Strength training is insurance

Recently a family member had an episode where he fell and couldn’t get back up on his feet.

This should never happen to a 76 year old man.

The main reason why it happened is because he’s become quite frail over the last couple of years due to an underlying condition.

This condition resulted in a loss of at least 30 pounds of body weight and left him very weak.

This is not an uncommon occurrence.

The issue is that he never did any strength training before he was hit with this health issue.  This made him more vulnerable.

Most people in general do not do any legitimate strength training.

As people get older, it becomes even more rare.

As a result, the aging process whittles away at their strength through a process known as sarcopenia (age related loss of muscle mass) and it can be made worse if this is combined with osteopenia or osteoporosis, both of which result in loss of bone density.

As I write this, I am 59 years old, and I’ve found significant resistance among friends close to my age to engage in strength training.

The argument is primarily that they are active, and this will keep them more fit than most people.

The issue is that nobody knows what the future holds.

Anyone, no matter how healthy they may be, may be struck by a debilitating illness, or perhaps a terrible accident.

Illness and accidents that leave you immobile for a period of time often lead to weight loss, and some of that weight loss will be in the form of muscle.

If you start out with very little lean muscle mass, and you happen to recover, you’ll still be vulnerable.

This is why strength training is effectively an insurance policy against frailty.

And, the investment is quite minimal, all things considered.

You can build significant strength and muscle in as little as six months just by training three days per week for an hour or less.

Once you’ve built up enough strength to meet your goals, you can maintain that strength and muscle by training just two days per week.

With all this in mind, it really makes no sense to avoid it.

There is considerably more benefit to strength training than just avoiding frailty.

Lastly, 99% of the people reading this post can do some form of strength training.

Jonathon Sullivan, founder of Greysteel, is a former emergency room doctor who specializes in training people over 50 years old.  He has had clients over 90 years old.

He’s been able to get people to squat and deadlift who have had all kinds of surgery, including knee replacements and spinal surgery.

However, if you are absolutely adamant about avoiding the barbell, you can still train on machines, with dumbbells, or even with kettlebells, albeit less effectively.

Therefore, there is no excuse.

Now, get to work!