Strength training as we age

[2017ish]

Good thread.

Soon after we retired, I set a nice weight room up in the basement; squat cage/rack, 3 Olympic bars, benches, curl station, etc. We typically alternate lifting days with 6 mile walk days when we are at home, for the reasons that others allude to. DW does more toning focused with light weights, while I tend to focus on squat/deadlift sets at well over my bodyweight, with presses and curls for variety. We neither one did this before retirement.

Many articles/studies out there on importance of forestalling the loss of core strength, and as we watch our parents cross 90 years and visit them in assisted living, we can see how important it will be to keep as much strength as we can for as long as we can.

 

[Chuckanut]

Funny thing - after all this strength only training I can walk much faster up hill. They never told me this back in school...

I have added hills to my walks since running is not good for my knees. When I started with the hills I could easily hit and surpass my training heart rate halfway through the walk. Now I have to work hard to hit it before the end of the walk. I guess that's good. But, the hills in my neighborhood aren't getting any steeper so I am plateauing.

I may start rucking about with a filled water bottle or two in my day pack to see if I can get the heart rate back up.

More precisely on topic, I do strength training 3 days a week. As mentioned above one or two rest days between sessions seems like the best way to go.

 

[tutan]

I’ve been lifting weights since my 20s. I have noticed a slow decline and then a faster decline when I reached 60 last year. I still believe doing full squats is the best overall weight bearing exercise. I am careful not to hurt my back by not exceeding my max weight and mixing in with some light weight overhead squats to improve my core strength and form.

 

[audreyh1]

DW and I do exercise every day of the week (~70 minutes daily), prior to our other activities, with weight training/resistance bands on 3 of the 7 days.

Our routine consist mostly of whole or spliced Gilad DVDs (6 of the 7 days). We never push ourselves to failure, although my set of 32 pushup on Saturday is twice as many as Gilad does on the DVD that day, so I feel good with my effort.

I used Gilad DVD videos for many many years. They were very good.

When Apple Fitness became available I started using their strength training programs which are very good. Their yoga is good too.

I haven’t been doing the push to failure either, that isn’t compatible to following a workout video. I’ll have to think more about it.

 

[mystang52]

I'm physically active, and strive to do one type of exercise daily. That includes weights. I can't say I LIKE doing weights, but 1) I don't dislike it and 2) I definitely feel good after I finish. One "trick" I've employed has been to keep the length of my weight sessions limited. I think I'd burn out and stop completely if I did not do that. I have an ongoing issue with my aorta; my doctor encourages me to continue with all of my exercising; but for my weights he directed me not to increase my current resistance level. If need be, "more reps, but not more weight."

 

[Chuckanut]

Push to failure can easily become push to injury as we grow older. Be careful.

 

[audreyh1]

Yes, injury recovery can take way longer. I’m much more leery about that these days.

Proper form is pretty essential.

 

[Joseph]

One thing I like about strength training is there is none of the HIIT nonsense, no getting your heart rate into target zones, no passing out sweating. You can quite literally go at your own pace. You can and should rest between sets. The bench press - you are lying down!

Progressive overload is the key, but even then, if some days it's not working, you can drop back down a little and go back the next time.

And you absolutely need days off for each muscle group. So if you do a whole body routine, just do it 3 days a week and you're golden. Then rest and eat and increase protein, and it works.

 

[Joseph]

I think HIIT is worthwhile but I have to admit not as much for a middle age to older athlete It’s good to ramp it up now and then to know your limitations but you have to be more careful as we age with some like HIIT. Especially if it’s a hard pounding exercise or if u have had CV issues. Resistance training is nice and controlled. Negative resistance training quiet good also.

 

[dixonge]

Nothing special, just ordinary exercises, mostly with flexible bands, a pair of dumbbells, and body weight stuff like pushups. A few points to keep in mind:

For each muscle group you want to work (e.g., biceps, triceps, etc.), do the exercise to failure. That means work it until you literally can't do another one. But even then, try to do one or two more, even if they are sloppy and partial. You want to utterly exhaust the muscles, because that's how you make it rebuild itself stronger than before. If using weights, you'll start out light and gradually keep increasing. If using bands, you'll progressively move to heavier ones.

Do your reps very slowly. Going fast is cheating and not nearly as effective for building muscle. I can't stress enough how important this is. It can be very tempting to zoom through a set to get it over with (and it's easier). Don't do that.

Don't go seven days a week. Especially as we get older, rest days are important. I take two of them every week.

Don't push yourself too much. If you follow these rules of thumb, one set is all you need. I alternate push days with pull days, which also helps.

I somehow started a bodyweight/resistance band program several years ago, but was very inconsistent until 2022. I can now do 2 sets of 20 pushups from the ground! This is probably the first time I could do that since shortly after college.

I am curious about the exercise to failure mantra. This site seems to support the hypothesis...

Super Slow Weight Training Great for Senior Weightlifting

Super Slow weight training may be the best way for our senior population to avoid the muscle loss associated with aging. Senior weightlifting

aparadiseforparents.com

I've been doing M-W-F only for my workouts.

 

[Gallaher]

I’ve been a regular weight lifter since my teens. Also, blessed to have a home gym. When working I traveled too much to have a gym membership. I’m big, 5’11” 210 pounds. No meds…at all. My BP is normal, cholesteral is fine heart calcium scan score was zero six months ago, 5.2 A1C.
I’m kind of limited on cardio to biking, hiking.
I attribute my health to lifting heavy 2-3 times a week, cardio and a decent diet.
We all need to embrace resistance training. Heavier the better.
Focus on large muscle groups and compound lifts.
Don’t need to love it to do it.

 

[braumeister]

Another bit on this subject. Here is the brief summary:

People who participated in a year-long intensive strength-training program maintained their leg strength over 4 years, while those who engaged in less-intensive resistance training or no training at all experienced a decline in strength, according to a recent randomized clinical trial involving 369 participants in Denmark with an average age of 71 years.

The heavy resistance training group performed machine-based exercises close to maximum capacity 3 times weekly, and the moderate resistance training group engaged in body weight and resistance band exercises for the same number of sessions. There was no difference between groups in handgrip strength—an indicator of overall muscle strength.

The results suggest that health care professionals should encourage older people to engage in heavy resistance training, the researchers noted in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Heavy resistance training at retirement age induces 4-year lasting beneficial effects in muscle strength: a long-term follow-up of an RCT | BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine

 

[2017ish]

Another bit on this subject. Here is the brief summary:

Heavy resistance training at retirement age induces 4-year lasting beneficial effects in muscle strength: a long-term follow-up of an RCT | BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine

Yeah, the WSJ article on that topic and the underlying study were heartening.

(edited to clarify)

 

[harllee]

I am a woman age 73. I have been taking a 45 minute weight lifting class 3 times a week for the last year, mainly to help my bones. My bone scan shows good improvement and I feel much stronger and I have gotten rid of the "granny arms." The surprising thing is the increase in my hand strength. Before I started the weight lifting class I probably had average hand strength for a woman my age--I usually had to ask my husband to open jars or beat on them with a knife or something to get them opened. Now I can open most any bottle or jar with my bare hands. I live in a retirement community and I get asked all the time to open jars and bottles.

 

[More Cowbell]

I have added hills to my walks since running is not good for my knees. When I started with the hills I could easily hit and surpass my training heart rate halfway through the walk. Now I have to work hard to hit it before the end of the walk. I guess that's good. But, the hills in my neighborhood aren't getting any steeper so I am plateauing.

I may start rucking about with a filled water bottle or two in my day pack to see if I can get the heart rate back up.

Nordic walking is another way to get your heart rate up if you've plateaued in your normal walking but jogging/running is not in the cards. It's different than walking with hiking poles because of the special gloves attached to the poles. It's like cross country skiing and works more muscles. I walk faster with Nordic walking poles than without. Add intensity by walking faster, walking up and down hills, and/or wearing a weighted vest or rucksack. It's nice to have options!

 

[Surewhitey]

I did (join Planet Fitness) a few months ago and have been surprised of the speed of some of the tone coming back to various areas. Nothing crazy weight wise, but lots of speed reps to being spent. Focusing on the abs/core & liking the results. I try to balance upper and lower body 2-3/weekly for 30-40 minutes (half being treadmill.

I figure that $10/mo is a painless "test" to my consistency. I do enjoy it and only 3 miles from the house and next to Home Depot for supplies. Try to get in mid morning when it's quiet.

 

[Ronstar]

I started running again 2 months ago. I started lifting 1 month ago. I've noticed improvements in running the past week or so. Probably due to lifting weights. Most likely the squats. Legs feel stronger.

 

[Chuckanut]

Nordic walking is another way to get your heart rate up if you've plateaued in your normal walking but jogging/running is not in the cards. It's different than walking with hiking poles because of the special gloves attached to the poles. It's like cross country skiing and works more muscles. I walk faster with Nordic walking poles than without. Add intensity by walking faster, walking up and down hills, and/or wearing a weighted vest or rucksack. It's nice to have options!

Thanks. I will look into it.

 

[dixonge]

Another bit on this subject. Here is the brief summary:

Heavy resistance training at retirement age induces 4-year lasting beneficial effects in muscle strength: a long-term follow-up of an RCT | BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine

dammit man! Now I gotta look into actual weights. Or a gym... *sigh*

 

[Joseph]

The thing about weights is also it makes you look better. You look better, you feel better. You feel better, you are better.
Fat has not shape, muscle is shapely. Yes, you won’t look totally like some ripped dude or female with curves in all the right places. But you may get a little of that back if you throw in a decent diet too ( and of course plenty of movement). May give you a little “ hop” in your step too

 

[Trooper]

I'm a big fan of weight training and have been going to gyms most of my adult life, but I always take a day or 2 off in-between for recovery and rebuild. Fortunately my Medigap.plan pays for my gym (although I'm sure it's in the premium somewhere), but I would belong anyways.

For those who advocate lifting to failure, how many reps do you do? For example do you pick a weight that allows failure after 6 reps? 8? 12? It makes a difference in results I think.

 

[Chuckanut]

Nordic walking. This is interesting……

Researchers compared the long-term effects of three different forms of exercise as part of a cardiovascular rehabilitation program: high-intensity interval training (HIIT), moderate-to-vigorous intensity continuous training (MICT) and Nordic walking.

“Over the course of 12 weeks, Nordic walking actually had superior clinical benefits on exercise capacity than HIIT and MICT … not what we had expected,” said Reed. While all exercise methods improved depression and quality of life among patients, Nordic walking produced the greatest improvement in functional capacity that was maintained over time.

 

[braumeister]

Nordic walking. This is interesting……

Tom Rutlin introduced Nordic walking over 35 years ago. He calls it "exerstriding" now.
You can find his training videos here:
Learning to Exerstride

But this has nothing to do with my point in the OP.

 

[Healthy Lifestyle]

Curious if our members use the Sauna and or the Steam room after your gym workout?
I started to add this after gym routine and evaluating the health benefits that it may offer?

 

[MarieIG]

Curious if our members use the Sauna and or the Steam room after your gym workout?
I started to add this after gym routine and evaluating the health benefits that it may offer?

No, as I don't go to a gym (although hopefully that is in my future). But - there is evidence regarding the benefits of sauna. Dr. Rhonda Patrick has spoken about those via reviews of studies. I have heard a few of her talks on you tube, and she has her own show / website Found My Fitness.