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How and why resistance training is imperative for older adults
"When you poll people on if they want to live to 100 years old, few will respond with a 'yes'," says Maren Fragala, Ph.D., director of scientific affairs at Quest Diagnostics and lead author of the position statement.
"The reason mainly being that many people associate advanced age with physical and cognitive decline, loss of independence and poor quality of life," adds Mark Peterson, Ph.D., M.S., FACSM, an associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Michigan Medicine and one of the senior authors of the statement.
The position statement, published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, and supported by the National Strength and Conditioning Association, highlights the benefits of strength and resistance training in older adults for healthier aging.
Fragala explains that while aging does take a toll on the body, the statement provides evidence-based recommendations for successful resistance training, or exercise focused on building muscle endurance, programs for older adults.
"Aging, even in the absence of chronic disease, is associated with a variety of biological changes that can contribute to decreases in skeletal muscle mass, strength and function," Fragala says. "Such losses decrease physiologic resilience and increase vulnerability to catastrophic events."
She adds, "The exciting part about this position statement is that it provides evidence-based recommendations for resistance training in older adults to promote health and functional benefits, while preventing and minimizing fears."
Maren S. Fragala, Eduardo L. Cadore, Sandor Dorgo, Mikel Izquierdo, William J. Kraemer, Mark D. Peterson, Eric D. Ryan. Resistance Training for Older Adults. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2019; 33 (8): 2019 DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000003230
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 30 2019, @12:21AM
i think its also a mental thing.
repetition precludes enforcement else one would not continue doing it.
so with repetition and growth (life not computer) a "neural network hardens.
many things are considered normal by many neural networks and other, young neural networks (for some reason or other) resonate with the prevailing ideas of normal or rebel.
anywho, this to explain why old peoples ideas are difficult to change.
now it is so that youth is "good" and "old age" is bad (from above). one tries to stay "young" but the body doesnt.
so what is needed, maybe, is practice being old before being physically old.
people say to adolesence children "you are grown up now. do your own laundry" etc. but people dont want to be told "you are old now".
some western culture (?) have to rediscover the 3rd age of life and that it's natural and not something everyone is trying to make you believe, is bad.
things can (and have too) go slower if you're older. the body is not as quick but the mind can be the same thus one would do things more mindfull with less wasted steps. the youthful and wastefull "chest thumping" times are over.
old age sucks if one tries to stay young. it's a losing battle. some cultures have to relearn what being old means and that might require some "rebeling" against dogma of eternal youth.
if you try to stay young you're probably not going to be able to enjoy being old?
blah blah blah ...