If you lift weights consistently, chances are you’re going to live longer, look better and be more healthy.

OK, it’s not as simple as that. There are more factors at play than simply, “pick up that weight and you’ll live longer!” How you’re living outside of your workouts also plays a significant role.

But, research continues to reveal that strength training is likely to have a positive influence on extending our longevity and appearance.

So, my question to you is… If you’re not doing some type of weight training, why not? Do you need help getting started? If so, get in contact with me, because everyone should be doing at least some lifting each week.

Lifting, Defined

Just to make sure we’re all on the same page here, let’s define a few key terms I’ll be using throughout this article.

Essentially, I’m going to use “lifting,” “strength training,” and “resistance training” interchangeably, so please don’t get confused over that. All three of these terms involve utilizing some type of weighted movement for exercise.

That’s the overall theme here — weighted movements. You could use 5-pound dumbbells to lunge, use a machine chest press, or grab a barbell and deadlift 500 pounds. Whatever the case may be (whatever you enjoy the most and/or prefer) we’re still operating within the same concept of weight training.

The Obvious

We all know the outward effect of strength training: build muscle, look better. Right? (Ladies, this doesn’t mean you’ll blow up and look like a female Arnold — you’d need a lot of steroids for that.)

Strength training will cause your body to adapt and get stronger, regardless of age or training experience. You’re likely to adapt and grow some muscle, while also experiencing neuromuscular gains.

Other improvements can be seen via power, stability and more. You’ve seen this before.

The Longevity Aspect

Along with those obvious advantages to strength training, there are many that lend to the focus and title of this article — looking great and feeling better for a really long time.

Many studies in recent years have shown this type of exercise to cause improvements in any of the following areas:

• Retention of muscle mass
• Feeling energetic
• Metabolic health
• Bone density
• Mental health
• Increased muscle longevity
• Optimized biomarkers of cardiovascular health
• Lower risk for chronic disease
• Lower mortality risk

If looking at that list isn’t enough to get you pumping some iron, I don’t know what will!

Let’s dive into all of this a little more in-depth.

The Why

So, why is all of this happening? Why does picking weight up and putting it back down have such a positive impact on our overall health?

Well, this topic came to mind because of a recent article in the NY Post detailing how older women are seeing health benefits thanks to weight training in specialized studio environments.

Researchers at Wake Forest University in 2017 conducted a study of 249 adults who were 60 years old, or older. It was concluded that, “restricting calories plus resistance training in the form of weight-machine workouts resulted in less muscle loss, but significant fat loss, when compared to weight loss plus walking or weight loss alone.”

A 2007 McMaster University study took that older demographic and added a younger audience to the equation. Still, the positive benefits of resistance training rang true. Along with the well-known positive adaptations we experience (listed above in “The Obvious” section), metabolic health saw improvements. The study concluded, “resistance exercise not only promotes strength gains, but also reduces risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease.”

CRP (C-reactive protein) is an inflammation biomarker, believed to be an indicator of mortality for metabolic or cardiovascular diseases, and in 2015 we saw a decline in CRP with a population of 60 years old, or older. This was explained by the fact that, “muscle contraction produces molecules called myokines that reduce inflammation and ultimately lower levels of CRP,” and ultimately the more consistent resistance training one participates in, the more lean muscle mass he or she will have, and that can lead to anti-inflammatory adaptations.

Researchers at the University of New Mexico in 2007 even found that resistance training caused “age reversal” in gene types: “This novel study demonstrated that resistance training can reverse aspects of aging at the gene level.“

All told, strength training can help older adults live longer, researchers at Penn State concluded.

Takeaways

If you’re not participating in some kind of resistance training routine, there’s never a bad time to start! And clearly, the positives outweigh the negatives, so you should give it a shot.

Often, women are worried about getting too bulky from lifting weights. Many people worry about the risk of injury that comes with weight training, which is an understandable concern. Others may not enjoy the feeling (read: pain) that comes with this type of activity. And still more don’t even know where to start.

The reasons “not to” are endless, but they are heavily outweighed by the positive impact weight lifting can make on your overall health. Combine that with healthy lifestyle choices, and you’re setting yourself up for success in the long term when it comes to your health.

Fitness is constantly evolving, and as referenced in the NY Post article, there are tons of options to fit just about anybody’s tastes when it comes to weight training.

You could hit up a fitness studio specific to what you enjoy, you could try out the local chain gym, you could give powerlifting, crossfit, or bodybuilding a shot … the list goes on and on. You can even get in contact with me if you’d like some guidance on the best ways to approach weight training.

In the end, give weight training a legitimate try over an extended period of time. As you progress and start to feel stronger and healthier, I bet you won’t be able to put the weights down!

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CG