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When Instagram finds out that the person using it is in their thirties or has already turned forty, it immediately begins to show humorous reels of the changes that many people begin to notice at that age. More intense and longer-lasting hangovers, a sudden interest in houseplants and, of course, various and unexplained pain or making sounds of effort when getting up from the couch. If at those ages—according to the algorithm—physical decline already begins, it seems almost normal that this conception of old age as something tremendously fragile still exists. A conception that can make you think that, in reality, there is not much to do about it.
In physical activity recommendations for older people, key to improving quality of life, going for a walk used to be the cornerstone. In the particular case of women, at any age, the focus tended to be cardio. Strength exercises were forgotten in both cases, linked in the collective imagination to muscular bodies that seemed impossible for the elderly and undesirable for women. All this has been denied in recent years: training strength is important for everyone at all stages of life, but even more so as we get older.
“There is meta-analytic evidence in relation to the benefits of physical exercise aimed at improving strength,” says Lidia Brea Alejo, head of the sports and health area of the General Council of Colleges of Graduates in Physical Education and Activity Sciences. Physics and Sports (COLEF). These benefits even show “lower risks of death for any cause, for cardiovascular disease and for cancer. Furthermore, we know that it generates benefits at a multisystem level such as improvements in metabolism, dementia, sleep quality, bone health, depression and anxiety processes, functionality, muscle health and tendon and cartilage tissue in menopause,” he explains.
Regarding the importance of continuing to train strength (or start doing so) when we get older, the expert indicates that, although aging is a natural process, pathological aging is not. “Through the practice of physical exercise you can avoid crossing the disability threshold or delay its arrival,” she says. The evidence suggests that resistance training can mitigate the effects of aging on neuromuscular function and functional capacity. “In this sense, it is crucial to be able to stop or avoid sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass), dynapenia (loss of applied muscle force) or powerpenia (loss of the ability to apply force quickly), all of them processes that are “associated with aging and fragility.”
Laura Esquius, professor of Health Sciences Studies at the Open University of Catalonia, points out some of the collateral benefits of this increase in muscle mass and strength: in addition to preserving functional capacity, autonomy is increased, stability is improved and helps prevent falls and improves bone density, avoiding osteoporosis and the risk of fractures.
Benefits in menopause
Although exercising strength is positive for the entire population at any age, it was not traditionally the type of exercise most performed among women, for reasons such as “the lack of scientific knowledge about its benefits and the role of gender stereotypes in the practice of strength exercises,” says Esquius. Cardiovascular exercise was primarily promoted, especially in the context of weight loss and improving cardiovascular health, she notes.
However, this aforementioned increase in bone density that is achieved with the increase in muscle mass is one of the reasons why strength exercises begin to be recommended in physical activity guides for women from the menopause, when osteoporosis can become a problem. “It has been proven and observed in women that, when the increase in bone mass due to physical exercise is accompanied by an increase in muscle mass, the protection of the bone is greater,” explains Nicolás Mendoza, president of the Spanish Association for the Study of Menopause (AEEM). “Getting stronger reduces sarcopenia (deficit in muscle mass), which in turn reduces the risk of fracture due to osteoporosis.” Laura Esquius, from the UOC, agrees on the special importance of exercising strength after menopause, “when the decrease in estrogen can accelerate the loss of muscle mass and can cause problems with osteoporosis, bone fragility and risk of falling” .
At this stage there also usually occurs a change in the distribution of fat, which tends to accumulate more in the abdominal area, indicates Mendoza. Strength exercises can help thanks to their metabolic benefits. “Having more muscle mass gives you more energy consumption. So that central adiposity that becomes more typical from that age onwards improves a lot, because by increasing muscle mass, you have a tissue that is consuming a lot of calories,” he points out.
But this is not all. Mendoza explains that in the work groups that are studying menopause at the University of Granada, they have verified that physical exercise, when adapted and directed, in a group, and combining aerobic exercises with bodybuilding, “improves classic symptoms such as insomnia, hot flashes, palpitations or sweating.”
When (and how) to start
All the experts interviewed—and any somewhat recent guide consulted—insist on something key: it is never too late to start exercising strength, although it has never been done. Of course, it is also advisable to do it correctly. “The important thing is that physical exercise, whatever its type, is scheduled, designed, supervised and evaluated by professionals, in this case by Sports Physical Educators, and prescribed, if necessary, by health personnel,” says Lidia Brea Alejo. , from the COLEF Council. But neither age nor never having practiced any type of physical activity should be an impediment to starting.
“I have seen CrossFit women with vertebral fractures and severe disabilities who, once the period of soreness has passed, by strengthening their back they gain confidence, they gain agility, they gain in response to pain medications,” exemplifies Nicolás. Mendoza, from the AEEM. But it is not necessary to start CrossFit, but rather an exercise adapted to our physical condition.
“In general terms, it is recommended to do strength exercises between two and four times a week, on alternate days. It should also be considered that it is important to warm up and stretch before training. This favors an increase in body temperature and the activation of muscles and neuromuscular connections, so that the possibility of injury is reduced,” explains Esquius, who adds that strength can be trained without using machines or lifting heavy weights. “We can do several repetitions with medium or light resistance (elastic bands, weights, etc.), since the most important thing is to do the movements correctly,” he says.
Lidia Breo Alejo remembers the minimum guideline set out by the WHO in its guide: “work on the large muscle groups should be done at least twice a week, carrying out exercises that involve at least moderate intensity. This means that you can work even with your own body weight.”
On the other hand, it is not about replacing the previous recommendations (walk, aerobic activity, etc.) by strength exercises, but rather adding them to the routine. “It is necessary to include aerobic work in our physical exercise routine, performing at least 150 minutes to 300 minutes a week of moderate intensity or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous intensity aerobic exercise. It is appropriate to also include flexibility/mobility work as many times as possible, as well as avoiding a sedentary lifestyle on a daily basis,” summarizes Breo Alejo.
Finally, for the benefits of physical activity to last, it is important to be consistent. To do this, Laura Esquius recommends finding “exercises that you like and that adapt to the capabilities of each person.” Another good idea is to go to group activities, which in addition to helping adherence, are beneficial for “getting out of the closed environment of the house and being with other people in the same conditions as you,” says Nicolás Mendoza. The president of the AEEM believes that little by little he is getting the idea that exercising strength is important, but that we still have to insist that it is not just an aesthetic issue, but above all, being better. “We should not only think about how I am going to shape my body (although looking better can contribute to adherence), but about how I am going to improve my health,” he concludes.
