Should I be Strength Training as I get older?
I recently listen to an amazing podcast by Peter Attia MD [1] and it inspired me to dig a little further into the importance of strength training for longevity and how it may affect the quality of your life as you get older.
Firstly, you NEED to be strength training every week as you get older!
According to the Department of Medicine at the University of Southern California “one of the most striking effects of age is the involuntary loss of muscle mass, strength, and function, termed sarcopenia. Muscle mass decreases approximately 3–8% per decade after the age of 30 and this rate of decline is even higher after the age of 60. [2]”
Yep, getting older sucks! So, can we do anything about this?
Unfortunately, we cannot stop ageing (we would be dead if we did).
However, we can slow the process down and do more to improve the quality of life we may have in 10, 30 or even 50 years down the line.
Lon Kilgore in the Journal article Ageing, Performance & Health states “When we age, we lose fitness capacity. That loss is compounded if we do not train. But if we do train hard and intelligently, we can abate that loss even if we can’t eliminate it completely.” [3]
Strength training is one of the best ways you can combat the effects of ageing. Research tells us that controlled, well-coached, strength training has the ability to reduce weakness and frailty and their debilitating consequences [4].
With regular strength training (2-3 times per week), we can:
Build muscular strength & muscle mass
Preserve bone density
Maintain independence, and vitality as we age
Reduce the risks of osteoporosis and the signs and symptoms or numerous chronic diseases such as heart disease, arthritis and type 2 diabetes
Improve sleep quality
Reduce depression
Functional training such as CrossFit takes longevity training further by focussing on training muscles in coordination rather than just in isolation. Strength training that produces transferrable strength to everyday tasks will help in reducing the loss of balance, agility and coordination as we age. [5]
If you are not strength training right now, find a coach and/or gym and get started! (Bring It On CrossFit is a good place to start 😉)
Before you do get yourself back into the gym, here’s a little activity you can do right now…
Peter Attia in the above podcast talks about the ‘Centenarian Olympics’ concept. The Centenarian Olympics or Centenarian Decathlon is a personal competition against the body’s natural decline, and unlike the pursuit of gold in the standard Olympics, the prize is still living your best life, even after a century.
Take a moment right now to ask yourself these questions…
What do I physically want to be able to do when I reach the last decade of my life?
What do I want the last decade of my life to look like?
List the physical daily tasks you want to be able to do when you get older.
From there, think backwards (back-casting), write down what you need to be doing right now to be able to do these tasks in the long-term.
If your goal is to still be able to move well, climb stairs, play with your great-grandchildren, run 5km or whatever it is, you need to be training for that now.
With all physical tasks, strength & stability are going to be essential for that last decade [6].
Knowing that you will lose between 3-8% of your muscle mass, muscular strength & stability every decade from 30 years of age, where you need to be now needs to be much greater to where you want to be in that last decade.
Deadlifting, squatting, pressing, pushing and jumping regularly will help maintain and potentially improve your bone & joint health, muscular strength and range of movement.
As we get older we need to adjust our training mindset. No longer is the focus on PRs and competitions, but rather living your best life, long into old age. There is no reason you cannot be running around, active, and loving life as you hit 70, 80, 90 or even 100 years old!
Anything is possible, but make sure you are doing all you can now to open up the door for those opportunities.
Bring It On CrossFit offers 7 day free trials. Book yours today and start training for your best life!
1. Peter Attia Podcast - https://peterattiamd.com/exercising-for-longevity/
2. PubMed Central -https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2804956/#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20most%20striking,60%20%5B4%2C5%5D.
3. AGING, PERFORMANCE AND HEALTH By Lon Kilgore, 2016 - https://journal.crossfit.com/article/cfj-aging-performance-and-health
4. NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE, 2003 - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14552938/
5. LIFT TO LIVE WELL by Sharon Mallia, 2016 - https://journal.crossfit.com/article/lift-to-live-well-2
6. Dr. Peter Attia: Exercise, Nutrition, Hormones for Vitality & Longevity / Episode 85 – Huberman Lab Podcast: https://hubermanlab.com/dr-peter-attia-exercise-nutrition-hormones-for-vitality-and-longevity/