“Strength is essential and one of the best markers of healthy aging is muscle function,” said doctor Borja Bandera, specialist in Endocrinology and Nutrition, on RAC1.cat. If long ago exercising muscles was conceived as an activity for fit, muscular people who loved weightlifting, now strength training is in fashion, and it seems to be the Holy Grail of health. “We mainly have clients between 40 and 70 years old, and many women,” says the doctor.
“There is more and more awareness that you have to work on your strength, it is the quickest way to guarantee a better future, it is the best investment in health, it is the pill of eternal youth,” says Lucas Leal, a graduate in physical education, pioneer in Spain of HIST (High Intensity Strength Training) and Slowtraining, and specialized trainer at the Slowfit Center. But what exactly is it, and why is it so important?
Any exercise is strength, from the point of view of physics; Moving our body involves using force, climbing stairs too, obviously. But beyond this, specific strength exercise “specifically and directly seeks an adaptation of the muscular system.” It does not have a recreational or technical objective,” says Leal, who believes that it should consist of basic and simple exercises.
What happens to our body when we activate our muscles? “Muscle is an organ that is not only locomotor, but also endocrine, generating molecules that serve the body to function correctly. A good locomotor system, evolutionarily, meant greater chances of survival (it allowed hunting, fleeing from an attack…). When there is muscle decline, aging is greatly accelerated. When we lose too much muscle, the probability of dying increases a lot,” explains doctor and trainer Borja Bandera.
Just as a car’s engine determines how its chassis or suspension should be, the body’s muscles determine the functioning of the entire rest of the body, according to specialists. “When you want the muscle to get strong, all the parallel systems improve.” Next, we review the benefits derived from muscle training, according to the specialists consulted.
It is never too late to start training the muscle, although the sooner you start the habit, the more effective it will be. “There are cases of people aged 80 and 90 who have greatly improved their muscle strength, regardless of age, always with what corresponds to each age,” says Leal.
It is not necessary to go to the gym to perform strength exercises, but it is true that a certain knowledge of the body and awareness of the effort we will make is necessary to avoid injuries. “You have to assess the context of each person, there are those who have been going to the gym for twenty years, others have never done it and at 50 years old they want to start. You can start without weights, with your own body weight, doing leg curls, push-ups, pull-ups with a bar that can be bought for only 30 euros, with elastic bands, with small weights… It can be done on the beach, at home, in the gym…” says Bandera.
The muscle must work intensely but not with very high loads or with complicated exercises. The muscle must be worked until exhausted, fatigued, and then allowed to rest. Intensity is very important to achieve a good result. An example? Doing squats, hold the position until the muscle burns. In this sense, the concept of “progressive overload” is basic, gradually increasing the stimulus to the muscle, without damaging the joint.
Frequency and time dedicated are also determining factors, as in any type of exercise. According to Borja Bandera, a good starting point is “two thirty-minute sessions per week focusing on the entire body, with a well-planned circuit that works on the lower body, abdominals, core and upper body.”
