In previous posts (see Why men lose muscle mass as they age) we have shown how weight training keeps you young by preventing conditions like osteoporosis and sarcopenia.
The pros of weight training (also known in various forms as resistance training and strength training) go beyond simply toning the body and stronger muscles and bones – it helps maintain a healthy heart and immune system and can even improve brainpower and help you live longer.
Here are some of the main benefits:
Lifting weights lowers blood sugar
As well as benefiting your waistline, weight training improves your metabolism and increases your insulin sensitivity, meaning it’s easier to lower blood sugar levels after a meal.
Resistance training boosts the immune system
A study comparing women who did no exercise with those who regularly did resistance training showed that the latter group had cells that were more active in helping the body fight infection.
Muscle mass is a key indicator of longevity
The benefits of resistance training appear to be limitless. A decade-long study of 3600 men and women over the age of 50 found that those with more muscle mass were at a lower risk of death across all major causes. Consequently, muscle mass can be considered one of the strongest indicators of longevity, more so than weight or body mass index (BMI).
Pumping iron could reverse the ageing process
There’s more good news. Not only can you work out in the knowledge that you are keeping illnesses at bay, you might also be reversing the ageing process.
When you’re weight training your brain is releasing “neurotrophic factors” that promote the growth of neurones.
A small scientific study asked 14 older people to take part in strength training (where the aim is focused on building muscle mass over general fitness) twice a week for a six-month period. When their muscle development was compared to younger adults, it was shown that the cells that generate energy (the mitochondria) were functioning at a similar level.
Weight training helps you retain cognitive function
The impact of exercise on the brain has mainly been focused on endorphin release, but the association is even more complex. A study of over-65s, including both healthy participants and those with a cognitive impairment, revealed that after strength training both groups showed improvements in associative memory (e.g. matching names to faces) and in decision-making.
What is happening to your brain during – releasing magical myokines
When you’re weight training your brain is releasing “neurotrophic factors” that promote the growth of neurones, the cells that transmit nerve impulses. Key amongst them are myokines, which Dr Liu-Ambrose describes as “specialised hormones produced in muscles and released when muscles contract.” The role of myokines is to “travel throughout the body and go to different organs and tissues and jump-start a variety of biochemical processes.”
One of the functions of myokines is to produce BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor), which Michael Mosley describes as “like a sort of fertiliser for the brain”.
Fitness should begin at home
Professional gyms usually provide excellent quality equipment and experts on hand to guide you through the process. We think you should always have good quality weight training equipment at home so you can exercise whenever you like. This includes free weight equipment like dumbbells, kettlebells and barbells as well as flexibility home gym gear such as resistance bands.
As we get older, we lose pounds of muscle every decade and we need to reverse this trend in order to stave off the illnesses and conditions that occur as we lose fitness due to a lack of ABILITY to exercise. Heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, stroke, hypertension and many more are all somewhat preventable if we go about protecting our body from being UNABLE to exercise appropriately to decrease the exposure to ageing conditions. In short, we need to give our body the chance to fight, because it will and it does!
Further reading
How lifting weights could improve your body and your mind
https://mattroberts.co.uk/articles/how-lifting-weights-makes-you-younger/
Study shows weight training makes you up to 8 years younger
Photo by Alena Darmel: https://www.pexels.com/photo/an-elderly-man-lifting-dumbbells-7322452/
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-gray-sports-bra-holding-black-dumbbell-3757376/
