Weight training can benefit everyone by helping to make them stronger and less likely to develop heart disease and other common ailments, seniors included. Regular resistance exercise can also help minimize the effects of aging and give seniors the strength and energy to continue to lead an active life by building stronger bones and burning extra calories.
Improves Brain Function
The website eScience News cites a study conducted by the Centre for Hip Health and Mobility through Vancouver Coastal Health and the University of British Columbia that shows performing resistance exercises may help minimize the decline of cognitive function in seniors. The study found that training with weights once or twice a week improved the brain function in senior women between 65 and 75 years old. Dr. Teresa Liu-Ambrose noted that the study demonstrated that weight training made the subjects able to "easily handle improved ability to make accurate decisions quickly."
Arthritis
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that strength training for four months decreases pain associated with arthritis by 43 percent while increasing muscular strength among seniors. In addition, the CDC found that resistance training improves the clinical symptoms associated with arthritis and increases physical performance among the elderly.
Restores Balance
Falls among the elderly are a leading cause of broken bones, the CDC reports. Broken and fractured bones can lead to significant disability among the elderly and can even be fatal. Strength training performed throughout the full range of motion increases seniors' balance and flexibility, thereby reducing the chance and injuries associated with falling.
Strengthens Bone
Women that have undergone menopause can lose between one and two percent of bone mass every year. The CDC reports that a study conducted by Tufts University and published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" showed that strength training can help increase bone density and reduce the chance of broken bones in women between 50 and 70 years old.
Healthy Heart
The risk of heart disease decreases as seniors lose fat, the CDC reports. Exercising with weights not only increases muscular strength, it can burn more calories than fat and help with weight loss. The CDC notes that the American Heart Association recommends resistance training as an effective way to reduce the risk of heart disease.
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