Strength Training after 50: Why It Matters More Than Ever

Think strength training is only for the young? Think again. After 50, building strength isn’t just about muscles—it’s about maintaining freedom, health, and confidence to live your best life.

Your Health is Non-Negotiable

Strength training isn’t just about barbells and bodybuilding. In fact, it doesn't even have to include heavy weights at all! Strength training, also known as resistance training, occurs anytime you are loading up your muscles, bones, and joints with weight or some kind of impact. This is how you build durable, mobile, stable, and strong muscles —making daily activities like climbing stairs or carrying groceries safer and easier.

I know it might sound counter-intuitive, but bones get stronger and more dense in response to this "loading" of weight or impact. Along with more creating more durable and elastic tendons and ligaments, you are also helping ward off many preventable "side-effects" of aging like back pain, chronic fatigue, and the dreaded hunchback.

Mind Over Matter

Keeping your brain as fresh and adaptable as your muscles is just crucial as you age and your workouts should reflect this. Once you find a routine that works for you, a good workout program has been shown to ease symptoms of depression, reduce anxiety, and boost confidence across all aspects of your life. Taking as little as 30 days, it's shocking how quick your brain will begin to rewire and flood itself with positive and healthy chemicals.

Once you start to witness your body's age-defying capabilities, you'll quickly understand how every rep turns into a sense of empowerment, highlighting that your age doesn't define your limits any longer. By staying strong and active, you inspire your children, grandkids, and peers to prioritize health and be just like you when they're older.

The Moment You Stop, The Decline Starts

Sarcopenia, or age-related muscle loss begins in your 30s and speeds up after 60. Once your muscles go, everything starts to roll downhill. Muscles are responsible for many things beyond strength and movement. Muscles serve as an extra pump besides your heart to promote healthy blood flow throughout your body. That is why one's risk for things like dementia and heart attacks get worse and your body's immune system tends to become almost non-existent when all of these things collide.

"Help I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up!"

Falls are the #1 cause of injury in older adults and often pre-cursors to further setbacks and potential surgeries. Training your legs and core can help improve your balance, helping to reduce your fall risk due to quicker muscle response times (coordination & reactions) and increased density of muscle and bone tissue. A safe strength program should rebuild strength and mobility, but also help recreate these scenarios in a controlled manner, helping to place mental trust in your body should you come across them later.

What You Need to Know

• The Garden Workout

  • Activities of daily living that place resistance or "load" your body with impact count as workouts and exercise too! Tasks such as gardening (Carrying bags of mulch, using tools to dig, etc.), heavy cleaning, moving & packing, etc. all count!

• Consistency beats Intensity

  • Start with full-body strength workouts twice a week and then work your way up to 3-4x once your body adapts. Use resistance bands, dumbbells, or even bodyweight to begin, as long as it is loading up your body with resistance or gets you huffing and puffing then it's good!

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