Why Physical Strength Matters?

Think of strength training and you’re likely to conjure up images of huge guys hoisting massive poundages or pimply-faced teens pumping out curls to get bigger guns. 

The reality is that strength training isn’t just for powerlifters, athletes, and budding bodybuilders. Recent research reveals that exercising to improve your strength is one of the most important things you can do to improve your overall health and prevent age-related physical decline. In fact, the research evidence is now too strong to let preconceived false notions of strength training prevent you from reclaiming the body you deserve to be living inside of.

The American Council on Aging has identified the following ten key biomarkers of aging:

1. Muscle Mass

2. Strength

3. Bone Density

4. Body Composition

5. Blood Lipids

6. Hemodynamics

7. Glucose Control

8. Aerobic Capacity

9. Gene Expression

10. Brain Factors

Research shows that strength training improves every one of them. Let’s find out how.

Muscle Mass & Strength Will Change Your Life

Having strong muscles is crucial for functional movement and balance. However, we lose 30% of strength and 3-8% of muscle mass each decade after the age of 30 due to age-related decline (sarcopenia). 

Strength training can reverse that decline. One study showed a 30% strength loss over 12 years can be fully restored with 12 months of strength training. 

Falls are the leading cause of elderly traumatic death. The common belief that they are mainly caused by stiffness, arthritis, or weak joints has been debunked. It is now acknowledged that muscle weakness is the leading cause of falls among the elderly. 

Strength training makes your muscles stronger. When you start to lose your balance, your stronger muscles will allow you to provide a counterbalancing force to avoid the fall. 

Strength Train For Bone Density

Most people who are diagnosed with osteoporosis have lost a significant amount of strength and muscle prior to their diagnosis. Research shows that strength training increases bone mineral density. 

During muscle contractions, skeletal muscles release a special myokine called IL-15, which signals bones to increase their density. This signaling mechanism operates even without strength training, but the intense muscle contractions during such exercises significantly amplify IL-15 signals to bone tissue, resulting in stronger bones.

Body Composition Misconception

For a long time, body composition was linked to calorie balance. We now know that it’s more complicated than that. 

The body’s tissues compete for nutrients, and myokines released during strength training signal a need for muscle prioritization. This process includes a spike in Interleukin-5 and Interleukin-6, reducing inflammation and enhancing fatty acid uptake. IL-5 prompts the conversion of white fat to brown fat, which is more easily burned for energy. 

Strength training brings about hormonal responses that cumulatively promote a leaner, more muscular body with reduced fat.

Blood Lipids, Cardio & Strength

The human body has two cholesterol types:

• Low-density lipoprotein (LDL)
• High-density lipoprotein (HDL)

LDL, termed “bad cholesterol,” accumulates in arterial walls. In contrast, HDL functions beneficially by removing excess cholesterol. Studies indicate that engaging in strength training, intermittent fasting, and short cardio sessions boost HDL levels and diminishes LDL, promoting a favorable cholesterol balance.

Hemodynamics

Strength training’s impact on cardiovascular fitness is often underestimated. Starling’s Law of the Heart highlights the heart’s efficiency when input and output volumes match. 

Muscular contractions during strength training enhance venous return, promoting increased blood flow to the heart. This, coupled with stronger contractions, leads to greater blood volume pumped out, positively influencing coronary artery blood flow. 

Strength training proves beneficial for those with coronary artery disease, alleviating anginal chest pain. The enhanced venous return effect mirrors compression boots, aiding circulation and reducing soreness. Moreover, strength training stimulates Interleukin-6, fostering neovascularization, reducing blood pressure, and potentially allowing hypertension medication to stop within 12 weeks.

Glucose Control Assists Strength Results

Your muscles are your body’s main glucose reservoir. Depletion of muscle glycogen during strength training enhances insulin sensitivity and improves glucose transport into muscle cells. This process counters the detrimental metabolic syndrome associated with poor diet and inactivity, promoting better blood sugar regulation and metabolic health.

Aerobic Capacity

Strength training enhances aerobic capacity through its impact on anaerobic metabolism and the efficient delivery of pyruvate to muscle cells. 

Anaerobic exercises, like strength training, produce pyruvate, a crucial component for aerobic metabolism occurring within mitochondria. The intensity of strength training ensures a rapid supply of pyruvate, optimizing its delivery to muscle cells. When the rate of pyruvate delivery surpasses the mitochondria’s processing speed, it’s converted into lactic acid. 

Conditioned individuals with a healthy diet can transport this lactic acid to the liver, transforming it into glucose, providing an afterburner effect that contributes to improved aerobic capacity.

Gene Expression

In 2007, a groundbreaking study by Dr. Simon Melov revealed the transformative effects of strength training on aging. Identifying 179 genes associated with aging, he found their expression reverted to youthful levels after just 26 weeks of strength training. 

Melov pinpointed genes expressed differently in youth and old age using the false discovery rate technique. The strength training program led to an average 50% strength increase in elderly participants, showcasing a remarkable reversal of aging-related gene expression. This study represents a significant stride towards discovering the fountain of youth, highlighting the rejuvenating potential of strength training.

Brain Factors

Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is a memory myokine. It is low in people with Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and obesity and is an independent marker of mortality. When you strength train, the amount of BDNF in your skeletal muscle increases. 

Wrap Up

Training to be strong is the nearest thing we have to a fountain of youth. As such, what you lift, squat, deadlift and all other types of weight training should be the foundation of your exercise program, no matter what age you are. But it will only benefit the strength of your muscles if you do it right. For strength gains, you can’t completely ignore your level of fitness, endurance, and body weight. Check out my personal training packages to find out how to unlock the transformative power of strength training, improve mobility, and improve your quality of life.