Important of Exercise for Women Over 60s

Increased Muscle Mass

One of the primary reasons people begin strength training is to increase muscle mass. Skeletal muscle mass makes up approximately 40% of our body weight and it role in the body goes beyond aesthetic appeal, as it is vital to movement, and posture, while stabilizing our joints.

Additionally, what many people don’t understand is our muscle’s role in storing energy (carbohydrates, amino acids) and maintaining body temperature. Both are critical elements of human function.

Resistance training can be used to increase muscle mass and endurance. Training with body weight or external resistance such as free weights, machines, and bands can be used to increase muscle size. This can be achieved by performing 3–4 sets of 8–12 repetitions at 60–80% or our one repetition maximum (1RM), which is the maximum amount of weight we can lift for one repetition with the correct technique.

Meanwhile, performing higher repetitions can enhance muscular endurance, which can increase muscle energy (glycogen) stores, while decreasing reliance on energy. To improve endurance, we need to perform 3–4 sets of 15 or more repetitions at 60% or less or our one repetition maximum (1RM).

Therefore by increasing muscle mass, we can increase muscular endurance, posture, and joint stabilizability, while improving energy efficiency,

Enhances Strength

Resistance training can be used to enhance muscular strength. Similar to increasing muscle mass and endurance, we can adjust our repetition ranges to train specifically to increase maximum strength output.

While increasing strength may seem like overkill as we head toward later adulthood, it can greatly improve our function and ability to perform daily activities. Furthermore, strength has been associated with longevity, with greater grip strength being positively linked to strength, function, bone mineral density, nutritional status, cognition, depression, and sleep.

The simple act of increasing muscle mass, and lifting weight can improve our strength. However, it should be noted that increasing muscle size doesn’t necessarily increase rw strength. To do this we must adjust our repetition ranges to training for maximum strength output.

To enhance strength, we need to perform 3–4 sets of 1–5 repetitions at 80–100% or our one repetition maximum (1RM). If you are just beginning, we recommend increasing muscle mass, and endurance before training specifically for strength.

Related: Hand Grip Exercise for Seniors

Improves Function

Resistance training can be used to improve our function. As mentioned, skeletal muscle’s role in the body is to provide movement, joint stability, and posture. However, as we age, these elements can decline leading to poor posture, and lack of strength which can impair our ability to perform daily tasks.

Resistance training utilizes a range of functional multi-joint movements, to increase muscle mass, strength, and endurance, enabling us to strengthen specific functional movements and improve function.

Exercises such as squats, deadlifts, step-ups, and presses replicate many of our daily movements. By adding external resistance to these movements, we can strengthen each movement, and improve function, which can carry over into your daily activities.

Preserve Bone Density

Resistance training is a powerful tool for preserving bone mineral density. During menopause, our reproductive hormones estrogen and progesterone decrease, leading to a decline in bone mineral density. As mentioned, this can impair function and result in frailty and fractures.

The main determinant of bone mineral density is mechanical strain which comes in the form of gravity and muscular contraction. Resistance training can place mechanical stress on your muscles and bones, stimulating the bone formation, regeneration, and degradation process.

By regularly engaging in resistance training, we can preserve bone mineral density, reducing fall and frailty risk, while maintaining independence.

Maintains Healthy Weight

Resistance training is excellent for maintaining a healthy weight. As mentioned, our 40s and menopause can bring on an increased appetite and weight gain, which is followed by a slowing of our metabolism post-menopause in our 60s. This can be due to a number of factors including a sedentary lifestyle, reduced physical activity, and a decrease in muscle mass.

Resistance training’s ability to increase muscle mass not only enhances our strength, appearance, and function, it can also increase our basal metabolic rate. This is the energy we expend while our body is at rest. Furthermore, resistance training sessions boost energy expenditure post-workout for up to 38 hours.

Reduces Risk of Chronic Illness

Resistance training’s ability to maintain a healthy weight can help reduce the risk of chronic illness. As we know, excess weight can lead to an increased risk of chronic illnesses including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, joint problems, and mental health problems.

The boost to metabolism and energy expenditure during and post-workout can help us maintain a healthy weight, reducing the occurrence of negative health outcomes.

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