Should you beef up your strength training program?

The recommendation to do strength training twice a week doesn't mean that you have to pump a lot of iron and become a body builder. Doing body-weight exercises or using small dumbbells or resistance bands does a nice job of keeping muscles strong. But recent evidence suggests that lifting heavier loads might have longer-lasting benefits. The study, published online June 18, 2024, by BMJ Open Sport and Exercise Medicine, involved almost 400 physically active people (average age 71) who were randomly assigned to one of three groups. People in the first group spent a year doing three weekly sessions of heavy machine-based weight lifting; those in the second group did strength training three times a week with resistance bands and body-weight exercises; the others were told to simply keep up their usual activity. After the initial year, participants chose how active to be, and their muscle strength was measured periodically. Four years after the study began, the exercisers who did heavy weight lifting still had strong leg muscles, while people in the other two groups had lost leg strength. The study indicates that intensive strength training is beneficial, even in older age. If you'd like to increase the amount of weight you lift, do it gradually, and consider working with a personal trainer for guidance.

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