Maintaining strength and muscle mass is considered one of the most important factors in healthy aging, but less than 30 percent of adults engage in strength training at least twice a week (generally considered the minimum amount for it to be effective).

One major factor that tends to discourage people from taking up strength training is the perceived complexity and confusion over exactly what they need to do. There’s free weights, machines, resistance bands, bodyweight exercises, etc. and there’s of course “experts” who extol the virtues of each.

Beyond the type of resistance, there’s all sorts of recommended ways to work out and “secret” ways to maximize your gains. You’ll see all sorts of advice regarding sets, reps, speed of movement, range of motion, and numerous other ways to modify how you lift, how much you lift, how frequently you lift, etc.

The reality is, although some modifications in your workouts might make some difference in how effective they are in building strength and muscle mass, the differences are typically relatively small and unimportant for the average person who simply wants to look and feel better. The vast majority of the complexity is unnecessary for all but those who happen to be competitive athletes or fitness models.

Updated recommendations from the American College of Sports Medicine, based on a review of over 130 studies and a combined 30,000 plus participants concluded that by far the most important factor in a strength training regimen for general health and fitness is… consistency.

That’s right – it’s not a fancy machine, nor a specific amount of resistance or number of reps. It’s just doing some form of resistance training averaging at least twice a week.

There were a few other recommendations beyond consistency to maximize strength and muscle mass, but the biggest change comes simply from going from no resistance training to a modest regimen that trains all major muscle groups at least twice per week (three times is better).

Regarding what to do, my suggestion is to start with body weight exercises or resistance tubing/bands, as they are the most economical and can be done quickly and conveniently at home. There’s numerous bodyweight and tubing/band routines on Youtube and other video-sharing sites. A good starting regimen for a beginner might include pushups, crunches or other core exercises, squats, and bicep curls with a make-shift weight (such as a bottle of water). Bodyweight exercises can usually be modified in various ways to lessen resistance if needed. For example, pushups can be done on one’s knees or partially upright with your hands on the walls of a corner and leaning into the corner.

Once some conditioning is achieved, then there’s some relatively simple fine tuning measures that can add to one’s gains. These include doing two to three sets of each exercise to a point of at least mild muscle fatigue (not necessarily muscle failure but at least to where it would be difficult to do much more), as opposed to just one set, using a full range of motion when possible, and using a challenging amount of resistance.

On those last two, I want to add a couple of precautions.

When it comes to full range of motion, some people will be able to do it comfortably, while others won’t. Don’t force your joints past a point of pain. Older individuals often have arthritic conditions that may limit range of motion, especially in the shoulders, hips, and knees. If that’s you, you may still be able to do resistance training involving those joints, but start by doing a given exercise with no resistance (or body weight only) to get an idea of what your relatively pain-free range is and then work in that range with no resistance for at least a few workouts to get an idea of what range you can safely move in.

With regards to the amount of resistance, I agree that you’ll do best to use a challenging amount… eventually! If you have never done resistance training, or it’s been years since the last time you did it, I strongly recommend starting with a very low amount of resistance – something that feels very easy – for at least your first few workouts. You may be surprised at how sore you are the day or two (sometimes more) after your first few workouts even going very easy with the resistance!

Overdoing it, even with resistance that feels “wimpy,” can put you in a world of hurt! I have seen more than one patient who could barely get out of bed after starting an exercise program, so my advice is to err on the side of too little resistance at first. Start slowly, see how it goes, and add resistance gradually until you can do a challenging workout without feeling like you’ve been beat up the next day or day after (the second day is often the worst for soreness after a strength training workout).

Finally, if you are older and/or really out of shape, try to be patient with your body and your results. You can build muscle at any age and although progress may be slow at first, remember that consistency is the real key. Trying to rush things will probably only make you sore and/or subject you to an injury that will slow things down even more, or cause you to abandon strength training altogether. Keep at it, be consistent, gradually increase the amount and/or intensity of your exercise and over time you will benefit!

Until next time…

George F. Best, D.C.