Lift weights to keep your body young and live longer
More evidence proving what those of us who exercise know, but sometimes forget
In theory, we know that it's important to stay strong, but when you're addicted to running, cycling or other forms of aerobic exercise and you don't have much time, the priority is to just sweat a little and that's it.
If you want to reach old age on your own, without a cane or medication for rheumatism, sciatica and other ailments caused by muscle and bone deterioration, the following is of interest to you.
Two new studies confirm the importance of strength training and its benefits, and how it can increase longevity and quality of life in older people.
The first study is an analysis of the link between strength, muscle mass and mortality, using data from a survey of 4,449 people aged 50 and older who had their strength and muscle mass measured between 1999 and 2002. In 2011, researchers reviewed which of the people examined had died.
To examine muscle mass, a special scanner (DEXA) was used to determine that 23% of the people examined fell within the definition of “low muscle index” with a total muscle in the arms and legs that added up to less than 21.7 kilos in men and approximately 16.2 kilos in women. To examine strength, a device that measures the maximum strength of the knee extensors (the muscles that allow you to straighten the knee) was used and it was found that 19% of the people had low muscle strength.
The results, published in the journal Exercise and Sports Science and Medicine, showed that people with low muscle strength were twice as likely to die during the study follow-up period compared to those with normal muscle strength. In contrast, the amount of muscle mass was not as relevant.
What is the message then?
That it's more important to function than to look . That doesn't mean that as you age you should allow your muscles to disappear; in fact, having good muscle reserves is important because, to sum it up, according to Luc Van Loon, professor of exercise physiology and nutrition at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, "you can end up with more muscle mass in a week of bed rest (say in the hospital) than you can develop in 6 months of training."
All in all, this is good news for those who have difficulty building muscle mass but persist, even if it means doing push-ups and other strength exercises about three times a week.
The other study focused on the widespread perception that strength training is an “add-on” to what should be considered “exercise.” The World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on physical activity promote 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity per week; or a combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activities.
But these guidelines also recommend “strength-promoting exercise” at least twice a week, a clause that is often overlooked and whose benefits are framed in strengthening and improving quality of life, forgetting to say that it also helps to extend it.
Research in Australia analyzed data from 80,000 adults in Scotland and England who completed a survey on physical activity patterns beginning in the 1990s.
The results showed that those who reported doing some form of strength training were 23% less likely to die during the study period and 31% less likely to die from any type of cancer. Clearly, there was an added benefit to doing strength training twice a week.
An interesting detail is that strength training done in the gym or bodyweight exercises (Yoga and eventually Ashtanga Yoga) confer practically the same benefits. So you don't need to enroll in a labor camp or drag iron bars to reap the benefits.
In this respect, the benefits of meeting the strength training requirements were roughly equivalent to those of meeting the aerobic training requirements alone, at least in terms of overall mortality. However, strength training did not prove protective against cardiac conditions. There is evidence, however, that it reduces hypertension, but increases arterial stiffness, which would cancel out its cardiac benefits.
The above study doesn't answer this question, but the findings suggest that ditching cardio exercise isn't ideal. In fact, the best results in the study were a 29% reduction in mortality from any disease in people who met the guidelines for both aerobic and strength training .
In short, strength training is good for you. I might add that a few months ago I published an article on running techniques to avoid injuries. The advice was and is: listen to your body, don't increase speed or intensity too quickly, and so on. And it worked. At least I know it helped several people get less injured. I hope this information works the same way.
The main and already known benefits of strength training
I'm going to give you a few more reasons to consider including weight training in your exercise program.
- Keeps your bones strong and healthy
Our body generally reacts to shock (i.e. the unexpected, the unaccustomed to). This is how the immune system is stimulated, the growth hormone and the same happens with the skeletal muscle system. After the age of 30, the body begins to lose a small percentage of bone mass each year. Remember that 80% of women with osteoporosis get there because of bone loss.
Strength training builds resistance in the bone and helps it stay strong. Because your body is interested in survival, rather than looking sexy in a bikini, it seeks to adapt and be strong in order to survive, and so, your bones are built to withstand that force.
- Drive away diseases
All classic chronic diseases, including cancer, have difficulty appearing in an active body, whether it be aerobic or strength training.
It is said that athletics are good for your heart, your brain, your physical and your mental health. But so is strength training.
The stronger it is, the more resistant it will be to any disease and, in general, to any risk of mortality.
- Stimulates metabolism and fat loss
When you perform an aerobic activity, you sweat, eliminate toxins and stimulate your metabolism while you are practicing this activity.
When you do a strength training session, you don't sweat as much but your metabolism is stimulated for the next 17 hours.
And there is yet another advantage: Strength training helps you maintain your ideal weight and change your muscle composition, that is, eliminate fat and make way for muscle mass.
Don't think that lifting weights will make your body grow enormously, that is not natural. What you have seen of weightlifters with tremendous muscles is due to the use of substances that stimulate this growth. Strength training, without additives, allows you, in this sense, to tone and shape the muscles you were born with and it is rare to see people with hormonal alterations who show exaggerated muscle growth.
- Regulates insulin and reduces inflammation
When muscles contract during activity, a mechanism that is completely separate from insulin is stimulated. This mechanism allows cells to take up glucose and use it as an energy source, regardless of whether insulin is available.
Physical activity can lower blood glucose for up to 24 hours or more after exercise by making the body more sensitive to insulin.
Lifting weights also helps prevent inflammation, an indicator linked to many diseases. Several studies suggest that regular strength training sessions (at least twice a week) resulted in decreased inflammation in overweight women and improved fitness. ( study )
- Improves posture, energy levels, mood and sleep quality
In addition to improving the aesthetic and physiological benefits, it has an effect on the way we feel (stimulates the production of dopamine) and the clarity with which we think (generates new brain cells) ( study ). In addition, it is proven that strength training improves the quality of sleep in people who practice it. ( study )
- Improves strength and endurance
As you train, your body becomes stronger and the effects are reflected in other aspects of physical activity.
If you get stronger, the amount of time you can endure walking, jogging, or hiking will increase. Even runners who supplement with strength training improve their athletic efficiency.
They can run at the same speed without using up all of their leg strength.
- Improves balance and reduces the risk of falls
As a person gets older, reflexes deteriorate and consequently, a blow, a stumble or a fall are much more serious than at a young age or in a strong person.
Muscle mass deteriorates with age and lack of physical endurance is an indicator of dependency.
It is important to stay active at all ages: do not use the elevator, carry your shopping bags, do various physical tasks at home or at work.
- Improves self-esteem
When you become physically stronger, in some way, you know yourself better, you relate better to each part of your body that is being stimulated through that activity.
By strengthening that relationship with your body, you trust more in yourself, in your abilities and less in the miracle that makeup or a dress can perform.
We all have perfect bodies beneath those extra kilos, fatigue and physical discomfort. We have a spine that, if strong, will guide us through life with good posture. Legs that, if strong, will take us where we want to go when we want to go.
Don't miss the opportunity to make yourself your best self.
If you don't have access to a gym and few opportunities to do physical work, there is a wonderful alternative: YOGA
When you do yoga poses, you are putting your body into positions and orientations that you must hold with your muscles, so you are lifting weights.
Yoga is not about toning muscles. Yoga is about educating our mind in the way we see, feel and approach the world. But at the same time, it is an ideal alternative to obtain several of the benefits mentioned above.
Strength training is defined as exercise that adds progressive resistance (weight) in order to strengthen the musculoskeletal system.
With yoga, the maximum weight you should lift is your body weight, and that, believe me, is more than enough.
The other advantage of yoga is that you only need a space of 2m 2 X 2m 2 , a mat if the floor is too hard, and you.
The most effective yoga poses for building muscle strength
Inverted poses and arm balance poses are very effective in strengthening the muscles. It also uses small muscle groups to support the weight of the body during the pose.
Certain standing poses like Warrior and Triangle are great for strengthening leg muscles. Also, in balancing poses like Tree, the entire body weight is resting on one leg, so you are strengthening the muscles in that leg.
As you hold the poses longer, with more repetitions, you can increase the intensity of your yoga practice.
If you want to start strength training with weights, I suggest you go to a personal trainer at the gym to teach you how to use the machines and free weights so that you do not get injured.
The same advice applies to yoga. If you are new to yoga, try to go to a licensed instructor. If you are going to learn from videos, start with the beginner ones and don't skip them. Yoga is all about progress and the first few poses are the basis for much more complex ones, so you have to learn them well before doing something more advanced.
May the force be with you!