Why Weight Training is Good for You

If you run every day of the week to stay in shape, that’s great! But if you want to ensure that you are doing the most for your body and your brain, especially as you age, add strength training to your regimen.  

Strength training (also known as resistance training) is a type of exercise that causes your muscles to contract against an outside resistance. The outside resistance can be from your body weight, weight machines, medicine balls, resistance bands, or dumbbells.

As a group trainer for more than 15 years, I see lots of people in my various classes who are runners. Many get caught up in cardio and focus only on clocking the miles. I’ve always emphasized that strong muscles are important for endurance and help protect the joints from damage due to continuous high impact activity. Adding in multi-plane strength work, e.g. side lunges or side squats, builds stability in the tendons and protects against injury. Strength training leads to stronger bones and better balance and the musculature plays an essential role in insulin resistance. Stronger muscles therefore protect against diseases like diabetes. 

As you age, muscles begin to shrink, and you begin to lose muscle mass as early as your 30s and 40s. You may think of weightlifting as a young person’s game, but this could not be further from the truth. Sufficient muscle strength is key to aging well. If you lose muscle, you may not be able to carry out basic tasks, which in turn could lead to losing your functional independence. That’s when people end up in nursing homes. If you prioritize strength training as you age, rather than neglecting it, you’re more likely to maintain your lifestyle. And it’s never too late to start.  

A 2020 study that looked at the effects of resistance training on muscle strength of people over the age of 75 concluded that resistance training is still able to increase muscle size and strength even in older people. Encouragingly, there were minimal reports of adverse events associated with the training programs. Whatever your starting point and whatever your age, you can make gains and improvements with resistance training. 

Several studies have linked strength training to brain health. In one study, for example, quadricep strength correlated with improved executive function in the elderly and in another, adults with mild cognitive impairment saw improvement after they added high-intensity progressive resistance training. According to Professor Andy Galpin of California State University, “Strength training is very specific and different than cardiovascular training because the neurological demand of strength training is very, very high, which means you continue to keep neuro pathways activated and healthy.” Galpin even says that strength training is better for your brain than crossword puzzles. 

Laura Laura at the Rye Y recommends that people new to strength training come in for a 30-minute orientation session at which she can familiarize them with the equipment and staff and discuss fitness goals. Based on your goals, availability and commitment, you can follow a program that will help you make progress week by week. 

The Y’s trainers are always nearby if you have questions, she said. If you’re still feeling slightly self-conscious as a beginner, think of it this way: The gains you make from strength training will be exponentially greater than those of the person pounding away on the treadmill, trying to shave a couple of minutes off their next marathon time.