Studies show lifting weights strengthens your chances for a longer life.
By Dedrick Henry
The fountain of youth has always been here, but we did not realize it. Studies show that not only does progressive resistance training (PRT) aid our day-to-day as we get older but also increases our life span.
PRT is defined as a type of exercise where participants exercise their muscles against some type of resistance that is progressively increased as their strength improves. Examples of PRT movements are free weights, exercise machines, and elastic bands.
The Cochrane Library published a study of 121 clinical trials on a total of almost 7000 aging participants that produced the following results.:
- a large improvement in muscle strength
- a moderate to large improvement in doing simple activities such as getting up from a chair or climbing stairs (which reduces potential for falls and fractures-major causes of disability for older people).
- a small but statistically significant improvement in doing complex daily activities, such as bathing or preparing a meal.
- after PRT, people had less pain from osteoarthritis.
Another study conducted by the Penn State College of Medicine concluded a decrease in death risks by PRT. Their survey was conducted on those aged 65 and older, over a 15 year period. Their results were as follows:
- The few that trained, less than 10 percent, were almost 50% less likely to die during the study than those that didn't.
- After adjusting for BMI, chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension, and habits like total physical activity, drinking, and smoking, lifting was linked to a 19 percent reduced risk of death.
The older we get, the more we're looking for the fountain of youth. PRT might just be the answer.
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Richard HENRY
I agree totally with this article. I have worked out lifting weights all my life and taught Aerobic for six years so when I came down with prostate cancer I was able to take the maximum treat to kill the cancer. This was because of my physical condition and strength from exercising. The doctors gave me the treatment that they would usually give three different people so that they killed all the cancer in my body. The treatment was so intense that it may have killed a person in less physical condition; you see when the treatment kills cancer cells it also kills health cells.. I continue to encourage young people to exercise continuously so that when a health crisis occur in there bodies they can sustain the most effective cure. Also, through exercise their quality of life is increased to the maximum.