Heavy Strength Training for Older Adults

If you’ve been following us for any amount of time, you know we continually tout the advantages of focusing on strength training. And we do our best to define what quality strength training means. While we mean it to be primarily working at heavy loads for lower rep ranges and resting between sets, others define it as high repetitions at light weight.

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To further prove our point that effective strength training is challenging yourself with heavy loads, let’s look at a recent study.

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A randomized control trial of over 400 retirement-aged (age 64-75) adults was done and the trial was split in three groups:

• Those who did heavy resistance training
• Those who did moderate resistance training
• A non-exercise control group.

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This trial found that heavy resistance training for one year maintained muscle strength and lean body mass in older adults over the subsequent three years, whereas moderate-intensity training and no training did not.

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The takeaway: lifting heavy weights to build muscle and strength can last and preserve muscle function!

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What’s also important to note about this study is that 61% of the participants were female.

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Also, most participants in the study walked nearly 10,000 steps per day. This suggests that combining resistance training with regular physical activity can be a holistic approach to maintaining health and mobility in older age.

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This study proves that you can - and should - strength train at any age. I'd also like to bring up the fact that we can start to lose muscle and strength in our 30s, so it’s also never too early.

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You can read more on this study here:  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38911477/

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Now, who is ready to lift?!