A few months ago, I had never so much as lifted a barbell. However, during a stay at Buchinger Wilhelmi Clinic, I attended a life-changing lecture by Felipe Isidro, professor of physical education and CEO of Physical Exercise Health Consulting. That was the day everything changed.
“Who here works out?” Isidro started. “When I say ‘work out,’ I don’t mean normal physical activities like walking, climbing stairs, and carrying shopping bags. I mean ‘exercise,’ which is movement that is both planned and scheduled. I ask, because 7 out of 10 people don’t: that’s 70% of the population.”
Of course, any physical activity is better than none. “But you don’t get the same benefits as with exercise,” Isidro explained. “The ideal, instead, is to combine both—to move more on a daily basis and to set aside specific time for training. In a society that invites us to move less and less with cars, elevators, and escalators, the objective should be to exercise—and, especially, to do strength training.”
Training for longevity, not weight loss
Up until then, I had never thought of the true importance of exercise: I’d only thought of it as a means to an end—to lose weight and, ideally, to look better in my clothes. Although it is true that exercise can help on both accounts, Isidro allowed me to see that neither of those are as important as keeping the body’s muscles and mitochondria healthy for as long as possible. “The mitochondria are like little batteries that produce the energy that impact vitality,” Isidro explained. “When the mitochondria work well, we feel strong; when they deteriorate, we feel fatigued. It’s also difficult to burn fat, even when we diet. Fat does not only accumulate under the skin, but also in organs, viscera, and even in the muscle itself.”
Here, there is no miracle pill—the only “medicine” proven to improve mitochondrial function is exercise, and especially strength training. Just as a cell phone battery lasts for hours when it’s new but loses its ability to hold a charge, the same thing happens with mitochondria—as we age, we may wake up with energy, but feel exhausted by mid-morning. Thus, we must keep our mitochondria as healthy as possible.
Fast twitch fibers and slow twitch fibers
Within the muscle there are slow twitch fibers and fast twitch fibers— slow twitch fibers are responsible for prolonged efforts such as walking; fast twitch fibers are essential for power and speed.
As we age, fast twitch fibers are the first to decline. “Walking improves endurance, but it doesn’t stop the loss of fast twitch fibers. If you don’t train strength, you become sluggish. We see it in older people, who end up walking in short steps because they have lost those fibers. Strength training is the only way to keep them,” Isidro points out. “We gain muscle until the age of 25, maintain it until the age of 35 and, from then on, we start to lose it slowly, accelerating from the age of 50, and even more at the age of 65. There are cases of people in their 70s who maintain the strength of someone sedentary in their 40s or 50s thanks to daily training, proving that this habit can subtract up to 20 years from biological age.”
After all, what you don’t use, you lose. That goes for muscle—but also for bones, the respiratory system, and the pelvic floor. Regular exercise also improves the non-REM phase (deep sleep in which the eyes do not move), and that also decreases with age. Having longer non-REM phases is related to gradual and healthy aging. “Strength training is an investment in health for the future,” Isidro says. “It reduces anxiety and it makes us feel better at all levels. In reality, a healthy body is a perfect body.”
The right amount of strength training
While water is essential for our hydration, too much of it can cause us to drown. Strength training is similar: the proper dosage is key. It’s not about doing it in excess; it’s about doing it right. The right dose, says Isidro, means few repetitions, lots of recovery time, and, above all, not looking to fatigue. “Many people think that, if they don’t get tired, they haven’t trained properly. It’s actually just the opposite. In strength, we’re not looking to exhaust ourselves, we’re looking for quality.” To that end, here are seven points to keep in mind in order to strength train properly, no matter your age or fitness level.
The minimum for adaptation is two days a week, although the ideal scenario would be to progress to three or four with breaks in between—one day on, one day off. You should also do strength before endurance; if you do both on the same day, it’s best to finish with cardio.
If you’re new to working out, it’s best to focus on the legs. They are the largest reservoir of muscle mass in the body and also the quickest to deteriorate. In addition, the legs contain a lot of fast twitch fibers, so training them is vital.
Do reps at a high intensity (quickly) to work the fast twitch fibers. It is recommended to do a few repetitions—half or less of the maximum you can do—to avoid fatigue. “The key is speed and intensity, because that’s what activates the fast fibers through the nervous system,” says Isidro.
Give yourself plenty of time to rest between sets. At minimum, rest time should be one minute, but two or three minutes between exercises is even better. “You’re fully recovered when you can speak and sing, not just utter and grunt monosyllables,” says Isidro.
“It is essential that the exercise be non-exhausting or fatiguing. When you fatigue, you’re working the slow twitch fiber and continuing to lose fast twitch fibers,” says Isidro. “It’s better to do a few exercises well and repeat them a couple of times. Stop before fatigue sets in.”
Start with short workout sessions that last five to 15 minutes. Do them in circuit format, alternating exercises with breaks. “We all have 10 minutes a day if we prioritize. Forget your previous experience—many of us think that exercise should be tiring and painful to work. If we do less, we enjoy it more and see the benefits, creating a positive ripple effect.”
Working the respiratory muscles is also essential, because it improves recovery and endurance. Take long, full breaths, breathing into the diaphragm.
When, where, and how
According to Isidro, the best time to exercise is in the morning. “This stimulates the sympathetic system early, which makes it easier for the parasympathetic system to be stimulated in the evening, improving sleep.” If possible, exercise outdoors, because contact with nature and socialization have a direct effect on health.
You don’t need a full gym to get the benefits. Working out with your own body weight can be really effective. “The important thing is that the exercises are adapted to your fitness level so that you can repeat and maintain them over time,” Isidro says. “And if you can do them in a group or with friends, even better. Socializing motivates, engages, and, as studies show, lengthens life.”
How to test your muscle function
There are several simple tests that can be done at home in order to check our current strength level and to show us where we may need to improve. “The important thing about these tests is not only to know where we are, but also to measure how we are progressing,” notes Isidro. “Sometimes the change is perceived in how we feel, but other times we need objective data, and these are very simple tools that allow us to tangibly see how strength training is helping us improve.” Below, some of those tests:
One useful test is to stand up and sit down five times as fast as possible using just your legs—all you need is a chair and a stopwatch. This test measures the strength of the legs, which is where we have the most muscle and, at the same time, where we usually lose muscle first.
This one combines strength and balance. It involves standing on the non-dominant leg and lifting the other leg. The goal is to maintain posture without using the arms. In people under 50 years of age, it is done with eyes closed, and in older people, with eyes open to prevent falls. The ideal is to balance for at least 45 seconds.
The six-minute endurance test involves walking as fast as possible for six minutes. Walking less than 500 meters indicates poor cardiorespiratory fitness; walking between 500 and 700 meters is acceptable; walking more than 700 is excellent.
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