Strength Training Articles

Studies have shown that seated desk work can have negative health and mobility repercussions as we age. A new study suggests that physically demanding jobs can also impact function later in life. The study included 5,200 public sector employees participating in the Finnish Longitudinal Study on Municipal Employees. The primary purpose of the study was to understand the impact of leisure-time physical activity (LPA) and occupational physical activity (OPA) on mobility limitations among older adults.

Here’s more reason for older adults to pump iron: Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, have found a new link between lifting weights and longevity.

According to a report from the British Medical Journal (2012; 344; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj/e2672), 25%–74% of the world’s 50 million stroke survivors require assistance or are fully dependent on caregivers. To gain more physical independence, many seek help from physical therapists. That same report suggests circuit training can be a successful alternative to physical therapy.

Many older adults who break a hip contend with physical limitations even after rehabilitation. According to researchers led by Nancy K. Latham, PhD, PT, of Boston University in Massachusetts, a home-based exercise program may offer a way to reduce those limitations and improve strength and mobility.

That’s precisely the question that researchers from North Carolina wanted to investigate.

Periodization offers a specific strategy for helping women get stronger with resistance training. It has been well documented that appropriate resistance training can help people across a broad range of ages, fitness levels and health statuses. Resistance training improves muscular strength, muscular endurance and body composition while assisting the body to manage chronic ailments such as diabetes mellitus, obesity, hypertension, bone and joint diseases (osteoporosis and osteoarthritis), and depression (Warburton, Nicol & Bredin 2006).

Weight training has many benefits. Warding off metabolic syndrome may be one of them, suggests a recent study. Part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the study set out to determine (1) how many adults lift weights regularly and (2) the impact of weight training on the prevalence and risk of metabolic syndrome. The findings, reported in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research (2012; 26 [11], 3113–17), included data on 5,618 adults aged 20 and older from 1999–2004. Here are some takeaways:

That 98-pound weakling may want to hit the gym if he hopes to live a long life. A study published in the British Medical Journal (2012; 345: e7279) suggests that male adolescents without much muscle strength may earn early death in adulthood. The large study included 1,142,599 Swedish males aged 16–19 who were followed for 24 years. The primary focus was to determine whether muscular strength had any impact on mortality rates. Premature death in this study was considered death before 55.

Breast cancer survivors may effectively improve muscle endurance with Pilates chair training, which may have advantages over traditional resistance training since the chair requires less space, can be less expensive and may be more enjoyable for some people.