Lift Weights in Your 70s for a Healthier, Stronger Life
Abandon activities like lawn bowling or leisurely swimming; instead, seniors should consider taking up weightlifting for a healthier retirement, according to research.
Resistance training proved to offer lasting strength advantages well into retirement, which makes it an excellent choice of workout for older adults.
As individuals age, they typically experience a decline in muscular functionality, which manifests as weakening grips and diminished leg strength. These factors are considered significant indicators of mortality in senior citizens.
Weightlifting, exercises using your own bodyweight, or utilizing resistance bands have been demonstrated to aid in preventing such occurrences.
Scientists aimed to investigate the enduring impacts of a year-long, instructor-led strength-training regimen utilizing heavy loads.
Among participants with an average age of 71, 451 retirees were divided into three groups: one engaged in intense strength training for a year, another undertook moderate-intensity exercises, while the third group continued with their normal activities without adding extra workouts.
The participants who were assigned specific weights engaged in programs three times per week, whereas those involved in moderate-intensity training performed circuits that included bodyweight exercises and resistance bands over the same duration.
Every workout in the strength-training session consisted of three series with six to twelve reps, using a weight ranging from 70 percent to 85 percent of the individual’s peak lifting capacity for each rep.
At the beginning of the study, measurements were taken for bone and muscle strength as well as body fat percentages. These same metrics were assessed once more after one year, two years, and four years.
After four years, individuals in the high-intensity training group managed to maintain their lower body strength, whereas those who did not exercise or engaged only in light activity experienced a decline in strength during this period.
Publishing their findings in the journal BMJ Open Sport and Exercise Medicine, the researchers determined that "for healthy seniors around retirement age, engaging in intensive strength training for one year can lead to enduring positive outcomes by maintaining muscular functionality."
None of the three groups showed variation in leg extensor power—the capacity to forcefully and swiftly push against a pedal—handgrip strength (an indicator of general muscular strength), or lean leg mass (body weight excluding fat), which all experienced reductions.
The levels of visceral fat, located internally around organs, went up for individuals who did not work out. However, these measurements remained unchanged in both exercise groups.
The researchers, which included members from the University of Copenhagen, stated that individuals participating in the study tended to be more physically active, accumulating approximately 10,000 steps daily on average, compared to the general public.
They included: "This research demonstrates that engaging in strength training using heavy weights even when people reach retirement age can yield benefits lasting for multiple years."
Thus, these findings offer tools for professionals and policymakers to motivate elderly people to participate in intense strength training sessions.
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