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By Dr. Dwight Chapin, B.Sc., D.C.

The current theory on aging is that it is not genetically predetermined. In other words, our remaining days are not fixed, like grains of sand waiting to slip through an hourglass.

Longevity experts now believe aging is triggered and advanced by a decline in health in several biological processes largely influenced by lifestyle and daily routine.

Our genes have a role to play, but so does our environment, sleep quality, diet, weight management, activity level, physical strength, mental health, and state of happiness.

Some experts estimate that 80 percent of the common degenerative diseases that many of us have become accustomed to accepting as a reality of getting older, like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, osteoarthritis, and Alzheimer’s disease, are the price to pay for years of stacking unhealthy choices, and not bad luck, advance of the clock, or faulty genetics.

The good news is that our bodies are incredibly resilient and possess a powerful healing potential independent of age or the genetic hand we have been dealt. However, this power remains dormant if we do not begin to practice an evidence-based self-care routine.

Resistance training is one of the simple strategies you can employ to boost longevity and the quality of the days you have remaining.

From birth until age 30, our muscles grow larger and stronger. After 30, however, physically inactive individuals can lose 3 to 5 percent of their muscle mass each decade, according to Harvard Health Publishing. This gradual loss of muscle size and function, known as sarcopenia, is a less-talked-about hallmark of aging but is considered a reliable predictor of all-cause mortality. It’s associated with muscle weakness, fear of falls, obesity, poor metabolic health, mobility restrictions, osteoporosis, and decreased life expectancy.

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Healthy Aging Magazine | The Power of Resistance Training: A Key to Successful Aging