, but the two are not alternatives to each other: when fracture risk is seriously elevated, medication has stronger evidence behind it and cannot be replaced by exercise.
Does strength training help against insulin resistance?
Strength training probably helps against insulin resistance, although the effect is most strongly demonstrated in combination with endurance training and, for additional weight loss, changes in diet.