When we talk about strength exercise, we usually think of young people lifting weights to increase the volume of your muscles; however, This discipline is not just about weights or just about young people. Experts assure that it also provides benefits to adults and elderly people.
“Let’s start by defining what strength is. Strength training is any type of exercise where you have to apply some resistance; It could be from a squat or a lunge, because you are working with your own weight. Strengthening is applying resistance and, what is resistance? Resisting is trying a little harder,” explains Byron Enrique Reyes, CrossFit Level 2 coach.
The expert assures that That effort is relative: for an 80-year-old person it can mean doing five squats from their chairstanding and sitting in place; while for someone younger it might be carrying a heavy bar, running five minutes longer, or jogging instead of walking.
“You can make the mistake of relate the word ‘strength’ to something ‘heavy’. No, strength is starting with something basic and gradually adding resistance. It is advisable to start with your own body weight, since a person who weighs 200 pounds is already carrying those 200 pounds in each squat,” he explains.
But what happens in the brain when you exercise? According to Kenneth Romero, a clinical psychologist with a specialty in contextual therapies, exercise promotes the production of neurotransmitters that make us feel good and be happier.
“It is not that by exercising life looks better, problems are erased or that happiness depends on it, but that we are adding probabilities and stimuli so that the neuroreceptors, cells and the entire body are in better condition, which makes us feel calmer, more attentive and less anxious,” he adds.
Training for mind and body
The effort applied when making such a routine increases blood flow in the brain and activates the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that participates in multiple processes such as movement, coordination, motivation, pleasure, learning, memory and decision making.
Therefore, Reyes and Romero assure that including moderate strength exercises in your daily routine can bring multiple benefits for mental health:
- Improves concentration
- Activate memory
- Allows greater mental clarity
- Regulates stress
- Reduces anxiety
- Improves sleep quality
- Feeling of well-being
- Increase confidence
- More energy
- feeling of success
- Reduces fatigue
“The simple fact of having run one more kilometer or the feeling of managing to lift those five pounds that I thought were unthinkable contributes to the perception one has of oneself. It’s like every day I’m training myself to trust myself, to put love into the process and, if I’m consistent, I know I can do things.”explains Romero.
Like all exercise, the strength and resistance routine also impacts physical health.as it increases muscle mass and strengthens the body:
- Improves circulation
- Increases muscle mass
- Improves posture
- Prevents injuries
- Prevents diseases
- Improves body image
- Increases sexual libido
- Ensures physical independence as age advances
“Muscles are what cover the bones; That is, without muscles we would be fragile people. So, For an elderly person it is urgent to train strengtha strength relative to his age,” says Reyes.
According to the Institute of Nutrition and Health Sciences of Spain, the decrease in strength (dynapenia) and muscle mass (sarcopenia) with age has been associated with worse mental health.
“Strength training, practiced with at least moderate intensity and volume, is confirmed as an effective strategy to improve the mental health of older peoplewith or without pre-existing mental conditions, although it could be more effective for those who have mood difficulties and different disorders,” the entity points out.
The benefits can even reach the little ones, since children and adolescents who implement routines of strength can improve concentration in their studies, increase energy and, especially, get them away from screens.
“Every day they train they are gaining health. Health is not only the absence of diseases; It is having the ability to be able to play with my son, climb a volcano, carry grocery bags or be able to go to the bathroom alone,” says Reyes.
Do not try to overload
One of the mistakes you can make when training is believing that from one day to the next you will become an expert and carry something heavier, but this thinking will most likely lead you to get injured or abandon the routine soon.
“If we want to take advantage of the experience, We need to be very aware that we have to start from scratch, go slowly and not compare our process with that of other people who may have been training for longer. Everyone goes at their own pace”says Romero.
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Reyes recommends starting to implement a strength and resistance routine moderately, two or three days a week, with Basic exercises: squats, lunges, lifting objects from the ground and overhead pushes.
“You can start with your own weight by doing squats on the chair, that is, standing and sitting on it. Then, little by little, increase the resistance: do them without a chair, going down a little further or carrying a backpack with some weight,” he suggests.
The expert recommends starting with this routine: three rounds, three times a week:
- Older adults: 10 squats, standing and sitting from the chair; go up and down steps of the house
- Youth and adults: can start in the same way as older adults and then increase to 20 squats without a chair, walking up and down steps carrying a weighted backpack, or running 200 meters
According to Reyes, “lifting weight requires attention, technique and control.” Therefore, It is important to prioritize technique over weight and take care of posture to avoid injuries. “If I’m going to do a squat, no matter how simple it may seem, I must have my feet in the correct position, my gaze forward and my chest up. That’s why the ideal is to seek instruction from a professional so that the training is adapted.”
In addition, it is important to dedicate time to pre- and post-stretching, as well as hydration and rest.