T<\/span>he 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Some experts estimate that 80 percent<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Resistance training is one of the simple strategies you can employ to boost longevity and the quality of the days you have remaining.<\/p>\n 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.<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n With a surprisingly small investment of time dedicated to resistance training, you can leverage your body’s adaptability and boost your muscular strength, power, speed, balance, and coordination. Studies have shown patients in their nineties demonstrating notable improvement in these performance metrics after just twelve weeks of supervised resistance training.<\/p>\n The importance of self-care fitness tools extends beyond merely preserving physical ability. It’s also about ensuring the quality of life and maintaining autonomy as we age.<\/p>\n Two fifteen to twenty-minute workouts a week can be enough to support your muscular strength and reduce the risk of sarcopenia, but locking this commitment into your weekly routine will also help improve your sleep quality, energy levels, weight management, insulin sensitivity, cardiovascular health, bone strength, cognitive function, mental health, and reduce visceral fat.<\/p>\n To help you get started, let’s debunk some of the common myths surrounding resistance training:<\/p>\n Fact:<\/strong> Regardless of age, it’s never too late to start resistance training. Research strongly endorses strength training for individuals above sixty, showcasing significant muscle strength and mass improvements.<\/p>\n Fact:<\/strong> Proper strength training can help improve your body composition, giving you a lean and healthy look. Packing on huge muscles requires extraordinary training and certain genetic predispositions.<\/p>\n Fact:<\/strong> This stereotype is long outdated. More and more women are beginning to embrace the potent benefits of weight training. Most community centers offer age and ability-adjusted resistance training programs.<\/p>\n Fact:<\/strong> When done correctly, strength training exercises can improve your flexibility, protect your joints, and improve your posture.<\/p>\n Fact:<\/strong> Choosing compound movements, like squats and lunges, that simultaneously work more than one muscle group yields more substantial results. It’s safe to work multiple body parts in each workout, given there is an adequate resting period between sessions.<\/p>\n Fact:<\/strong> While cardiovascular training plays an essential role in maintaining health, coupling it with resistance training will help burn calories and promote fat loss and heart health.<\/p>\n Fact:<\/strong> Starting with weights you can comfortably handle and gradually progressing is the key to finding success with resistance training. As you challenge your muscles with heavier weights, your strength will continue to improve. If you are new to resistance training, consider starting with a personal trainer.<\/p>\n Fact:<\/strong> Dedicating 30 to 40 minutes to weekly resistance training split into two workouts will change how you age. This investment represents less than 1 percent of your time awake each week.<\/p>\n Fact:<\/strong> Resistance training can be done anywhere, even without equipment, using only body weight. Body weight exercises without weights, like mini squats, marching on the spot, push-ups, lunges, stairs, and bird dogs, are a great place to start.<\/p>\n Fact:<\/strong> With consistent effort and dedication, noticeable results can often be seen within the first four to six weeks.<\/p>\n You have only one body to use in this life. Do not be a passenger. It’s never too late to start resistance training, and the benefits it provides are profound.<\/p>\n Take charge, stay active, and live a robust, fulfilling life regardless of age.<\/p>\n Dispelling the myths of resistance training<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":14143,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[176,177],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fall-2023","category-fall-2023-features"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14075"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14448,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14075\/revisions\/14448"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Myth #1: I’m too old to lift weights<\/h3>\n
Myth #2: Resistance training will make you bulky<\/h3>\n
Myth #3: The weight room is a male-dominated, testosterone-filled space<\/h3>\n
Myth #4: Resistance training makes you less flexible and is bad for your joints<\/h3>\n
Myth #5: Only work one muscle group a day<\/h3>\n
Myth #6: Cardio burns more fat than resistance training<\/h3>\n
Myth #7: I must use light weights to avoid injury. What can that achieve?<\/h3>\n
Myth #8: Resistance training takes too much time<\/h3>\n
Myth #9: You will need access to a gym<\/h3>\n
Myth #10: It takes a long time to see results<\/h3>\n
Dr. Dwight Chapin,<\/a> B.Sc., D.C., is the author of Take Good Care: 7 Wellness Rituals for Health, Strength & Hope<\/a>.<\/em> He is a chiropractor and co-owner of a large multi-disciplinary wellness clinic in the Greater Toronto Area, team chiropractor for the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts, and an onsite clinician for The Globe and Mail.<\/em><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"