By: Joe Kozma
February 3, 2016
Weight training benefits over 60
One of the often unmentioned health care facts for seniors is that fact that there are weight training benefits for people over 60. The reason is that maintaining muscle mass and strength is of increasing importance as people get older.
Over 60 Weight Training Benefits
An article in WebMD relates a recent study that examined the benefits of weight training for people over 60. The study concluded that weight training for seniors had benefits that not only included increased muscle mass, but also “increased aerobic capacity, better fatty acid metabolism, and improved bone and joint health.”
The study examined two groups of people, one aged 60 to 75 and another aged 20 to 35. Both groups underwent a program of resistance training for four months which included a course of knee extensions, leg presses, and squats three times a week. At the end of the four months each group had gained muscle mass.
Then the participants were randomly divided into three groups, one that did no exercise at all, one that did the same exercise as before but just one day a week, and the third that reduced their regime of exercises to one set one day a week. At the end of 32 weeks, the differences between the old and the young participants were said to be striking. The young participants who continued to exercise at a reduced level lost little or no muscle mass. The older participants, on the other hand, loss muscle mass, through they maintained much of their strength.
The conclusion was that resistance training needed to be maintained indefinitely for older people just to maintain muscle mass. This can be most effectively done under the supervision of a trained and experienced personal trainer familiar with the exercise needs of older adults.
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