The Importance of Strength Training

Exercise is the most important intervention for our health.  All-cause mortality decreases in all age groups with increasing exercise.  

The graph shows an associated reduction in strokes, heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer and breast cancer when a person exercises for four hours a week on a regular basis. 

Four hours a week appears to be the ideal dose of exercise - the sweet spot in terms of disease prevention! 

BMJ 2016;354:i3857

The Benefits of Exercise and why we need to reframe our attitude…. 

Is Exercise the single most important thing we can do for our Health? 

Yes, it is.  

Exercise helps maintain weight loss, and the benefits are far reaching for mental health, metabolic health, bone health and overall vitality as we age. There are multiple factors behind this, and exercise is probably the single most important health determinant.  

As well as more conventional approaches to exercise, I often talk with clients about the importance of ‘exercise snacking’, finding something you enjoy and being habitually active.  

A half hour run in the morning will not negate the effects of being seated at a desk, but it will help lower disease risk if done regularly. 

Few people are aware that sedentary lifestyles are the ‘smoking’ of our age, the detriment to our health caused being comparable. We need to find creative and personalised ways to keep active during the day. Exercise is an integral tool for managing the effects of the menopause and a plethora of other health issues and lifestyle diseases that affect us all.  

Exercise Lowers Disease Risk 

As well as the conditions discussed in the graph above, exercise helps to prevent the risk of pre-diabetes, Alzheimer’s, auto-immune disease, depression and many other chronic diseases, as well as boosting mood, elevating energy levels and supporting the immune system.  There is also emerging evidence that the gut microbiome is also healthier in those who regularly exercise! Regular exercise and maintaining a healthy weight reduces the risk of all cancers, and it is probably our single most powerful tool in our journey to better health and minimising disease risk.  

The Powerful effect of being Outside 

The combined effect of exercise with nature and fresh air is also powerful, and is part of the reason why people in ‘blue zones’ (areas of the world with the greatest proportion of people living beyond 100) live longer. This is likely due to the complex interplay of our external world, the gut microbiome and the downstream products that gut bacteria produce, and via this and the enteric nervous system improve health and lower stress and anxiety both immediately and in the longer term. Modern lifestyles mean people spend far too much time indoors, which has far reaching negative health consequences, as well as reduced opportunity to produce Vitamin D in our skin from sunlight, essential for health. 

What about bone health? 

Muscles protect bones by strengthening the bones every time they contact, maintaining bone density. This is why regular weight bearing exercise (resistance activities) and strength training is so important in the management and prevention of age related bone loss, osteopenia and osteoporosis as well as general bone health. This is particularly important in women around perimenopause and menopause, and in to older age. Good muscle mass reduces falls risk as we age, and reduces the risk from all-cause mortality as well as fracture risk! 

Why is Muscle Mass so important? 

We should all care about muscle mass, although historically building muscle mass has been seen as a male endeavour, or only for the vain – nothing could be further from the truth! Muscle mass gradually falls after the age of 40, and is essential that we are alert to this, and focus on specifically building muscle. Muscle acts as a natural sponge for carbohydrate when we eat, helping to manage healthy blood glucose levels, prevent insulin resistance, as well as promoting natural testosterone which contributes to vitality and energy levels.  

Why Body Composition rather than Body Mass Index (BMI)? 

As we have highlighted, Muscle mass is a key marker of health, and as this is why body composition is a much better way to look at overall health than BMI, which doesn’t account for muscle mass or visceral fat (fat around the organs). Another reason we should look beyond weight loss, forget our preconceptions and cultural or gender bias, and think of building muscle for overall health as our aim rather than focussing on weight.  

So if you do ONE THING to improve your health this January, to improve your energy levels, metabolism and bones and overall health – choose EXERCISE - incorporating a dedicated focus on strength training and building muscle mass into your weekly routine. 

Dr Lucie Ormerod

January 2024