“You’ll be able to pick up your grandchild and swivel it around your head, garden without being out of breath, and easily lift your suitcase into the overhead locker on a plane,” says Redwood-Brown. Once you have mastered the technique, you can proceed to using weights.
Read this article to learn the biggest benefits of strength training and how to reap the results. Here is the guide:
“From the age of 40 you need to undertake strength-strengthening activities to compensate for age-related muscle loss,” says Dr Richard Blagrove, Senior Lecturer in Physiology at Loughborough University and certified strength and conditioning coach. .
“If you don’t take action, you can lose 1 to 2 percent of muscle mass each year.” By age 80, sedentary people can have half the muscle mass they had in their 20s. This age-related decline, called sarcopenia, can make daily life more difficult, increase the risk of metabolic diseases such as diabetes, and lead to frailty and falls.
But with a proper strength-training program, Dr. Blagrove says you can largely stop muscle loss. “Start with bodyweight training and you’ll feel stronger within a few weeks,” he says. “Your nervous system quickly adapts and recruits more muscle fibers, making you better at each exercise and making everyday life easier.” Don’t expect bulges in your biceps or rippling abs just yet. Please. Muscle growth takes time. “You’ll see small changes after six weeks, but it will take several months to see a change in appearance,” says Dr. Blagrove. He recommends doing the following program twice a week.
Include several exercises that target all major muscle groups, including your legs, hips, back, abs, chest, shoulders, and arms. Build up to 3 sets of 10 reps (or reps) of each bodyweight movement, with 2 minutes of rest between each set. This will probably take a month to six weeks.
Then, hold light dumbbells during your workout or use the resistance bands or weight machines found at the gym. A personal trainer is ideal. Start with a light weight and increase to 3 sets of 10 reps. Next, try varying the reps and weights to keep the muscles under stress.
“Research shows that doing up to 20 repetitions with a light weight or a minimum of 3 repetitions with a heavy weight can still increase muscle mass,” says Dr. Blagrove. “The key is to train your muscles to such an extent that by the last rep you can’t lift any more weight.” To avoid muscle soreness and injury, focus on good technique and avoid improving too quickly. please.
If you want to prevent future falls and broken bones, get some dumbbells now. “Improving bone health is one of the biggest benefits of strength training,” says Redwood Brown. “Mechanical stress increases bone density and causes it to grow thicker.”
After middle age, bone density decreases by about 1% per year. This accelerates during menopause due to declining estrogen levels, and a woman can lose 10-20% of her bone mass, increasing the risk of osteoporosis. Strength training and high-impact exercise, such as explosive jumps and skips, have been shown to prevent bone loss.
“It was thought that at a certain age, the body is no longer able to produce new bone cells, but research now shows that bone density can be maintained or even increased as we age.” says Dr. Redwood Brown. In the landmark Liftmor study, postmenopausal women with low bone mass performed 30 minutes of high-intensity resistance training twice a week, plus high-impact explosive jumps, and after 8 months, It was found that bone density and bone function improved significantly.
“Bones respond to hard work. And new activities are emerging,” says Sarah Leyland, clinical advisor at the Royal Osteoporosis Society. “To maximize bone strength, you should perform progressive resistance training with gradual increases in intensity,” she says. Two 20-30 minute resistance training sessions per week targeting legs (squats, sit-to-stand, lunges), arms (bicep curls, wall press), and spine (back extensions, deadlifts) .
Start with just your body weight and do 8 to 12 repetitions, increasing to up to 3 sets of each movement. Proceed to using free weights and machines, ideally under the guidance of a personal trainer. “Once you can lift a weight eight to 12 times, aim to move on to heavier weights,” Leyland says. “Also try weight-bearing, moderate-impact exercise, such as jogging or low-level jumping.”
According to a study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM), just 30-60 minutes of muscle-strengthening activity a week can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease by 10-20%.. “Resistance exercise improves arterial elasticity and improves blood vessel function, which lowers blood pressure,” explains Dr. Lewis MacGregor. He is a lecturer in sports physiology and nutrition at the University of Stirling.
“Increases high-density lipoproteins (‘good’ cholesterol) and reduces low-density lipoproteins (‘bad’ cholesterol), improves glucose metabolism, lowers blood sugar levels, and prevents damage to blood vessels and plaque buildup. . lead to heart disease). ”