Hello my strong friends,
I can’t believe we still need to get something cleared up.
Strength training – applying force against gravity with resistance – is important for everyone. Literally everyone, regardless of age. Children. Adults, including seniors.
Strength training is progressive overload to heavy weight. But here’s the key: heavy is relative to each individual, proficiency, and within a specific number of repetitions and sets. Strength training involves smart programming, and includes rest.
Strength training is vital for everyone, regardless of age, background, or physical ability. The benefits extend beyond just building muscle and include improved mental well-being, better mobility, and a reduced risk of chronic diseases. For people with disabilities, adaptive strength training can be a powerful tool for increasing independence and quality of life.
You’re more likely to suffer injury from lack of strength, than by strength training. In fact, there are more injuries associated with running and HIIT classes than lifting.
Strong muscles are essential for supporting your skeletal system, stabilizing your joints and bones, and improving your balance and posture, and reducing the risk of fractures if you do hit the ground – whether you’re a cyclist, a runner, doing any sport, or even walking – anyone can fall, and it’s more likely for older people. Falling, and suffering serious fractures is especially common among older people who don’t strength train.
So why doesn’t everyone strength train?
- Skinny culture is back thanks to normalization of weight loss drugs and social media. The multi-billion dollar weight loss industry wins as women lose weight – and lose muscle.
- Belief in absolutes. It’s easy to rely on “experts” (yes, even doctors) who tell people to avoid squats, deadlifts, or pushups, which might confirm what you already believe, or confirm something that you’re afraid of. If you’re dealing with an injury or condition, ask your doctor what you should do instead of what you shouldn’t.
- Fear is a lie. Fear distorts our perception of reality (fear of getting “bulky”), presenting exaggerated or false threats, and preventing us from pursuing goals. It focuses on the negative, creating imagined worst-case scenarios (fear of injury), and makes it hard to recognize our own potential and capability.
Now let’s get specific: Is deadlifting bad?
A podcast has gained traction recently, and not in a good way. The renowned Dr.s Stuart McGill and Peter Attia discussed the topic of deadlifting, and Dr McGill seemed to advise against it. He suggests that deadlifting is not conducive to playing with grandkids (I beg to differ – see photo) and should stop at a certain point in life, which has resulted in misconceptions and misunderstandings leading to the simplistic takeaway that deadlifts are bad.
Deadlifts when executed with proper technique (not “ego lifting”), guided by an experienced coach, are a safe and highly effective exercise for building total-body strength, improving posture, and preventing injuries, and an integral part of a strength training program.
Deadlifts (in basic terminology, “picking stuff up”) are a fantastic core-strengthening, full-body exercise involving grip strength (not just your hands – grip strength is a measure of overall muscle strength and health), legs, back, glutes, and the whole posterior chain.
I love a strong rebuttal!
It was so worth watching the rebuttal of the Attia and McGill podcast with Jonathon Sullivan MD, PhD, SSC, PBC, the founder of Grey Steel, a strength training gym for older adults, a retired physician and neuroscientist.
As you can guess from the name, Grey Steel is focused on strength training for middle-aged and elderly populations as a way to improve function and fight the diseases of aging: sarcopenia, osteopenia and metabolic syndrome. He is co-author of the book, The Barbell Prescription,with a cover photo of a deadlift!
Want to get strong?
I can help you learn all of the ways to train deadlifts, powerlifting, single leg exercises, explosive moves, mobility, so you can keep doing everything you love, including when you’re on your 70s playing with your grandkids on a rope climbing play structure!
Onward~
x Polli
