Strength training strengthens your body, builds muscle mass and enhances overall health, but did you know it can also slow down and even reverse aging?
Many people turn to over-the-counter moisturizers and eye creams to combat visible signs of aging – like wrinkles, sagging skin, dark circles and dryness. If you are concerned about aging and its effects on your skin and overall health, there is another effective solution beyond skincare.
The science of aging and muscle loss
Sarcopenia, the natural loss of muscle mass with age, begins around 30, with a decline of 3% to 5% per decade. This decline in muscle mass and strength is driven by a combination of hormonal changes, decreased protein synthesis and reduced physical activity.
Strength training doesn’t just keep you strong. It also helps you look younger. Building muscle improves posture, tightens the skin by increasing collagen production and reduces the appearance of sagging. If you lose fat and gain lean muscle, your body looks more toned and defined, giving you a more youthful and athletic look. Strength training also boosts circulation, which enhances skin health and gives you a natural, healthy glow. If you focus only on cardio, like many women do, you might lose weight but end up with a softer look instead of building muscle definition and tone.
How strength training rejuvenates your skin and slows aging
A new study on strength training for anti-aging reveals that exercise isn’t just great for your body. It can also help keep your skin looking young. Researchers studied 61 middle-aged Japanese women over 16 weeks to see how aerobic training (AT) and resistance training (RT) affect skin aging.
Both types of exercise improved skin elasticity and structure, but RT had an extra benefit – it made the skin thicker, which helps keep it firm and youthful. RT also boosted certain skin-rejuvenating genes and increased levels of biglycan (BGN), a protein that supports healthy skin. Interestingly, AT and RT influenced hormones and other factors in different ways, showing that each type of exercise plays a unique role in anti-aging. This research highlights RT as a powerful (and often overlooked) way to keep skin looking fresh and youthful.
Strength training and hormonal health
Strength training is great for your hormonal health. It helps improve insulin sensitivity, which keeps blood sugar in check and lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes. It also helps balance hormones like testosterone and estrogen, which tend to drop as we get older. This helps maintain muscle mass and keeps your body toned, preventing the sagging and loss of definition that can come with age.
Strength training and collagen increase
Strength training also helps boost collagen production, which keeps your skin firm and elastic. As you build muscle, your circulation improves, bringing more oxygen and nutrients to your skin, giving it a healthy glow. Over time, strength training can prevent the sagging and loss of definition that often comes with aging, keeping both your body and face looking firmer and more youthful. In the end, strength training isn’t just about getting stronger. It is a great way to look and feel younger as you age.
Strength training and metabolism
Strength training helps increase your metabolism in a few ways. When you lift weights, you burn calories during your workout. The harder you work, the more calories you burn. After your workout, your body also continues to burn extra calories as it recovers. Additionally, strength training builds muscle, and muscle burns more calories than fat. This means that the more muscle you have, the more calories your body will burn, even when you are not working out. So, strength training helps you burn more calories throughout the day even while at rest.
Strength training and better bone density
Strength training helps make your bones stronger. When you lift weights or do exercises that challenge your muscles, it also helps your bones grow stronger. Research has found that strength training can significantly increase bone density, particularly in older adults, which can help reduce the risk of fractures (read more about this study here).
Strength training vs. cardio
Cardio can help you slim down, but too much cardio can make your body look soft and weak, without much muscle. Your face might get thinner, but it can also look more hollow or tired. When people do a lot of cardio, their body can end up looking too thin and lacking strength. On the other hand, strength training helps build muscle, giving your body a more toned and firm shape. It makes you look healthier and more defined. Strength training gives you a strong, fit look, while cardio alone can leave you slim but without much shape.
While cardio can help you lose fat, doing too much can actually be harmful. When you overdo cardio, it puts stress on your body, causing it to release a hormone called cortisol. Too much cortisol can break down muscle, make you feel tired and even make it harder to lose fat. Over time, this chronic stress can lead to problems like low energy, trouble sleeping and a weakened immune system. On the other hand, strength training helps keep cortisol levels in check and helps build muscle, keeping you healthier overall.
Will strength training make women too muscular?
A lot of women worry that lifting weights will make them look too bulky but that is not likely to happen. Women naturally have much less testosterone which is the hormone that helps build big muscles so getting really muscular is very hard without special training or steroids. It is actually insanely hard to build muscle as a woman. Most women also don’t eat enough or lift heavy enough to get really muscular. Instead you will look leaner, stronger and fit.
The top strength training exercises
Ready to begin? Try these strength training exercises. If they’re too easy, add resistance bands, dumbbells or other weights to increase the challenge.
Squats
Targets: Legs, glutes, core
Lunges (forward or walking)
Targets: Quads, hamstrings, glutes, balance
Push-ups
Targets: Chest, shoulders, triceps, core
Bent-over rows
Targets: Upper back, lats, biceps
Deadlifts
Targets: Glutes, hamstrings, lower back, core
Glute bridges
Targets: Glutes, lower back, hamstrings
Overhead shoulder press
Targets: Shoulders, triceps, upper chest
Plank with shoulder taps
Targets: Core, shoulders, stability muscles
Common mistakes to avoid
Overtraining
To build muscle, you need to challenge your muscles and then give them enough time to rest and grow. Overtraining happens when you either push too hard or don’t rest enough. A lot of people think that working out more is always better, but that is not true. Muscles actually grow on rest days, not while you are exercising. If you dont give your body time to recover, you might feel tired, weak or even get injured. Balance between workout and rest is the key to making real progress.
Focusing too much on isolation exercises and neglecting functional movements
To get stronger and see results, you need to make the most of your workout time. A common mistake is doing too many isolation exercises, like bicep curls, and not enough compound exercises, like squats and deadlifts. Compound exercises work multiple muscles at once, helping you build strength faster, burn more calories, and move better in daily life.
Isolation exercises still matter, especially for fixing muscle imbalances, but they shouldn’t be the main focus. A good rule is to do two or three compound exercises for every isolation exercise. Also, start your workout with compound moves while you have the most energy.
FAQs: Strength training for anti-aging
Should I skip cardio if weight training improves my metabolism?
No, you shouldn’t skip cardio, even if weight training boosts your metabolism. Cardio helps improve your VO2 max, which is your body’s ability to use oxygen efficiently. This is important for heart health, endurance and overall fitness. You don’t have to do long sessions. Just 15 minutes of high-intensity training (HIIT) or moderate cardio is enough to get the benefits.
How many times a week should I do strength training for the best results?
For the best results in strength training, aim for 2-3 sessions a week. Make sure to target all major muscle groups and give your body enough time to recover between workouts.
Do I have to lift weights to build strength?
No, you can get stronger without using weights. Bodyweight exercises and other types of resistance training are great ways to build strength and improve endurance. Moves like push-ups, squats, lunges and pull-ups use your own body weight to help you get stronger and build muscle. But if you get to the point when these exercises start to feel too easy, it is a good idea to add weights to keep improving your strength.
Conclusion: Strenght training for anti-aging and longevity
In conclusion, strength training is a great way to slow down aging and live a longer, healthier life. It helps build muscle, improve posture, and keep your bones strong. It also has benefits for your skin, making it firmer and more youthful by boosting collagen and improving blood flow. Strength training helps balance your hormones, speeds up your metabolism, and keeps your body looking toned and defined, preventing sagging as you age.
