There is normally a lot of tip-toeing around when it comes to a seniors fitness program. Often enough the program consists of low impact aerobic exercise such as walking, recumbent bike, and ellipticals. If there is a strength component involved it usually uses machines or very light dumbbells. Something is definitely better than nothing, but resistance training, or strength training, is definitely a major component that should be part of any exercise program. There are probably more reasons than I could possibly list in this post without boring you, but here are the main reasons why strength is so important.

Better posture to alleviate your pain

I am not a doctor nor do I have x-ray vision, but a lot of times our chronic pain comes from weak muscles and muscle imbalances. Without muscles our body wouldn’t be able to move, we would simply be a skeleton that lays on the ground doing nothing. We often forget that the muscles are involved with the simplest tasks such as standing or sitting on the ground. Many of our muscles are used just to stabilize our bodies and keep us sitting with no support or standing with good posture. So if our back muscles become too weak from sitting or lying down then we won’t be able to maintain these positions with good posture. The cliche saying “if you don’t use it you lose it” is definitely applicable to muscles. If you have ever been in a cast after a broken arm you can easily see the difference in muscle size to the arm that wasn’t in a cast.

Posture is a big term that gets thrown around quite often. As you have probably seen, our muscles play a major role in how we maintain our posture. The combination of weak muscles and imbalanced muscles can lead to our bones and joints getting pulled into inefficient positions. For example, someone that has a very strong chest and weak back muscles can lead to a posture deviation called “forward shoulder”. Forward shoulder can lead to all other types of problems such as, shoulder impingement, decreased shoulder mobility, and shoulder instability. This is all because the strong chest muscles are pulling the shoulder into a sub-optimal position. You can feel this with a simple test. Hunch your shoulders forward, keep your arm straight and try to raise it up as high as possible. Now bring yourself into good posture with your shoulders back and down (imagine putting them into your back pocket) and repeat the test. You should feel a difference in your shoulder’s range of motion (ROM).

So developing a balance of strength throughout your entire body will alleviate pain, because your body won’t be compensating for weak muscles by using inefficient movement patterns. Stronger muscles keep your back erect with less effort. They help your joints by creating more stability within the joint. Finally, allowing your body to use the right muscles at the right time allows it to run much more efficiently with less effort. This is guaranteed to help alleviate pain that has no specific source.

Bigger stronger muscles need more energy to maintain

We always hear that in order to lose weight we need to burn more calories and consume less. In the case of losing body fat this is indeed the formula that will lead to a reduction in body fat. However, let’s take a look at this from a different perspective.

Let’s say for example that the amount of calories that your body needs just to stay alive is 2000 calories. This is also called your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). What if we increased your BMR to burn more calories throughout the day? Resistance training does not only make you much stronger, but it also increases your metabolism. This makes losing body fat a much easier process, and makes maintaining your physic so much easier. Stay with me now there may be a little math involved with this concept.

Continuing with the example of the person that has a BMR of 2000 Calories. Let’s say this person is a female that is 150 pounds and about 30% body fat and has an initial goal of losing 30 pounds. After 6 solid months of resistance training she has gotten significantly stronger. She would have lost possibly 10-15 pounds and 5% in the process, but her lean body mass has increased dramatically. Her new BMR is 2500 Calories. This new higher metabolism makes losing the rest of the weight easier because she can consume 2000 calories and still lose 1 pound of body fat a week instead of consuming 1500. Of course she could stick with the 1500 Calories to drop weight faster, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Doing so for too long would reverse all the work that she put in for the last 6 months. Also when she loses the weight and hits her goal, then the act of maintaining becomes that much easier because she can eat 2500 Calories to keep her weight.

The most obvious reason BE STRONGER!

There is definitely nothing wrong with being stronger. Being stronger just makes EVERYTHING EASIER. Difficult tasks like moving around furniture, gardening, and lots of groceries become so much easier since it all becomes lighter. Everyday tasks become easier too such as cooking, cleaning, and most importantly playing with grandchildren. Sometimes these tasks can take up 50% or more of your strength. So if some of these tasks can take up only 10-20 percent of your strength wouldn’t you have a lot more energy to spare? Studies have shown that the ability to do daily tasks has a direct link to your happiness. There is a great deal of frustration that we feel when we can’t do tasks that we could easily do before. This is due to a loss of independence. When something that used to cause you pain and discomfort becomes effortless you will feel empowered to do more.

You will start to lose strength (atrophy) after 3 days of not using muscles. However, muscles still take much more time to atrophy in comparison to cardiovascular abilities. Cardio is great and should be incorporated as well into your menu of healthy activities. However, cardio takes a long time and can be sooo boring. There have been studies that showed that even the most intense chronic aerobic athletes will lose strength every year they don’t do strength training. So strength will give you the biggest bang for your buck.

Let’s hit the weights!

There are a plethora of benefits when it comes to strength training. Far more than I could possibly list here. It’s even great for other chronic conditions such as diabetes, sarcopenia, and joint afflictions. Your body will thank you as you turn back the clock on your body and feel decades younger again.

YOU’RE NOT TOO OLD!! You absolutely have the ability to lifts weights and build a stronger body. There is no such thing as being too old. You absolutely have the ability to work on your body and build your strength to keep your independence. Feel better with better posture and a bullet proof body (not literally please don’t test this) that can withstand the tests of life. With that being said don’t jump into weights blind. Get with a personal trainer to learn proper technique and lifts that fit your weight training experience.