New research suggests that doing between 90 minutes and two hours of weight training per week can reduce the risk of premature death.
The new study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, involved 147,374 people who were asked every two years over a 30-year follow-up period about how much time they spent doing aerobic exercise and strength training.
Researchers found that people who did resistance training regularly and maintained it long-term reduced their chances of premature death from any cause by 13%, and by 19% when it came to diseases such as heart disease and stroke.
Additionally, the findings also showed that those who lifted weights or used things like resistance bands or bodyweight exercises had a 27% lower risk of dying from neurological diseases.
Although many people know the benefits of strength training, it can be difficult to know how to get started.
We spoke to Samuel Quinn, Personal Training Leader at Nuffield Health, who highlighted how accessible and beneficial strength training can be for older adults with the right plan and support, and shared the following tips on how to get started…
Start with a motion screen
“The best practice is to have a functional motion screen,” Quinn recommends.
A movement screen involves a variety of exercises typically performed by fitness professionals to evaluate a person's movement patterns, he explains.
“It helps us evaluate how clients move through different fundamental movement patterns of the body, such as squatting, hinge movement, and single-leg movement,” Quinn says. “We can also use this to check a person's overhead mobility and core stability.
“With this information, we can get a baseline level of their fitness and ability to move.”
Follow a personalized training program
“There are so many different variables that come into play, so I would recommend following a personalized program tailored to your specific anatomy, goals, and ability,” advises Quinn.
“You need a program that you can be consistent with and be able to manipulate and adapt to avoid injury.”
Keep it simple
Simple exercises are usually the most effective.
“It needs to be simple and involve basic movement patterns, rather than being a very elaborate, time-consuming program,” Quinn says. “It should be relatively simple to follow so that you can execute it well and therefore get the results you want.”
Start with a lighter load
“Many people weigh too much too soon and subsequently become injured or in a lot of pain for a few days,” Quinn says. “You don't need to make the weight as heavy as possible, as you can still get benefits from a slightly lighter load.
“Start by selecting a lower weight and make sure you can comfortably control the reps to get the benefit of the exercise, then cautiously progress to heavier loads over time.”
Check your form
“For many of my clients, I often show and explain exercises to them and then send them videos that they can come back to when they train on their own,” Quinn says.
“There are a lot of videos that show and explain different types of exercises and explain what they are going to do and what the correct form and technique is.”
Aim for a couple of sessions a week.
“You don't need to do five hours a week of strength training. Even a couple of sessions a week can produce very good benefits if you are looking to improve stability, overall physical strength, general fitness and quality of life,” Quinn says.
“It's about making sure you select the right exercises, that are appropriate for your basic fitness, health and well-being, and that you can do them consistently a couple of times a week.
“Even with two relatively short sessions per week, you can really improve your physical strength and quality of life, and help prevent problems you are more susceptible to as you age, such as osteoporosis and risk of falls.”
Prioritize recovery, protein and hydration.
Quinn recommends taking a holistic approach to training and advises beginners to think about what they do outside of training sessions.
“In order for you to get the benefits of your workouts, you need to be able to recover with adequate sleep and rest,” Quinn says.
“You also need to make sure you're eating properly, consuming enough protein, and staying sufficiently hydrated. My goal would be to consume between 1.1 and 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, and around 2.5 liters of water per day.”
