Reverse Muscle Ageing with Resistance Training

If you'd rather poke a hot stick in your eye than try resistance training then you're missing out on your ticket to a better quality of life. You've heard it all before, right? You know resistance training builds muscle strength. You understand it improves flexibility, lowers body fat, and can contribute to reducing blood pressure and back pain. But did you consider the practical benefits such as being able to carry the groceries home, climbing a flight of stairs to admire a spectacular view, even giving your golf or tennis game a boost?

The adage ‘move it or lose it' particularly applies when we get older and maintaining our strength is an important ingredient in all of us living well for the long haul.

A recent Canadian study, published in the journal PLoS One, adds weight to the argument by showing regular resistance training can actually reverse signs of ageing in muscles by making your mitochondria (the molecular machinery powering muscle cells) function more efficiently - at a cellular level, you can literally become younger. In short, the authors found it's never too late to start exercising to reap the benefits and twice weekly resistance training sessions was enough to have a positive impact. So perhaps it's time to remove that hot stick from your eye and contemplate incorporating a resistance training program into your weekly exercise routine.

How to get started

The first step is getting the tick of approval from your doctor. A good medical check-up will determine your health status and form the basis from which you can build a program. If you've never participated in resistance training before, it is strongly recommended you seek guidance from a physiotherapist or personal trainer to get the best and safest results.

Di Huxley, 53, runs Dinamic Fitness, a personal training business specialising in programs for the more mature. She says the idea of using weights can be understandably intimidating for many people so the emphasis should be on enjoyment and variety. "Where and how you do your strength training should be an individual choice," she says. "It will only work if you feel happy and comfortable. If you are a social person and used to taking part in group activities, the gym, hall, or even the park with some friends would be perfect."

But Di says if you are not so confident, you could consider having a personal trainer come to the house to take you through a personalised program designed around everyday activities and equipment you can utilise from around the home. You don't need to have any special equipment," she says. "Sometimes the best exercise program is one designed around your day-to-day activities and using items like cans of soup and bags of rice from the pantry."

Give your functional strength a lift

Deep down, most of us know resistance training is something we really ‘should' be doing to give us that extra spring in our steps. But because it's unfamiliar to many people, the idea tends to get tossed into the ‘too hard basket' never to surface again. Before you brush it aside (again), take a few seconds to consider strength training from a practical perspective - if you don't make it a priority, you are compromising your ability to live independently and lead a full and active life well into the future. Resistance training improves functional strength, which can help keep you safe in your daily activities and make you less vulnerable to falls or other injuries.

"Resistance training can lessen a person's chance of falling," says Di Huxley. "If you lose muscle mass, you lose strength, which can lead to falls, and possibly injury or fracture. If a person becomes sedentary, this then impacts on cardiovascular fitness making it even harder to move." Concern about injury is one of the main barriers among older exercisers. Di believes any reluctance can be overcome by education, setting realistic personal goals and focusing on why resistance training can enhance your life. "No matter how old we are, if we feel stronger, we are stronger," she says.

Raise the bar on your self-esteem

Everyone wants to look as good as they can no matter what their age. We're surrounded by wonderful role models from whom we can draw strength that being mature is not about being demure - there's the lovely Helen Mirren, gorgeous Sean Connery, effervescent Goldie Hawn, and the ageless John Travolta, to name a few.

Admittedly, the vast majority of us don't have access to the entourage of trainers some stars can afford to employ. But a strength training program needn't cost a fortune and the confidence boost will be well worth the effort. "It's not just young people who like to flex their muscles in front of the mirror and admire how good they look!" says Di Huxley. A lack of strength can influence a person's self-esteem in many ways. It can cause poor posture and a tendency to slump in some people.

In the Spotlight: Club Classic

Club Classic Wellness Centre, located within Classic Residences, a five-star retirement village in Brighton, Victoria, is setting the benchmark in providing tailored strength training programs for seniors - both residents and non-residents.

Supervised by its team of physiotherapists, the strength training sessions have been developed to improve muscle and bone health, and improve cardiovascular fitness while assisting in the prevention and rehabilitation of injuries.

Here's why two participants enjoy the program:

Champion swimmer Judy Joy Davies, 79, has continued her winning form by taking part in strength training sessions. The 1948 Olympic bronze medallist and 1950 Commonwealth Games (Empire Games) gold medallist is an avid participant: "The programs are developed for the different needs of the participants. This, I believe, is important to help improve and maintain our quality of life in our mature years."

Fellow participant Beverley Spinks says the strength training has given her the confidence to continue travelling. "The programs have been adapted to suit my capabilities and needs from time to time. I went to Europe in 2005 and incorporated a Baltic Cruise where I intended to do a bicycle tour... and a walking tour. Leg exercises and the treadmill were increased to give me the stamina. The biggest target was in Peru - walking at high altitude and mostly up rough cut steps in rocks. Again the program changed to give me more overall stamina for the lack of oxygen and also high step ups holding a five kilogram weight to give me the power to keep going under difficult stresses. I feel I came through the trip with flying colours!"

Top 10 reasons to take up resistance training

1. To build muscle strength
2. To improve functional strength and flexibility
3. To increase bone mass and density
4. To lower body fat
5. To reduce resting blood pressure
6. To reduce low back pain
7. To reduce the pain of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
8. To reduce symptoms of other chronic conditions such as depression
9. To enhance your personal appearance
10. To improve your golf game

Contact Details:

Dinamic Fitness NSW Phone: (02) 8011 3249
Club Classic Wellness Centre Phone: (03) 9599 2266