Heavy Resistance Training Provides Dividends in Older Age

Study finds resistance training near retirement age provides long lasting benefits.

Motivate retirement-age adults to do a heavy resistance training program to reap more strength and functional benefits in later life, according to results published in BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine . University of Copenhagen researchers in Denmark followed 369 male and female participants with a mean age of 71 years, 4 years after a one-year heavy resistance training program. Data analysis showed that one year of heavy resistance training may lead to long-lasting beneficial effects by preserving muscle function and strength up to 4 years later. In contrast, participants in a moderate-intensity training group or those in a non-exercise control group, each had a significant decrease in both strength and functionality over time.

Study authors wrote, “Notably, benefits in leg strength were present despite lowered leg lean mass. Neural adaptations influence the response to resistance training. The present results suggest that these adaptations might play a role even as lean leg mass and thigh muscle cross-sectional area decrease.”