Perhaps you used to lift weights. Maybe you even routinely tested your mettle hoisting heavy barbells and dumbells. But those days are behind you now, and over time your focus has shifted to solely doing aerobic exercise — walking, jogging or biking. Perhaps you figure that’s all you need to stay fit now and in the future.
As people get older many stop doing strength, or resistance, training, but fitness professionals and health providers say commonly whether a person is 18 or 80, we need both cardiovascular and strengthening exercises. Beyond the immediate benefits, like improved shape and tone, research now links not just aerobic exercise but strength training with a reduced risk of death from all causes.
Yet, just as many Americans don’t do any type of exercise, the vast majority of older adults don’t meet recommendations from the American Heart Association and American College of Sports Medicine to do strength training at least two days a week. What they’re missing out on goes beyond improved muscle definition and tone — though it’s worth pointing out, experts say, that you can see those kind of results, too, even at an advanced age. “Strength training isn’t necessarily the first thing that pops into people’s mind when they think about activities they should be doing when they’re older,” says Dr. Jennifer Kraschnewski, an associate professor of medicine, pediatrics and public health sciences at the Penn State College of Medicine. “But the truth is that very good evidence [is available] to show that 80-year-olds are just as able to improve their muscle mass as 50-year-olds. And this can be done reliably over a very short period of time — something as short as two to three months.”
[See: 7 Exercises You Can Do Now to Save Your Knees Later.]
It just doesn’t stop there. Strength training can help prevent age-related muscle and bone loss. What’s more, research — including notably a large 2016 study Kraschnewski led — has helped broaden the understanding of the impact building muscle may have for an older person’s health and life. The study following more than 30,000 adults 65 and older, which drew on data from the National Health Interview Survey, found that just under 10 percent reported they met national guidelines of doing strength training at least twice weekly. This was based on people reporting how often they did physical activities designed to strengthen their muscles, such as lifting weights or doing calisthenics. Over a 15-year period, those who had reported meeting guidelines had 46 percent lower odds of dying from any cause, or all-cause morality. The researchers also found that those individuals were less likely to die from cardiovascular disease or cancer.
The study published in Preventive Medicine didn’t prove cause and effect, but rather found an association between strength training and mortality. That association was less pronounced after adjusting for various factors, including demographics, such as an individual’s age (where subjects ranged 65 to 85 years old), gender and race, and other health behaviors like smoking status and past medical history. The link specifically with a decreased risk of death by cancer or cardiovascular disease was no longer statistically significant. But overall, even after adjusting for other variables, an older adult who did strength training still had 19 percent lower odds of dying from any cause.
Other research has found strength training is associated with a lower risk of death for a vulnerable population — individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, as one study found — as well as for women, as shown in research published last year in the Journal of the American Heart Association ( in addition to men).
What’s more, building muscle is associated with better blood sugar regulation — helping to clear excess glucose — which can lower one’s risk for developing diabetes. Along with other possible underlying reasons for this, muscles have insulin receptors to which the hormone, which regulates glucose levels, binds. “You may have a greater proliferation of some of these receptors from engagement in resistance exercise,” says Paul Loprinzi, an associate professor of health and exercise science at the University of Mississippi. “If you have more of these receptors, then in theory more insulin’s going to be able to bind to them, and if that happens, in theory more glucose is able to enter the muscle cell which could be utilized as fuel.” But precisely what’s going on inside a person’s body that may lower risk of disease or death isn’t clear, says Loprinzi, who led the mortality research on people with COPD who did strength training.
[See: 10 Myths About Diabetes.]
Still, whether it’s owed to a decrease in inflammation, improved blood sugar regulation or more outwardly obvious changes — like better strength and balance that decreases the risk of a senior taking a serious fall — experts say there’s plenty to suggest strength training should be part of any physical activity routine.
It’s not just about decreasing mortality risk, but improvement in a person’s ability to do what they want and need to do, from playing with grandkids to going to the grocery store. In addition to strengthening muscle, resistance training helps to make bones healthier, says Neil Johannsen, associate professor of kinesiology at Louisiana State University and the scientific director for exercise testing and intervention at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge. With exercise, including strength training, you can “live a more functional and happy and productive [life], and have a higher quality of life,” he says.
Getting Back Into the Swing of It
You can — and should — ease into any new workout, though, especially if you’ve been out of the game for a while (or never been much for lifting). Older adults especially should consult with their physicians before starting a new exercise regimen to make sure it’s safe to do so. “Make sure you get your doctor’s OK,” Johannsen says.
In addition, particularly if you aren’t sure where to start, talk with a fitness professional to design a program specifically around you. And — if you haven’t already — ditch the idea that you need to lift heavy weights to strength train. “Oftentimes senior centers will have programs that are available,” Kraschnewski says; and programs like SilverSneakers and StrongWomen also provide guidance, including on strength training, for older adults looking to get fit.
Focus on reps and don’t be afraid to get creative, while making sure you enjoy what you do — so that you’re more likely to stick with it. “Using things like exercise bands, and even activities that use one’s own body weight can be really beneficial in maintaining function and helping keep people healthy,” Kraschnewski says. “Even yoga that uses body weight for some of the moves is considered a form of strength training.”
You might also try floor exercises, like crunches and pushups (modified if necessary depending on a person’s fitness level, perhaps by pushing up from one’s knees). “Probably the duration should be around 30 minutes for each session, and try to employ exercises that utilize multiple muscle groups across multiple joints,” Loprinzi says. When adding weight, like for bench press or squat, make sure that you’re still able to do around 10 reps, per set for one to three sets. Progress gradually, and don’t increase frequency, intensity and duration of exercise all at once, he says.
[See: Osteoarthritis and Activity: Walking It Out.]
Whatever you do, the key is to get started — and incorporate resistance training into your workout if you’re not already, Kraschnewski says. “I would definitely recommend people look into ways of adding strength training to their regular routine.”
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