6 Ways Strength Training Reverses Aging and Beats Cardio
Strength Training Reverses Aging? I’ll Take Two Dumbbells, Please!
Strength training is a girl’s best friend for so many reasons. Half-a-dozen research-proven reasons are included in this post. Longevity just may have unofficially been the buzzword in health and wellness circles last year. Yet, who wants to live longer unless they can live well? Strength training is your key to aging better and dozens of research studies are proving it.
The best part? This is a now and later payoff. Have your sleeveless-worthy arms now and your longevity too.
How Not to Die
Let’s start with the basics. Living longer better starts with not dying. Older adults who participated in strength training twice a week have 46 percent lower odds of death for any reason than those who did not. One study showed that overall they reduced their specific risk of cardiac death and cancers. They tended to be normal in body weight and have overall healthier habits. One good thing leads to another.
Strength Training Reverses Aging
You can thank your parents for your eye color but you can’t blame them for the way you age. Genes play their part but they get their script based on your habits. It’s well known that epigenetics, your environment and what you do, plays a bigger role in just about every component of life than your genes do.
Turns out if you’re strength training you’re going to change the way you age for the better. One of the key indices used to gage aging is mitochondria function.
Mitochondria function is responsible for energy production for use throughout your body at every level. This is the currency of your energy and vitality for the second half.
It used to be widely accepted that mitochondrial function simply declined with age. Studies have now shown not just a slowing of decline but a reversal of mitochondria impairment within 6 months of twice per week strength training. It’s never too late to start.
Likewise, 179 genes associated with aging – and whether you do it well or not – were completely changed by strength training. Strength training doesn’t just have the ability to slow the progression of aging it reverses it.
Prevent Muscle Loss
Few things lead to frailty and accelerate aging more than a lack of muscle. Muscle loss occurs with age (starting at about 30) unless you’re doing something about it. While any exercise is better than inactivity, strength training wins against every other mode of exercise in the aging game where muscle is concerned.
Yet, there’s more to the story than simply muscle loss. You have different types of muscle fibers. Fast twitch muscle is lost twice as fast as you age and is more responsible for reducing fat to prevent age-related metabolic dysfunction (aka, obesity). It also is what will prevent falls by improving your reaction skills.
Understandably then, fast twitch muscle fibers gain importance as you age. Strength training is the best way to focus on your fast twitch muscle fibers. A few minutes of fast interval training drills a few times a week can also support fast twitch fibers.
Boost Mood and Mental Health
Your lifespan as a woman is longer than that of men. So you’re living longer but what you really want is living better than you’ve seen it done in prior generations. Given women are twice as likely as men to suffer from depression and anxiety, both of which can influence risk of dementia, taking care of your emotional and cognitive health is as important as your physical health.
Turns out it’s a two-for-one. If you’re waiting for the leg press, you’re in the right line.
Strength training positively influences mood and decreases symptoms of depression and anxiety. Beyond that, if you’re looking for an edge in creativity and productivity more and more studies are showing that a break for exercise just may be where your creative breakthrough occurs.
Lose Body Fat Faster
Last but definitely not least, body composition improvements come faster and last with strength training compared to cardio. Yes, do your cardio and maintain your mobility with yoga or Pilates, but put strength training high on your priority list.
The good news is body composition changes occur with about 60% less time required to see change from cardio. You can spend about 15 minutes instead of 45 and get better lasting results with changes in increased muscle and decreased fat.
Give your longevity a lift today. Get started with 5 Weight Training Exercises You Need To Start Now.
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