Schwarzenegger continues training every day at 78 years old and the fascinating thing is that he is right

At 78 years old, the seven-time Mr. Olympia and the most famous cyborg in the history of cinema continues to faithfully attend his appointment at the gym, as Schwarzenegger acknowledges in an entry on his personal blogwhere he explains that even on days when he has less energy he goes to exercise, something that sums up pretty well with the phrase: “No matter the pain, no matter the weight, every day I achieve a victory.”

It’s a reality. His mentality, forged in the golden age of bodybuilding, might seem like the eccentricity of a Hollywood star who refuses to age. However, behind Schwarzenegger’s weights and pulley machines lies one of the most robust physiological truths of modern medicine: strength training starting at age 70 and 80 is not an aesthetic whim, It is a medical necessity.

Falling into the stereotype that sport is for young people who want to show off having a good body on the beach is real nonsense, because playing sport literally becomes the next prescription for all the benefits it entails. And logically being more or less old here does not at all condition entry to a gym, as science recognizes us.

Inactivity weighs more. To reach old age in better health, you don’t have to invest a lot of money in super expensive supplements or creams to keep your skin firm. And there is a widespread belief that the loss of functional capacity and weakness are inevitable consequences of getting older, but here the National Institute on Aging from the United States is blunt about it: in the vast majority of cases, physical inactivity weighs much more than biological age itself in this deterioration.

One of the great silent enemies of middle age is sarcopenia, which is the gradual loss of muscle mass and strength, and which literally correlates with both quality and life expectancy. And to correct it, the only treatment we have at hand is to do strength training adapted to each person profile, directly improving our ability to perform such everyday tasks as getting up from a chair, walking to the supermarket or carrying shopping bags.

It’s never too late. Another of the great myths that we also have on the table is that you are too old to start exercising, but here the scientific literature reminds us that it is false, since starting late is still (very much) worth it. Here, a study that grouped 121 randomized trials with 6,700 participants showed that progressive strength training improves muscle strength and functional capacity in older people. This resulted in an improvement in autonomy by significantly improving their walking speed and their ability to climb stairs autonomously.

Besides this, a recent systematic review of the Polytechnic University of Madrid on training in older people reported that traditional strength training can achieve improvements in knee extension strength of up to 46%. That percentage, in clinical practice, is the difference between needing a walker or walking on your own.

Beyond the muscle. Strength work is also important for bone formation and combating osteoporosis by reducing several cardiometabolic risk factors. Besides, the Heart Foundation points out that strength work, added to balance and mobility training, is vital to protect against falls. It is not something minor, since in people over 70 years of age a fall is not an accident, but rather it is one of the most serious clinical problems that can drastically reduce life expectancy.

Added to all this is that exercise has been shown to help regulate sleep, improve mood (reducing stress and anxiety) and even protect cognitive function.

Adapted. There is no need to try to emulate Schwarzenegger’s youth records to obtain these benefits, but current medical guidelines agree on a minimum effective dose that is very affordable for almost everyone. In this case, for a person over 70 years old, a reasonable guideline supported by evidence is to train strength at least 2 days per week.

But here you should always adapt the exercise to each person and start with a gentle exercise and gradually increase it. Although you don’t just have to be with the dumbbell in your hand, it should be combined with balance routines, joint mobility and some aerobic work.

Images | Wikipedia Victor Freitas

In Xataka | We have been debating for years whether it is better to go to the gym in the morning or in the afternoon. Physiology finally has the answer