Does strength training help with healthy ageing?

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.