Once you enter your 60’s, you really haven’t got any time to waste. Things at this stage do not get any easier. You have several decades of labour on your back, explored life and the world, and probably raised a few kids. Your body has been used to a point where your joints ache, muscles feel weak, and your back hurts. Things you could do in your twenties, you can’t do anymore now.
The good news is: we have a solution. All you need is a barbell, some plates, and the willingness to get stronger in less than three hours per week.
The available evidence makes it clear that strength training enhances all components of healthy aging.
Increases in muscle mass, stronger bones, less achy joints, better heart health, a stronger immune system, reduced risk of mortality, as well as physical independence are just a few of many powerful benefits which strength training gives you as a return for your investment.
At Strong For Life, we see it day in day out: people in their 60’s join our sessions, and after a few short weeks, their body starts to feel better and stronger - while many things in their life start to feel easier: lifting heavy boxes, carrying shopping bags, doing work at the allotment, picking up their grandchildren, and walking up and down the stairs without any problems.
Despite long-standing proof of barbell training being a highly effective form of medicine to treat numerous conditions, its benefits have for various reasons not fully arrived in mainstream yet.
Let this article be the kickstart to your journey of getting stronger in your 60’s to bullet-proof your health for a better, more productive, and longer life.
Below we discuss the most common health challenges a person faces in their 60’s and beyond. Read through them, and decide for yourself.
Spoiler alert: being stronger is always better than being weak.
LOSS OF MUSCLE MASS (SARCOPENIA)
The age-related loss of muscle mass and function (called sarcopenia) is a process which starts as early as in our 40’s - declining gradually by 1-1.4% every year thereafter. Sarcopenia has a prevalence of around 10% in adults over the age of 60, as well as an up to 50% prevalence in adults over the age of 80.
The loss of muscle mass and function plays a key role in the decline of physical strength as well as mobility in older populations. Impaired protein synthesis and a reduction in muscle anabolism gradually impair the contractile properties of skeletal muscle and therefore their ability to produce force. In short: a reduction in muscle mass makes you weaker and physical tasks harder to perform.
Muscles are the machinery by which the human skeleton is moved. Building and maintaining sufficient levels of this vital organ is a crucial part of staying active, healthy, and independent at later stages in life.
LOSS OF STRENGTH (DYNAPENIA)
The age-related loss of muscle strength has been shown to be the strongest physical predictor of longevity. Muscular strength declines at a rate of 2-3% per year after the age of 50. If not counteracted by strength training, dynapenia can lead to severe health consequences including disability, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, cognitive impairment, decreased quality of life, as well as an up to 30% higher risk of dying from all causes.
Strong aging is healthy aging.
The misconception about strength training is that too many people still ride on the “light weights” bandwagon – erroneously thinking that any form of resistance can be classified as strength training and will make them stronger. This is a fallacy which needs ironing out. The indisputable facts are that only through high-intensity weightlifting can the body get stronger in the way it operates in daily life. Doing air squats or arm curls with 2kg dumbbells has never made anyone stronger. Neither do resistance bands, and nor do yoga or pilates (sorry to burst the bubble). Building up your deadlift to a number that reflects your own body weight on the bar, however, will make your body stronger and more resilient.
It is a simple mathematical equation: the more weight you can lift, the more force you can produce, the stronger you are. That’s all there is to it.
OSTEOPOROSIS
Osteoporosis is a skeletal disorder representing a red flag for declining bone mineral density (BMD), higher risk of bone fragility, as well greater susceptibility to fracture. It affects around 1 in 12 adults aged 60-69 years, with the prevalence rising to 1 in 4 adults aged 80 or older. In addition to an increased risk of fractures – particularly the hip and spine – osteoporosis is a debilitating disease which can drastically impair one’s quality of life. The ramifications of having frail bones go insofar that 50% of women over the age of 65 who fracture their pelvis in a fall are never able to walk again.
Our own experience, combined with research, has shown that strength training is highly beneficial for older adults with osteoporosis as it increases bone mineral density, prevents fall-related fractures, and significantly enhances physical function and pain. The loading of bones with progressively heavier loads is the most important aspect for making them stronger as this is what stimulates osteoblast activity in bone cells – leading to an increase in bone mineral density. At the same time, an overwhelming amount of studies have shown that basic activities such as walking, swimming, or lifting light weights fail to stimulate an increase in BMD.
Another reason to build up to lifting heavier weights over time. Your bones will thank you.
ARTHRITIS
Arthritis affects around 25% of adults in the Western World. In people aged 60 years or older, 56% of men and 68% of women suffer from chronic joint pain and inflammation. Osteoarthritis of the knee and hip are the most common forms of arthritis.
A lack of strength as well as muscle weakness are primary risk factors for pain, disability, as well as joint damage in people with osteoarthritis. Research has shown that individuals with even advanced stages of arthritis can experience significant gains in strength without simultaneous worsening of pain or other adverse effects.
Stronger joints are healthier and hurt less than weaker joints.
Barbell training is provenly the most efficient way to increase the density and thickness of connective tissue in tendons, ligaments, bones, cartilage, as well as spinal discs. At the same time, stronger muscles are better at shock absorption than weaker muscles and therefore reduce the load which arthritic and painful joints have to bear.
Studies have shown that progressive strength training that places a focus on increasing load over time has greater effects on strength and function than lifting light weights in older adults with arthritis. This has to do with the fact that heavier loads make all aspects of our body stronger (including joints), whereas light weights do not.
CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH
Atherosclerotic disease of the heart is the leading cause of death in men and women worldwide, accounting for around 35% of all deaths. Cardiovascular disease – including stroke, heart failure, as well as hypertension – are present in 70-75% of people aged 60-79 years and in over 80% of adults aged 80 or older.
Hypertension is the most prevalent form of cardiovascular disorders, with around 60-70% of adults affected. Research has demonstrated that strength training is a highly effective tool both in the management and prevention of high blood pressure and its complications.
Furthermore, numerous studies have shown an independent relationship between risk of cardiometabolic disease and low levels of muscle strength. In combination with a decline in muscle mass, low muscular strength has been shown to be a key factor in the aetiology of cardiovascular disease in the elderly. This underpins the importance of building both strength and muscle mass in your 60’s through the highly effective means of barbell training.
Compound barbell exercises like squats, presses, and deadlifts place a systemic stress on the body which makes all systems in the body stronger – including the cardiovascular system.
Strength training has further been shown to be able to reduce major cardiovascular risk factors (i.e. dyslipidemia and type 2 diabetes), as well as blood pressure increases to stress. In two large-scale analyses, strength training led to a drop in diastolic blood pressure by units of 3 mm Hg. In pre-hypertensive adults, a drop of 6 mm Hg in systolic and 7 mm Hg in diastolic blood pressure have been reported as a result of strength training.
It is worthwhile pointing out that a reduction in diastolic blood pressure by 5 mm Hg reduces the risk of suffering a stroke by approximately 34%. Because of its indisputable benefits, strength training has to be considered an effective form of treatment for lowering blood pressure in older adults.
DIABETES
One of the top ten killers of men and women, diabetes costs the NHS and estimated £14 billion each year – money which could be spent a lot wiser if prevention had the same popularity as popping pills.
Strength training, even in the absence of aerobic exercise, reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes and a possible resultant event of cardiovascular disease. In adults with type 2 diabetes, strength training reduces haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), a key marker for diabetes, as well as other process measures including blood pressure, fasting glucose, insulin sensitivity, as well as cholesterol levels. Furthermore, increases in strength and muscle mass lower the likelihood of developing risk factors for diabetes such as adiposity and chronic hyperglycemia.
The mechanism behind the prevention and management of diabetes is that strength training makes your muscles more sensitive to insulin. As a result, your muscles become more efficient at using glucose for fuel – almost like acting as an efficient disposal site for it. The better you become at using glucose as an energy source for muscular contractions, the less likely you are to have excess glucose floating around in your bloodstream, the lower your risk of suffering the consequences of diabetes.
FRAILTY
Twenty-four percent of adults aged 65 years and older rely on mobility aids, with use increasing the older people get. Falls represent a highly prevalent event in older adults, with 35-40% of people aged 65 years or older falling each year with potential debilitating consequences.
Frailty is the number risk factor for disability at an advanced age. Loss of muscle strength and muscle mass are the two key factors in the aetiology of the so-called frailty syndrome. The loss of muscle mass is further exacerbated by a reduction in physical activity, which creates a viscous circle of further increases in frailty incidence as well as vulnerability to disease and fall-related injuries.
As you age, you get weaker – unless you do something about it.
Strength training is the most effective tool for improving the functional capacity of frail older adults. Our in-house experience has been backed up by research showing that resistance training tailored to this population can drastically help restore physical function. Positive effects of barbell training include improvements in gait velocity, stair-climbing abilities, overall activity levels, muscular strength, balance, as well as a reduction in the risk of falling.
COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT
Dementia represents a major public health problem as it impacts the capacity for active daily living and impairs social functioning.
Cognitive impairment is closely tied to physical frailty because both conditions share similar mechanisms as well as consequences (e.g. hospitalization, incidence of falling, disability, and death). In people where cognitive impairment progresses into dementia, the care home becomes all but inevitable.
One of the main consequences of dementia is a severe reduction in physical activity, leading to a host of consequences described in several chapters of this article such as loss of muscle mass, strength, and an increased risk in overall mortality. A significant number of studies have shown that strength training is an effective tool to counteract the debilitating physical consequences of mild cognitive impairment as well as dementia.
Is strength training safe?
Both our own experience as well as research have demonstrated that strength training has a high safety profile for older adults, frail people, as well as individuals with disease.
Progressive. Effective. Safe. The profile of strength training.
Injury rates in strength training are one of the lowest among any physical activity or sport. In the rather unlikely event where an injury occurs, it is usually of mild nature (tweaks, muscle strains) and a result of poor technique performed over long periods of time, as well as a consequence of too sudden jumps in loading. We meticulously address both factors in our training at Strong For Life where we place high importance on correct form as well as appropriate loading to address each lifter’s capabilities.
Overall, there is an abundance of evidence to show that strength training is a well-tolerated activity for people over 60 – with and without the presence of physical frailty.
What is required?
All that is required is your willingness to get stronger under the bar in 2-3 sessions per week (ideally three). No prior experience in barbell training is necessary. In fact, most of our members are completely new to strength training.
Where do I start?
Fill out the contact form below, or email us at oliver@strongforlife.uk. We discuss your goals in an informal chat and book you in for your first session.
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