Trainer's Blog

The most effective way to maintain quality of life as we age

“The most effective way to maintain quality of life as we age” is how Dr Bruce Craig decided to phrase how he felt about weight training for seniors (60+ year olds), or as we call them in the industry, "mature athletes". The scientific research is crystal clear. Far as maintaining strength, lean muscle mass, good/upright posture, independence and an overall high quality of life goes, nothing beats the addition of weight training to a physical fitness regimen.

When we think of strength training, we often overlook the less obvious benefits of training with resistance such as improvements in balance and mobility, increases in bone density and an overall improvement in self-image and esteem (seniors.gov).

For those of you that have yet to experience the potential debilitating effects of aging, the American College of Sports Medicine tells us that weight training has been shown to effectively help prevent and even reverse the loss of lean muscle mass, specifically Fast Twitch muscle fibers responsible for strength and speed, allowing us to live independently longer – if not indefinitely!

Look, nobody wants to get old. The unfortunate reality is that its going to happen anyway and we all have to go through it. The good news is that we don’t have to lose our independence, be debilitated by joint pain or allow our quality of life to suffer. There is something we can do about...