You might already know that a stronger grip strength is linked to increased cognitive ability, a lower risk of falls, and even potentially a longer life among older adults.
That’s partly down to something called sarcopenia, or muscle wasting.
“Beginning as early as the [fourth] decade of life, evidence suggests that skeletal muscle mass and skeletal muscle strength decline in a linear fashion, with up to 50% of mass being lost by the [eighth] decade of life,” an article published in Current Opinion in Rheumatology reads.
This muscle decline is “one of the most important causes of functional decline and loss of independence in older adults,” they add.
So it’s a good thing scientist Dr Dennis T. Villareal, a professor at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, has told the National Institute of Ageing the “most important component” of training to stall those effects.
What’s the best exercise for preventing signs of ageing?
According to the doctor, resistance training matters most over a certain age, especially among overweight or obese adults.
Older people who are carrying a lot of fat sometimes lose the ability to support that weight, leading to something called “sarcopenic obesity,” which Dr Villareal calls the “worst of both worlds”.
He puts resistance training just above cardio “because it builds muscle and reduces the loss of muscle mass”.
But he adds the best results come from combining strength training (like weightlifting or using your body weight, like squats) and aerobic exercise (like walking or swimming).
His studies even found that combining a good diet with both forms of exercise helped to reverse frailty, which has been associated with dementia, in obese adults.
But the results aren’t just limited to adults who are obese or overweight.
Dr Rodger Fielding found that among all adults, the best way to reduce the risk of disability and increase the chance you’ll stay mobile as you age is to combine resistance training with lighter aerobic workouts.
A 2023 paper found that resistance training may even make your skin look younger.
And a 2024 Mayo Clinic article discussed a paper in which researchers found it’s never too late to start resistance training that “could slow and, in many cases, reverse the changes in muscle fibres associated with ageing”.
Benefits were seen even among those who picked up their first weight at 70.
What exactly is resistance training?
The American College of Sports Medicine defines it as “any type of physical activity that employs exercise of a muscle, or group of muscles against external resistance with the final goal of improving muscular strength, endurance or power”.
It can rely on external weights, like barbells, kettlebells, and dumbbells, or your own body weight like squats, push-ups, pull-ups, and planks.
Pilates and yoga can count as resistance training too, as can HIIT classes.
The NHS recommends 150 minutes of low-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of higher-intensity exercise a week.