Strength is the most important thing in life

Strength is the most important thing in life.

That is the very first sentence in Mark Rippetoe’s book, Starting Strength, Basic Barbell Training.  It is also one in which I totally agree.

While strength is no longer a requirement for humans, since we no longer live in the wild, it is still critical to our well being.

Physical strength makes us more useful and functional as human beings.  Think about this for a moment… when you are 70 years old, what is more useful… the ability to run five miles or the ability to lift heavy things?

To me, the answer is obvious… physical strength gives us the ability to be more self-reliant.

Physical strength allows us to live a higher quality of life.

Yes, the ability to run five miles likely means you will live longer than most people.  I’ll get to that in another post.

But, for day to day living, physical strength provides you with the ability to be more self reliant and live a higher quality of life.

Over the last several years, I’ve watched a few people close to me decline significantly in regard to their mobility.  All are an advanced age, and fairly healthy except for one thing… they have lost significant mobility and it is affecting their quality of life.

None of them ever engaged in any sort of programmed strength training at any time in their lives except perhaps during military commitments.  One remained active in tennis, but his knees gave out years ago.

Science tells us that as we age, we lose muscle mass and bone density.  Once we hit our seventies, we become vulnerable to injury due to falls.  This leads to a substantial decline in quality of life.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

You can begin strength training at any age.

In fact, a 100 year old woman in Florida capable of deadlifting 165 pounds did not begin strength training until she was 91 years old.

Ernestine Shepherd

And then there is the case of Ernestine Shepherd of Baltimore.  She is the world’s oldest female competitive bodybuilder, but didn’t begin training until she was in her mid-50s.

As we age, we all begin to develop nagging aches and pains.  Over time, these can turn into more significant problems, such as arthritis.

However, if you train for strength, you can limit the impact these issues may have on your quality of life.

Among other benefits, strength training increases muscle mass, bone density, and strengthens tendons and ligaments.

Maintaining physical strength can help offset the wear and tear we accumulate over our lifetimes.

This will allow us to maintain most of our mobility into an advanced age, which will allow us to live a higher quality of life.

As I mentioned, you can get started at any age.  Here are the best excercises for building strength.

Now, get to work!