If you’re wondering how to maintain your strength as you age, Dr Vonda Wright has a refreshingly simple formula.
When asked whether there was an ideal way to build and maintain muscle as we get older – including how often to train and how many reps to do – the double board-certified orthopaedic surgeon and healthy-ageing expert shared her recommendation.
‘The minimum, if we’re really working at it, is a couple of days a week progressively lifting,’ she said on The Diary of a CEO.
Progressive overload simply means gradually making an exercise more challenging over time – whether that’s by increasing the weight, performing more repetitions or reducing your rest periods.
Dr Vonda Wright’s strength training formula for women over 50
Dr Wright then shared the rep range she believes is most effective once you’ve built a solid strength base.
‘For men in midlife, it’s about 8 reps for 4 sets. For women – once we’ve trained to the place we can lift heavy – four reps for four sets,’ she said.
The reason? As women go through menopause, falling oestrogen levels reduce one of the body’s natural signals for maintaining muscle.
‘What we’re trying to do by lifting heavier, especially for women, is replace the anabolic stimulus [the signal to repair and build tissue, including muscle] that oestrogen was,’ she explained.
Indeed, oestrogen plays an important role in maintaining muscle mass. As levels decline during menopause, lifting heavier weights can help provide the mechanical stimulus needed to continue building and preserving muscle.
‘Oestrogen creates growth, so we must signal our body by the intensity of our work to build muscle through heavy lifting,’ she said.
Importantly, Dr Wright stresses it’s never too late to start.
‘There is never an age or skill level when our body will not respond to the strategic stress you put on it,’ she reassured listeners.
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Why lifting heavier weights builds strength
Dr Wright also explained why heavier weights and lower reps serve a different purpose to lighter weights and higher reps.
‘Using smaller dumbbells but…more repetitions will function for hypertrophy – bigger total muscle – but not necessarily power and strength,’ she said.
For healthy ageing, however, power matters just as much as muscle size.
‘I’m interested in [whether] I can move powerfully over time. Can I get up off the floor? Can I lift my suitcase above my head?’ she explained.
‘So [the formula for] lifting for power is lower reps, higher weights. I do…4 reps for 4 sets of big weights.’
5 reasons muscle matters for healthy ageing
According to Dr Wright, building muscle isn’t just about getting stronger in the gym. It benefits almost every system in the body.
1. It helps prevent insulin resistance
Muscle is one of the body’s main storage sites for glucose.
Insulin helps muscles absorb glucose from the bloodstream and store it as glycogen. Healthy muscle tissue is therefore more responsive to insulin, making muscle building ‘a key factor in preventing insulin resistance’, she says.
2. It helps you stay independent
Strong muscles help you stay upright, maintain your independence and reduce your risk of falls, fractures and broken bones as you age.
3. It releases the ‘longevity protein’
When muscles contract, they release Klotho, which Dr Wright describes as ‘the longevity protein’.
Research suggests Klotho plays an important role in ageing and the development of age-related diseases.
4. It supports brain health
Muscle contraction also releases galanin – a peptide involved in brain function.
According to Dr Wright, galanin may help support resilience and problem-solving.
5. It supports a healthy metabolism
Finally, muscle releases the hormone irisin, which helps convert white fat into more metabolically active brown fat that burns energy.
One of our most frequently asked questions here at Women’s Health? How to build muscle and burn fat at the same time. So, we asked superstar trainer Oyinda Okunowo exactly how to do it. In this 4-week plan – created exclusively for Women’s Health COLLECTIVE members – you’ll get the workouts and nutrition guidance needed to help you on your way to better body composition. Tap the link below to unlock 14 days of free access to Oyinda’s plan and start training today.
