Lifting to Lighten

The value of weight training during older adulthood

Fact checked by Shannon Sparks

No doubt you’ve heard the news: Regular physical activity is a key component of a healthy lifestyle. Exercise can reduce your risk of disease, help maintain a healthy weight, reduce stress, and positively impact mental health. What you may not know, however, is how important strength training is, especially as you age. 

Read on for a closer look at the benefits of weight training, why it’s so critical as you get older, and what to keep in mind when you get started on a strength training program of your own. 

The need for strength training

The expression, “use it or lose it” sums up why we need to strength train as we get older. Roughly 3 in 10 adults over age 70 have trouble with activities like climbing stairs, getting out of a chair, or even walking, according to the National Institute on Aging. A major reason for these difficulties is age-related muscle loss, called sarcopenia. Muscle mass and strength peak in one’s 30s and begin to decline thereafter — slowly at first and then more dramatically after women reach age 65, and men, 70.

Strength training helps offset those age-related changes. “Strength training is important because as we get older, we start to lose muscle fibers,” says Colton Manusky, DPT, a physical therapist and center manager for Rush Physical Therapy at Union Station and the West Loop. “It’s very important to keep them engaged by doing certain kinds of resistance training.” 

Yet, people generally think that older folks shouldn’t be lifting heavier weights. “They should be lifting as heavy as they can,” says Chris Marcellus, a personal trainer at the Indian Boundary YMCA in Downers Grove. “When you talk about putting a muscle under tension, the more tension we can put that muscle on, the more weight and resistance it will be able to handle. The nervous system becomes stronger; the brain is sending and receiving messages that the muscles need to be able to perform. Over time, your body is going to adapt and become stronger,” he says. 

What’s happening on the cellular level as you train? 

When you lift weights or strength train, your muscles develop microtears. Over the next 24 to 48 hours, your body uses protein to help rebuild those microtears, and eventually your muscle gets stronger — and if you train enough, larger as well. 

To build and maintain muscle, you need protein. As you get older, protein reuptake drops a bit, Manusky says. A high-protein snack post-workout can help ensure your muscles are getting the protein they need.

Strength training is about more than simply getting stronger. “The most important benefit is reduction of injury,” Manusky says. “Loading the muscles helps to strengthen the muscles as well as the joints and bones and reduces the risk of injury.” Through stress, he adds, you create a bodily response that strengthens muscles and bone, while warding off osteoporosis and other degenerative diseases.

Maintaining your strength also helps you stay mobile, whether you’re a senior or caring for one.

“Strength training can definitely help you be a better caregiver,” Manusky says. It makes daily tasks easier, whether you’re getting out of a chair, unloading groceries, or changing a lightbulb.

Starting a strength-training program

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardiovascular exercise and focus their workouts on muscle-strengthening twice a week.

Start off gradually. If possible, hire a personal trainer for a few sessions to guide you with correct form, Marcellus says. Begin with light weights to learn good form, and then increase the weight you lift. 

Besides traditional handheld weights, other options for building strength include exercise bands, kettlebells, and bodyweight exercises. “If you’re intimidated by coming into a gym or health club, there is plenty you can do at home,” Marcellus says. For example, you can do dips on a chair; squats and lunges; or bent-over rows with a gallon of milk (which weighs about eight pounds). 

Manusky suggests that beginning weightlifters follow a push/pull/legs (PPL) routine. The idea is to target your push muscles (chest and triceps), your pull muscles (back and biceps), and the large muscles of your legs and core, on different days. “With a PPL training regime, you might do a push on Monday, a pull on Thursday, and legs and core the next Monday,” he says. “It keeps variability in your program.”

Finally, maintain a consistent routine for the best results. Just two days of strength training can have a profound difference in how you age — and how you feel.

Originally published in the Winter/Spring 2025 print issue