The Steep Price of Waiting: Why Starting Resistance Training Now Matters
We all dream of gracefully ageing with vim and vigour intact, freedom preserved, and actively loving retirement. Yet so many procrastinate implementing the lone proven strategy to realise that vision – resistance training.
When’s the optimal time to commence resistance training? Is it ever “too late” to begin? What’s the real cost of deferring until your later years when all decline appears inalterable? These questions have crossed your mind, worrying you may have erred by ignoring strength training for so long.
I’m here to declare it’s never “too late” to embark on resistance training. Some benefits can still be acquired even initiating in your 70s or 80s. However, starting decades earlier permits the compound gains of training to amass exponentially greater rewards over time.
Consider resistance training akin to investing for retirement. The sooner and more consistently you invest time lifting weights, the greater your returns in the form of a functionally younger body and mind.
Still not convinced it’s urgent to start strength training now? Let’s explore what delaying it can cost you and the benefits of starting now:
Muscle Wasting Begins Shockingly Sooner Than You’d Think
Ever heard of “sarcopenia”? It’s the medical term for age-related muscle loss. Research exposes it starts as early as 30 without resistance exercise. Adults 30-59 were found to shed 3-5% of their muscle mass every decade when sedentary.
On paper, 3-5% a decade may seem negligible. But contemplate the compounding effect over the years. Losing 5% of your muscle each decade means by 60, you’ve already forfeited over 15% of the muscle you had in youth. These losses accelerate further as you age. Worried about potential muscle wasting yet?
Let’s conduct a quick thought experiment:
Picture you are 40 years old and haven’t strength-trained once in the past decade. How much precious muscle mass have you already surrendered compared to your 30-year-old self?
Now imagine fast-forwarding to 80 years old, never having lifted a single weight during all that time. What state do you think your muscles will be in by then?
Not an inspiring image right? This insidious siphoning of your muscles bit by bit is the danger of postponing resistance training, even in your 30s and 40s. Time is silently pilfering your vital muscles while you remain oblivious.
Now contemplate this inspirational quote from prominent fitness researcher Dr. Wayne Westcott:
“Weight training literally turns back the clock on ageing.”
Resistance training provides the key to rewinding that clock by reconstructing any muscle already lost. But the effect amplifies exponentially the earlier you start. Don’t believe the fiction you can compensate for a lifetime of inactivity with a last-ditch crash course in lifting.
Rebuilding muscle progressively becomes more challenging as you age. While superior to never starting at all, you will rue not beginning decades earlier. Let’s examine why:
Consider resistance training akin to investing for retirement. The sooner and more consistently you invest time lifting weights, the greater your returns in the form of a functionally younger body and mind.
Consequences of Muscle Loss Compound Steadily Over Years
It’s difficult to detect incremental muscle loss annually. But the effects compound insidiously over years and decades:
- Reduced mobility – Daily tasks require greater exertion and feel more strenuous with less muscle strength. Rising from a chair or climbing stairs becomes challenging. Balance and coordination deteriorate.
- Difficulty with daily activities – Envision struggling to hoist your luggage into the overhead bin when travelling. Or huffing and puffing up a few flights of stairs. As muscles weaken, once simple activities transform into ordeals.
- Increased injury risk – Frail muscles cannot react quickly enough to catch a loss of balance. Falls become more probable, resulting in broken bones, head injuries, and even death.
- Loss of independence – As you lose the capacity to care for yourself, moving to an assisted living facility becomes the sole option. This represents a tragic premature loss of autonomy.
- Frailty and early death – Severe muscle loss instigates “frailty”, a condition where your body lacks any strength reserves. This vulnerability to any stressors significantly elevates mortality risk.
Contemplate this question as you read this:
How might preserving your muscle mass over decades save you from one day contending with these consequences?
Now recognize that resistance training not only prevents muscle loss but can rebuild any muscle already ceded. A lifeline is being extended to restore your abilities, health, and independence. But you must seize the opportunity sooner rather than later.
Additional Benefits Beyond Maintaining Muscle Mass
While retaining muscle mass is a prime benefit, strength training provides several other longevity-boosting effects, such as:
- Improved bone density – The mechanical forces of lifting weights activate bone remodelling and enhanced mineralization. This strengthens bones and hinders osteoporosis.
- Augmented metabolism – Resistance training incinerates calories and elevates your resting metabolism through constructing metabolically active muscle mass. This assists in managing healthy body weight and body fat levels.
- Reduced chronic disease risk – Lifting weights enhances heart health by lowering blood pressure and cholesterol while decreasing inflammation.
- Boosted mental health – Releasing stress during a workout and the consequent euphoric feeling leads to reduced anxiety and improved self-esteem over time.
Make no mistake – resistance training is as much an investment in your enduring physical and mental health as in your physique and appearance. But as with any investment, these diverse rewards mandate decades of compounding interest, not fleeting “get fit quick” schemes.
Have you permitted your prime decades for constructing health capital to pass by unused? While not ideal, starting strength training today with a “better late than never” mindset can still provide tremendous benefits.
It’s Not Too Late to Start Investing In Your Future Self
Now for the encouraging news. While an early start optimizes rewards, taking up resistance training even later in life can still yield improvements:
- Benefits start promptly – Research proves people starting resistance training even in their 70s-90s exhibited substantial increases in strength, mobility, bone density and overall function.
- It’s about consistency – The key is simply to start anywhere, any place, and persevere. Even 2-3 sessions per week can return dramatic rewards if maintained over time. Consistency catalyses gains.
- Adjust volume step-wise – Beginners should start with lighter weights, lower volume and higher reps to prevent injury. But progress load and volume gradually as the body adapts.
- Cardio can’t replace weights – Aerobic exercise provides cardiovascular benefits but cannot replicate the musculoskeletal benefits of strength training. Resistance training is uniquely essential to preserve muscle and bone.
I won’t pretend it will be easy. But looking back in 10 years, how will you feel if you don’t commit today? Give your future self the gift of a functionally younger body for life.
If stair climbing already tires you out now, how do you think you’ll fare in your 90s? Use this dose of reality as motivation to commence.
It boils down to this – is battling to maintain your mobility, independence, and active lifestyle into your twilight years worth 2-3 hours a week lifting weights? Would you exchange that time investment for a functionally younger body and mind for years to come?
Your Wake-Up Call to Take Action Now
To recap
- Muscle loss starts as early as 30 without resistance exercise. By 80, you may have forfeited over 30% of the muscle you had in youth.
- Lost muscle means reduced mobility, difficulty with daily tasks, higher injury risk, loss of independence, and shortened lifespan.
- Lifting helps reclaim lost muscle at any age, but earlier consistency provides exponentially greater rewards long-haul.
- Additional benefits like stronger bones, fat loss, disease protection, and mental health gains also compound over decades of training.
- Consistency is paramount. Start light, progress carefully, and focus on longevity.
Don’t take even one more day for granted. Every rep done now is an investment in your future self. Compound gains require time. Now that you grasp the cost of waiting, take action! Your future self will thank you for it.
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