As you’ve gotten older, have you shied away from lifting weights or challenging your ability to improve your strength? Are you afraid your muscles have gotten weaker, or that you might injure yourself if you lift heavy weights? Well, if you haven’t done much to work on your muscles in a while, then you’re right: You’ve likely lost muscle mass and strength as the years have gone by. According to one estimate, once you reach your 60s or 70s, you can lose about 10% of your muscle mass each decade. But as we’ve continuously tried to show you, losing muscle mass and strength are all the more reason you need to be strength training as an older adult. 

It wasn’t that long ago that scientists and the medical community assumed that lifting weights and gaining strength was no longer in the cards for older adults. According to the author Michael Joseph Gross, who recently published the book, Stronger: The Untold Story of Muscle in Our Lives, it wasn’t until the late 1980s that researchers seriously investigated the potential benefit of strength training among residents of long term care facilities, and in the process discovered strength training is not only safe but effective in slowing down muscle loss and even reversing muscle decline, with potentially life-saving impact on individuals previously considered frail and in decline. Researchers discovered that with consistent and regular strengthening exercises, older adults could regain functional independence and autonomy, all without risk of serious injury. While it’s important that, as an older adult, you confirm with your primary caregiver that strength training is safe for you, and it’s critical that you receive expert training and oversight, at least when you initially take up such training, there appears no reason at this point for most of us to fear engaging in a robust- and consistent- strategy of strength training, no matter our age or initial condition. In fact, a recent study confirmed that older strength trainers are at no more risk for muscle damage or injury than their younger counterparts. So pick up some free weights and read more here.

If you need more encouragement, once again, we have new research underscoring that strength training is not only critical for maintaining physical functioning in your everyday life, but it is also invaluable for maintaining and improving brain health and lowering your risk of dementia. In this new research published in GeroScience, 2 small groups of adults, aged 55 and older, were formed to look at the impact of resistance training, with moderate to high intensity sessions 2 times per week for one group, and no weight training for the other group. After 6 months of this training, the resistance training group showed improvement in their verbal episodic memory along with strengthening of the neurons and areas of the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease. In contrast, members of the control group had evidence of worsening brain matter. Further, among those in the weight training group who had already been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, five of them no longer fit that diagnosis after the 6 months of weight training exercises. While the study needs to be replicated and enlarged, the implications appear clear: Not only can weight training improve cognition, but it may prevent the kind of brain atrophy associated with dementia, and may even forestall or prevent the onset of dementia in certain situations. For further insights from this study, grab some resistance bands and click here and here.

Does this mean that you should spend hours upon hours at a gym or give up your cardio walking or swimming time and replace it with strength training? Certainly not. Aerobic exercise is also important. But there’s no denying that strength training is essential for older adults, and the value seems to be in regularity and consistency, rather than inordinate amounts of time lifting weights. A recent study cited by The Washington Post reveals that even short stints of lifting weights can produce big impacts on muscle strength and muscle mass. According to this article, a new study suggests that as little as two 30-minute sessions per week of basic strength training can put you on the path to better muscle health and strength. While this study focused on younger adults, the authors believe it’s likely that the results would hold firm among older adults as well. Again, the key is regular, ongoing, and challenging consistency in your strength training, rather than hours upon hours of lifting. For some inspiration, take a look at this quick, ten-minute strength routine intended for beginners and older adults. And if you want to take it to the next level, read about these ladies who compete in strength training into their 60s, 70s, and beyond.