\u201cI said, \u2018You know what? I cannot save my dad, I cannot fix this, but I can hopefully empower other people to not only develop their body, but also protect against disease.\u201d <\/p>\n
For this reason, he became a personal trainer, choosing to specialise in strength training<\/a> due to the emerging research around its benefits for both body and brain. Since then, further studies have cemented this training method\u2019s status as a top option for those looking to exercise for health, longevity<\/a> and maintaining physical function. <\/p>\n This is why it is believed by many, Matranga among them, to be the most important type of exercise you can do to live well into your later years. Read on to find out more about the science-backed benefits, and how to get started. <\/p>\n First things first: all exercise is good<\/p>\n Just because strength training is framed as \u201cthe best\u201d here, that doesn\u2019t mean other types of exercise are without merit. Any physical activity you do is highly likely to provide myriad benefits \u2013 movement truly is medicine. <\/p>\n A 2011 study published in The Lancet <\/a>monitored the medical screenings of 416,175 people over the course of 12 years, then split participants into one of five activity level groups: inactive, low, medium, high or very high. <\/p>\n Those in the low activity group completed an average of roughly 15 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per day, but this accessible figure still saw them record a three-year longer life expectancy than those in the inactive group.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery additional 15 minutes of daily exercise beyond the minimum amount of 15 minutes a day further reduced all-cause mortality by 4 per cent and all-cancer mortality by 1 per cent,\u201d the study states. <\/p>\n Moderate-intensity exercise is any form of activity that elevates your heart rate and has you breathing harder, but still allows you to hold a conversation \u2013 be that strength training, walking, running, cycling or otherwise. <\/p>\n Strength training, however, has a whole host of bonus benefits that make it a wise use of your time \u2013 particularly when viewed through a longevity lens. <\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Strength training can help maintain physical and mental function as you age (Getty\/iStock)<\/p>\n Read more: I\u2019m a trainer specialising in longevity \u2013 these are the five changes that have the biggest impact on my clients<\/a><\/p>\n The bonus benefits of strength training, especially as you age<\/p>\n Sarcopenia and dynapenia refer to the age-related loss of muscle mass and muscle strength or function. According to a review <\/a>published in the Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care, \u201cmuscle mass decreases by approximately 3 to 8 per cent per decade after the age of 30, and this rate of decline is even higher after the age of 60\u201d. <\/p>\n Further possible effects of sarcopenia and dynapenia include an increased risk of falls and reduced physical capacity, as well as a consequent increase in fat mass, decreased bone density, increased joint stiffness and \u201cincreased incidence of insulin resistance in the elderly\u201d, the review later adds. <\/p>\n \u201cAll these changes have probable implications for several conditions, including type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease and osteoporosis,\u201d it concludes. <\/p>\n Strength training, which bolsters muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments while also improving balance, coordination and heart health, is the natural antidote. <\/p>\n The Live Active Successful Ageing study, published in the British Medical Journal Open Sport and Exercise Medicine<\/a> journal in 2024, explored the long-term effects of strength training \u2013 otherwise known as resistance training \u2013 on adults at retirement age. <\/p>\n Hundreds of participants were placed in one of three groups: those put through a year of supervised resistance training with heavy loads (relative to the individual\u2019s strength level), those tasked with completing regular moderate-intensity training, and a non-exercising control group. <\/p>\n Four years on, 369 participants returned for an assessment \u2013 the average age was 71 years, and 61 per cent were women. Those who lifted heavy weights still had higher strength levels then before they started the programme, whereas the other two groups saw a decrease. They also maintained higher levels of lean body mass (or muscle) than the other two groups. <\/p>\n The study concluded: \u201cIn well-functioning older adults at retirement age, one year of heavy resistance may induce long-lasting beneficial effects by preserving muscle function.\u201d<\/p>\n Another 2023 study published in the GeroScience<\/a> journal linked twice-weekly strength training sessions, performed for 12 weeks, to positive effects on cognitive health in adults aged between 60 and 80. <\/p>\n It states: \u201cFindings suggest that resistance training seems to elicit alterations in various neurometabolites that correspond to exercise-induced \u2018preservation\u2019 of brain health, while simultaneously having its beneficial effect on augmenting muscle functional characteristics in older adults.\u201d<\/p>\n In short: it\u2019s good for both your mind and body, helping maintain physical and mental function as you age. <\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Strength training can be performed in the gym or at home with minimal equipment \u2013 as long as you find a way to make it adequately challenging for your fitness levels (Getty\/iStock)<\/p>\n Read more: Four science-backed ways to make your daily walk even better for your health<\/a><\/p>\n How to start strength training<\/p>\n Whatever age you are, and whatever age you start, strength training will deliver significant benefits if performed correctly. To illustrate this point, Matranga spins his camera around during our Zoom interview to reveal a woman in her eighties performing textbook Romanian deadlifts in his fitness studio. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s actually unbelievable what she can do \u2013 it\u2019s not normal, but it\u2019s normal for us here,\u201d he tells me. \u201cIt still blows my mind. We\u2019re seeing all of this research that\u2019s just now coming out, and I think, \u2018Hey, if you want samples of well-ageing adults, they\u2019re right here in the gym.\u2019 I feel like the research is starting to echo what I\u2019ve been seeing for a long time, so I really want to encourage more people to start strength training.\u201d<\/p>\n Rather than jumping straight into a hardcore training plan, he recommends starting with one or two full-body sessions per week<\/a> \u2013 \u201cYou\u2019re only going to make progress equal to the amount of work you can recover from, and a new exerciser can\u2019t recover from an advanced routine. We want to start at a level that is appropriate for our fitness level, and it only takes two days a week to change your life.\u201d<\/p>\n Workouts can take as little as 20 minutes and comprise just four moves, Matranga adds. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re a novice, you can go into the gym and do a pushing exercise and a pulling exercise [like a chest press and a bent-over row] for your upper body, something like a squat<\/a> for the front of your legs, something like a deadlift<\/a> for the back of your legs, and then you can walk away after four exercises having trained every single muscle in your body,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n To begin with, you can use the workout below twice per week to work your whole body with just a couple of dumbbells. Practice the exercises without weights at first to reinforce favourable form, then work up to a weight that challenges you when completing the target number of repetitions. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Exercise<\/p>\n Sets<\/p>\n Repetitions<\/p>\n Rest between sets<\/p>\n Goblet squat<\/p>\n 2-3<\/p>\n 12-15<\/p>\n 60 seconds<\/p>\n Romanian deadlift<\/p>\n 2-3<\/p>\n 12-15<\/p>\n 60 seconds<\/p>\n Dumbbell overhead press or press-up<\/p>\n 2-3<\/p>\n 12-15<\/p>\n 60 seconds <\/p>\n Single-arm dumbbell row<\/p>\n 2-3<\/p>\n 12-15<\/p>\n 60 seconds<\/p>\n The key pillars of successful strength training<\/p>\n It is helpful to work with a trainer when you first start strength training. This can allow you to perfect your form for each exercise \u2013 like any physical activity, lifting weights is a skill that needs to be learned. <\/p>\n Beyond this, there are a few fundamentals that need to be present for this pursuit to be successful. <\/p>\n Consistency: The body adheres to the SAID principle, which stands for specific adaptations to imposed demands. Put simply, it adapts to become better at the things we consistently ask it to do. Lifting weights sends a clear signal that we need stronger muscles, bones, ligaments and tendons, among other positive physical adaptations, but it needs to be done regularly to maintain this message. One or two times per week is a good place to start. <\/p>\n Challenge: To provide a stimulus sufficient for triggering positive changes, strength training has to be somewhat challenging. After all, if an activity feels easy, why would the body need to adapt when it\u2019s already up to the task? <\/p>\n This doesn\u2019t mean you need to lift incredibly heavy weights \u2013 \u201cchallenging\u201d is a term relative to the individual. Instead, experiment to find exercises, weights and target numbers of repetitions that cause you to feel the \u201cburn\u201d in the target muscle, Matranga advises. Alternatively, you can perform repetitions until your muscles tire to the point that you are forced to involuntarily slow down your movements. Always stop short of the point when your technique breaks down, however. <\/p>\n Progression: Doing the same workout, week in, week out, will initially deliver benefits for beginners \u2013 because they are new to strength training, they need less stress to trigger adaptations. But progress will soon plateau. <\/p>\n To see continued results, progressive overload<\/a> is needed. This refers to the process of gradually and incrementally increasing the difficulty of your workouts in line with your improving strength and fitness levels. The easiest ways to do this are increasing the weight you\u2019re lifting, upping the repetitions you\u2019re performing per set or raising the number of sets you complete of an exercise. <\/p>\n For example, if the workout above starts to feel easy, the following week you could add a couple of kilograms to the dumbbells, aim for 20 repetitions per set rather than 15, or perform four sets of each exercise rather than three. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Read more: A personal trainer set out to learn everything he could about fat loss \u2013 this was his most important finding<\/a><\/p>\n What benefits can you expect to see after a few months of strength training?<\/p>\n \u201cThe first thing you\u2019re going to notice is improved energy and perception of energy,\u201d says Matranga. \u201cYou\u2019re going to feel like you have more juice. <\/p>\n \u201cYou will definitely notice you have more speed, power and balance in your movement too. I\u2019m not saying you will be a freak athlete, but you will be able to get off the sofa easier and walk a little quicker.\u201d<\/p>\n These are the first impacts of strength training that his clients tend to report. They are soon followed by tangible changes to their bodies, both inside and out. <\/p>\n \u201c[With an appropriate diet] you might start to see changes \u2013 typical results with strength training are weight loss, of course, but also changes in muscularity,\u201d Matranga continues. <\/p>\n \u201cGlutes could be lifted, arms might be more toned or pecs might be firmer \u2013 the things a lot of us are looking for aesthetically. <\/p>\n \u201cThen after a few months, that\u2019s when we can start to see real health improvements like better regulated blood sugar, better regulations of blood lipids, better bone density, better blood pressure and better heart health too.\u201d<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Performed correctly, the squat recruits all major lower body muscles (Alamy\/PA)<\/p>\n![\"Strength](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/iStock-1832639811.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Strength](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Progressive-overload-is-the-key-to-successful-strength-training-a-personal-trainer-explains-how-you..jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Performed](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/16115415-b6dded2d-d35e-4aa8-98bf-06a0e7da68d2.jpg\")
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