By Rita La Rosa Loud, B.S.  

There are countless reasons older adults should engage in some form of resistance exercise. During the aging process, muscle loss occurs and is accompanied by a variety of health issues (sarcopenia, metabolic rate reduction, fat gain, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, bone loss, and all-cause mortality). Fortunately, strength exercise is recognized as an effective activity to achieve and sustain healthy body weight, body composition (muscle/fat ratio), and fitness level over time.
Reasons to strength train
Without regular resistance exercise, aging leads to two issues: A loss of five to seven pounds of muscle per decade and a gain of 15-17 pounds of fat per decade. Hence, less muscle leads to a reduction in metabolism, which is by and large responsible for fat weight gain. As strength training builds muscle, it also increases your resting metabolic rate, which allows you to burn calories all day long, even when you are not exercising. Indeed, building muscle with strength training in effect ensures fat loss!
Westcott strength training studies
The good news is that resistance exercise requires little time to fit into your daily routine. Roughly speaking, 20-25 minutes of circuit-style strength training performed twice weekly can do the job! In our large 10-week study, we found that 1,600 younger and older adults increased muscle mass by more than three pounds after doing only one set of 12 resistance machine exercises, with no significant differences between the age groups (Westcott et al., 2009). We also conducted a 24-week study using the same basic resistance training exercises resulting in approximately six pounds of lean muscle (Westcott, et al., 2008). Thank goodness, resistance exercise can rebuild muscles at any age.
Circuit-style strength training
A circuit strength workout requires 20-60 seconds of brief recovery between consecutive strength exercises. With this high-effort training approach, more calories burn, a product of the anaerobic/aerobic energy systems that require additional energy renewal post-workout. In other words, you get more bangs for your buck!
The strength-circuit exercises
To build a strong musculoskeletal system, our comprehensive circuit strength machine-based program includes all major muscle groups of the upper and lower body. Simply put, front/rear thighs and buttocks (leg extension/leg curl/leg press), inner/outer thighs (abduction/adduction), chest (chest press), upper back (mid row and pulldown) and shoulders (shoulder press), front arms (biceps curl) and rear arms (triceps extension), lower back (lower back extension), midsection (abdominal curl), and torso (rotary torso).
Research clearly has established that resistance exercise can help prevent fat gain and muscle loss to which inactive (sedentary) aging adults are subject. More importantly, the increase in lean mass (muscle) and decrease in adipose tissue (fat) experienced by physically active older adults who regularly participate in resistance training reduces their risk of age-related health challenges like diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease.
Quincy College’s Wayne Westcott, Ph.D. Center for Health and Fitness
If you are seeking a supervised, time-efficient, comprehensive, safe, and effective circuit strength training program to help improve your body composition, that also includes flexibility, endurance, and functional exercise, call 617-405-5978. We are located at Presidents Place, 1250 Hancock St., Quincy. Street parking and a garage are available.
About the Author: Rita La Rosa Loud holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology with additional education in Sports Medicine and Athletic Training. She is NASM Certified and has been actively involved in the fitness industry for more than 35 years. She is also an author and writes fitness-related articles for various publications. Currently, she is a fitness researcher and directs the Wayne Westcott, Ph.D. Center for Health and Fitness at Quincy College. She can be reached at 617-405-5978.