Why you should lift weights if you are over 50!

It's a longish title but then we still gave a long way to go once we hit 50 years of age, well that's the plan anyway. We should be lifting weights throughout our life but I want to focus on why it's important for us middle aged folk to get under a bar.

Let's start with the obvious then, if we lift weights and follow an appropriate and progressive training plan then we will more than likely get stronger. This is great because it means that we are obviously making “gainz” in our training and seeing any improvements is motivational. Consistency in training is vital at this stage in our lives and steady progress is the aim.

Age is no limit to "gainz" made!

However, there are many other reasons why getting stronger and growing a little muscle is a good thing beyond squatting a new personal best. Being more muscular as we age dramatically reduces the risk of all cause morbidity by a significant amount. That’s right, being more muscular reduces our risk of dying early! Not necessarily steroidal bodybuilding muscular, just more muscular than average for our age group.

This is important and I don't think that it's widely enough known or promoted. The scope and potential benefits to society and the health service as a whole are huge as an ageing population continues to grow and consume the time and resources of an already struggling health care system. Something as simple as attending the gym 3 times per week and putting a little effort in can have a huge impact on the individual, society and the health care services.

Being more muscular reduces the risk of dying!

We are living longer with more time spent in retirement. For most of us our upcoming retirement will be one filled with activity, time spent with the family and travel. In order to maintain a quality of life that allows us to do this and enjoy it we must remain fit, strong and healthy. As I’ve already mentioned above training just 3 times per week can make a significant difference. Please consult your doctor before embarking on any form of training.

We lose muscle mass more rapidly as we age which will leave us weaker and less mobile. To counter this we must weight train, whether that’s free weights or resistance machines makes no difference. Maintaining or even increasing our lean muscle mass as we age has to be a training priority if our goal is to have some quality of life in retirement or even before.

Being weaker means that everyday tasks become harder, lifting the shopping or climbing stairs. Eventually it’s a struggle getting off the couch!

Maintaining our range of movement through our joints and muscles is essential, if we don’t move our bodies through a wide range of movements then we will potentially lose that ability to move through those ranges and will become limited, stiff and immobile. Strength training is a great way to ensure that our muscles and joints remain mobile.

Be strong and mobile

Keeping our muscles strong and functional and our joints mobile will ensure that we maintain our posture too, a good posture suggests confidence, health and vitality. Clothes fit better and we generally look fitter and younger than our untrained, less muscular and poorly postured peers.

Weight training has also been shown to promote hormonal balance and boost our metabolism, it will also help to maintain our bodies systems and functions at a higher level.

If you are not sure how to start your weight training journey or need further advice and help then reach out to a good coach or PT at your local gym. Failing that you can email me at tsilvester@getcoached.net with any questions.

A Balanced Approach

I read an article recently that I shared on my Facebook Page with a short note and it got me thinking about how we train and for what reasons. I came to the conclusion that a lot of what drives us depends on our age, gender and confidence levels.

"a balanced approach"

In my opinion (because that’s what this is), I think that we are driven by social opinions, the media and peer expectations or even peer pressure. We are bombarded by images of perfect bodies on social media and the tv, we see adverts for grooming, exfoliation and depilation. It seems there is a certain “look” that one should aspire to according to FaceInstaSnap!

When we're young and single we’re like peacocks strutting our stuff, trying to look our best, more muscle, lean bodies, abs, biceps and butts! That's if we're not trying to become the next Instagram supermodel! But is this really what we want or us it what we think is expected?

Most guys train what they can see, chest, shoulders and biceps, then maybe chuck in a little back and triceps. For women it’s abs and glutes every session! Unless training for competition which brings a very different to training then the aesthetic goals are the predominant driver for the many of the 30 and under generation.

"lean bodies, abs, biceps and butts"

This is all well and good, and is most certainly better than sitting at home eating pizza.

However, if you are serious about your training and how you look then a more balanced approach will most definitely give you better results across the board. Big compound lifts will boost your metabolism, promote muscle growth and strength gains. This will help to reduce body fat for better muscle definition and help those targeted chest and butt muscles to grow. Working all the bodies muscles will also give you a better overall shape and posture too.

As we age our prioritise change, yes we want to slow (or even reverse) that middle age spread, keep our mobility and strength. We may still feel the need to strut our stuff like that peacock, although for many of us that is usually no longer as much of a priority.

A balanced programme here usually means a mix of strength training, cv and maybe some high intensity circuit work. This will cover all the metabolic and cardiovascular needs along with the mobility and strength work necessary to keep the muscle mass up at optimal levels and to keep movement free and easy.

"a mix of strength training, cv and HIIT"

Sedentary jobs, getting everything delivered to the house from the weekly shop to christmas presents and even working from home all mean that we are less and less active, we move less and do less. This is so bad for our bodies, and coupled with high carb, high sugar foods that are so easy and cheap to buy it is a one way ticket to metabolic disease and an increased risk of life threatening illness.

Get the balance right and enjoy the benefits whether that’s strutting your moves or moving your stuff well. If you are not sure how to put this together in a meaningful programme then speak to a qualified coach or personal trainer. We will be only too happy to help you out, provide some guidance and direction.

You can always reach out to me via email at tsilveter@getcoached.net or through my Facebook Page Get Coached.

Thanks for reading this far, I hope it has helped a little, enjoy your training!