A personal trainer who works with older people shared her biggest tip for staying strong and healthy for as long as possible: strength training.
As well as helping us to live longer, “strength training will help you to have a better quality of life,” Lauren Hurst, whose oldest client is 96, told Business Insider. Hurst’s tip comes amid growing interest in longevity, as the average life expectancy of American adults has increased from 76.4 years in 2021 to 77.5 in 2022.
Muscle mass naturally starts declining in our 30s and 40s. So strength training helps maintain the ability to carry out everyday movements that might seem like second nature when we’re younger, Hurst, the author of “North of Forty,” a book about inspirational older athletes, said. That includes getting in and out of chairs.
Nick Cinea/ Lauren Hurst
Strength training has other benefits, too: A 2022 study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, for instance, found that participants who combined 150 to 300 minutes of cardio with lifting weights once or twice a week were 41 % less likely to die from any cause than their more sedentary peers.
Here’s Hurst’s tips for turning her advice into action.
Have good form and lift heavy enough to challenge yourself
It’s important to learn how to lift weights safely to avoid injury, Hurst said. She advised working with a trainer who can monitor your form and recommend different exercises depending on your individual needs and abilities.
Hurst also said that people should use weights that are challenging enough to actually work and build muscle. Personal trainer Luke Worthington previously told BI that people need to do 12 to 15 reps of each exercise to build muscle.
“You don’t need to be Superman,” Hurst said, “but if you’re using weights that weigh nothing, it’s not going to do a lot.”
Finally, she said to work all the muscle groups. BI previously reported on full-body workouts that can hit all muscle groups, as well as “workout splits” that give different parts of the body time to rest.
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