STRENGTH TRAINING FOR THE VETERANS

Why you should strength train especially after 40?

Ashutosh, Strength & Conditioning Coach

In sport, performance is the display of skill, strength, and athleticism. If you are able to perform better than others, you win the game or the competition. So in the realm of general physical fitness, what would a person want to perform at?

The answer is “trivial” daily tasks, for as long in their life as possible.

This involves being able to run, jump, lift heavy groceries, stand for long durations, sit for long durations, sit cross-legged, and many more such tasks. They seem trivial to a lot of us because this lot are not impaired of strength right now. And I hope you realize how difficult it is when you are weak and old. I am sure some of you know what it is like and may or may not be accepting of it. But the meaning of performance and fitness changes as you age. If you don't do anything about it.

A lot of you, I am sure, think that they are doing enough. Doing enough by walking, doing yoga, and performing breathing exercises. But is it really enough? What changes does aging bring about in our bodies that walking alone cannot rectify or reverse?

Effects of Aging:

-       Visceral Obesity - Accumulation of fat around internal organs

-       Insulin Resistance - Loss of cellular sensitivity to insulin raising blood sugar levels

-       Hypertension - Increased Blood Pressure

-       Dyslipidemia - Abnormal levels of Cholesterol, or Triglycerides, or both

-       Inflammation - Abnormal response that damages healthy tissues and organs

-       Sarcopenia - The loss of muscle tissue

-       Osteopenia - The loss of bone density’

-       Muscle Atrophy - The loss of muscle mass due to shrinking of muscle cells and connective tissue

The cumulative effect of the above-mentioned effects of aging can lead to frailty (weakness and higher risk of injury and illness) and polypharmacy (dependence on multiple drugs/medication).

Strength Training can slow, arrest, or even reverse the effects of aging. Vigorous exercise (strength training) has a more profound effect on an individual’s health than things even modern medicine has to offer. Here’s how:

1. Musculoskeletal Health: Weight bearing exercises improve bone density, joint function, tendon elasticity and strength, range of motion, and overall physical function.

2. Cardiovascular Health: Exercise improves Cardiac Stroke Volume, Resting Heart Rate, inhibits progression of Hypertension, promotes favourable blood lipid levels, decreases the risk of heart attack and stroke.

3. Metabolic Health: Exercise improves energy regulation, reduces visceral fat, and improves insulin sensitivity. It also brings about positive changes in inflammatory mediators and thyroid hormone.

4. Cellular Health: Vigorous exercise retards tissue atrophy, promotes healthier metabolism, and decreases cellular damage.

5. Neurological Health: Exercise promotes brain plasticity, decreases loss of brain tissue in aging, and is increasingly prescribed for people with stroke and Parkinsonism.

6. Psychological Health: Exercise improves sleep, cognitive function, mood, and quality of life.

7. Specific Disease States: Exercise decreases the risk of developing metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease, cancer, and some forms of dementia.

The low cost, abundance of positive side-effects, lack of contraindications, self-administerability, reduced need for medications, etc. make vigorous exercise a MUST for all individuals, especially after the age of 40 when health starts to deteriorate.

But isn’t vigorous strength training too much for the aging adult? Won’t loading someone put them at risk or injury? Let’s look at why Strength training is the best modality for the aging adult.

Strength training,

-       Is safe: Strength training involves natural human movement patterns performed in a controlled environment over a complete range of motion on a stable surface using carefully selected loads which increase over time. This avoids unnecessary forces, impacts, and joint movements.

-       Has a wide therapeutic window: Strength training can be done in a broad range of doses (loading) from very low to very high.

-       Is comprehensive: Strength training comprehensively improves all fitness attributes, viz., Strength, Power, Mobility, Low-intensity endurance performance, Balance, and Body composition.

-       Combats effects of aging: Strength training effectively combats metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, sarcopenia, osteopenia, muscle atrophy, and frailty.

-       Is efficient and very simple: Strength training is planned with minimum number of exercises, with minimum complexity, and minimum weekly training time while still ensuring long-term improvements in the maximum number of fitness attributes.

The exercises involved in strength training are natural human movement patterns including,

-       Sitting down and getting back up - The SQUAT

-       Picking something heavy off the floor - The DEADLIFT

-       Pushing something overhead - The OVERHEAD PRESS

-       Pulling something from over your head - The CHIN-UP/LAT PULLDOWN

-       Pushing something away from you - The BENCH PRESS

-       Pulling something towards you - The ROWS

Mere six movements, when done right and progressed over time, can help you live a long, healthy life. Training two to three times per week doesn’t complicate life or take up too much weekly time giving you abundant benefits.

This is why YOU should Strength Train especially after 40.