The benefits of strength training for older adults

Lifting weights, using bands and other resistance training methods has a proven record of accomplishment of making life easier for an older adult. You will get stronger, regardless of your age, by making resistance training a part of your lifestyle. More so for an older person because these strength increases may mean the difference between living independently and having to have assistance to do daily activities.

Muscle strength diminishes as we age, everyone knows this, but not everyone does anything to slow this natural process from happening. Progressive resistance training uses various methods to increase strength including free weights, elastic materials and even machines.

The key strategy in getting stronger is to vary the load, repetitions and sets that you use while exercising.

One organization conducted 121 trials involving 6700 people over 67 years old who trained two to three times a week. Such training demonstrated large improvements in muscle strength for each person. The study showed moderate to large strength improvements in the participant’s ability to do simple daily activities like getting up out of a chair, climbing stairs or walking at a faster pace.

If you are older and hesitant to try lifting weights, check out one of the local gyms in your area and find a certified strength coach to get you started.

Perhaps you may decide to start out on your own with bodyweight exercises, if this is your choice then follow a few basic suggestions before doing so. Talk to your doctor and set up an exercise plan to follow such as the following seventeen to twenty one minute bodyweight schedule. Adjust the exercise times to fit your personal capabilities. Keep a log of what you do.

• Walk for five minutes.
• Do chair squats for one to three minutes.
• Walk for five minutes.
• Do wall or counter top pushups for one to two minutes.
• Walk for five minutes at a slower pace to cool down.

Keep it up for a month to six weeks until exercise becomes a habit and you too will realize the benefits of strength training in your own life…regardless of your age.