Do the 30 second power test
If you want to stay healthy as you age, experts say you should keep moving with a mix of cardio, strength and balance training. But there is another crucial element that doesn't get as much attention. It gives you the ability to throw a heavy garbage bag into a can or lift a suitcase into an overhead bin.
It's called strength, and it's never too early (or too late) to start using it.
Experts define strength as the ability to exert force quickly – using fast-twitch muscle fibers in short, explosive bursts. With force you can sink into a chair, with force you can get back up. If you stumble and stumble, the force allows you to recover quickly and avoid a fall.
Two years ago, Beverly Coleman, a 71-year-old bridal shop employee in Lexington, Kentucky, noticed her declining strength as she struggled to hoist a 25-pound bag of dog food over the threshold into her home. “I would have to drag them in or ask my son for help,” she said.
Like strength, power is a “use it or lose it” ability that can quickly disappear. While strength declines approximately 1 to 3 percent annually after age 55 if you do not strength train, strength disappears at a rate that almost double That.
“Often we don't realize until we've lost power,” says Ali Hartman, a North Carolina physical therapy doctor who works with seniors.
Dustin Jones, a physical therapy doctor from Kentucky, said that when you lose strength, single tasks often feel exhausting. If you have trouble running up a flight of stairs or can't quickly hit a curb at a busy intersection, that's a lack of strength.
But with the right exercises you can prevent this – or restore the lost strength. And depending on your fitness level, you can make significant progress as small as a month or two.
Take the power test.
How do you know if you are losing strength? One of the most proven ways to tell that is the sit-stand test, which also measures fall risk. Sit on a chair with your back straight and no armrests and cross your arms over your chest, resting your hands on your shoulders, with your feet flat on the floor. Start a timer for 30 seconds and count how many times you can go from sitting to standing.
Men over 65 should be able to do twelve or more; women over 65 should do 11 or more. If you score below that, you may have little wealth.
Although there is no defined standard for younger adults, a study suggested that men under 60 should be able to complete at least 17 reps and women 15.
Building strength can happen quickly, but requires weights.
If your score indicates that you have less strength than you should, it is important to build it back up. And it doesn't have to take too long. (Here's a workout to build strength.)
Ms Colman eventually started taking fitness classes for the over-55s. Strength can be built with bodyweight exercises alone, but maintaining or increasing strength almost always requires the use of weights. In Ms. Coleman's case, that meant starting small: She used five-pound dumbbells to master moves like shreds, and an 18-pound empty barbell for deadlifts. She then steadily increased the weights.
It wasn't long before she could climb five flights of stairs without stopping, while a single flight of stairs once challenged her. After a few months, that same bag of dog food she had struggled to drag into the house felt “like a loaf of bread,” Ms. Coleman said. “On my birthday, about six months later, I lifted 105 pounds in the gym.”
The idea of lifting, pushing and pulling heavy weights makes many people, especially those new to fitness, nervous. But with consistency and starting gently, it is not only possible, but crucial.
In fact, “underdosing” Lifting weights is more threatening to your quality of life than avoiding weights, said Dr. Jones. “If we treat older adults with kid gloves and assume that they cannot handle certain movements and weights, we open the door to further decline.”
Starting light is fine, says Dr. Ronald E. Michalak, a New Hampshire orthopedic surgeon. “But if you don't go from there, you won't be able to achieve what you need.”
Coleman continues her lessons, and now her life includes activities such as hiking, kayaking and even running at the senior games. “I was terrified when I started, but now I help others lift heavy things at Sam's Club.”
“It doesn't take much to build power,” said Dr. Michalak, “but you have to be consistent and stick with it for the rest of your life.”
Amanda Loudin is a freelance health and science writer.