Resistance training: How to stay strong as you age

Do you feel like your muscles are shrinking or getting weaker? Many people gradually lose muscle mass as they get older. And this leads to an increased risk of falls, osteoporosis, and fractures. 

When it comes to your muscles, it’s a case of use them or lose them. But what is the most effective way to use our muscles and maintain strength? Ex-bodybuilder and professor of exercise science Brad Schoenfeld tells us how. And it’s easier than you might think!

In today’s episode of ZOE Science & Nutrition, Jonathan and Brad ask: How can you maintain muscle mass as you age? 

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Timecodes:

00:00 - Introduction 

1:25 - Quickfire round

2:38 - How do our muscles work

3:01 - Why are muscles important for our health

5:15 - The loss of muscles and how to prevent it

8:19 - Resistance training - How it builds muscles

11:24 - Nutrition and muscle growth

13:01 - How muscle growth changes with age

17:45 - Resistance training vs Cardio

20:20 - How to do resistance training

28:11 - No time to exercise?

30:28 - What weight to train with

36:10 - How menopause affects muscle maintenance

41:13 - Summary and outro

Mentioned in today’s episode: 

• Effects of resistance training on muscle size and strength in very elderly adults from Sports Medicine
• Strength and hypertrophy adaptations between low- vs. high-load resistance Training from The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research

Episode transcripts are available here.

Is there a nutrition topic you’d like us to explore? Email us at podcast@joinzoe.com, and we’ll do our best to cover it.