Hypertrophy for Health
Hypertrophy for Health
As we age we lose the hormonal support necessary to continue building muscle as we did in our younger days. If we’re not steadily working to build muscle the aging process will steadily be working to take it away. The muscular weakness and atrophy associated with aging leaves us more susceptible to disability, accidental falls, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. With this in mind, you should train for hypertrophy with the goal of taking every shred of muscle mass with you into your later years of life.
Stooping, forward bending, kneeling and standing for more than two hours are the four major functional limitations associated with aging. Studies have demonstrated that moderate strength training is negatively correlated with the occurrence of these limitations. With 80% of adults over 50 failing to meet basic strength training guidelines laid out by ACSM it’s increasingly important that we push our aging friends and family to participate in strength training.
Along with improving functional capacity, muscle mass essentially serves as an immune organ improving hormone profile and immune system function. 12 weeks of strength training in elderly adults showed significant decreases in inflammatory markers IL-6 and TLR-4 mRNA.
Men who strength train demonstrate increases in testosterone, improvements in HPA-Axis function and reduction in fat mass. All of these are counter to the negative effects associated with the aging process.
My client Kevin in the video embodies how we should train to preserve optimal function as we age. We focus on the compound lifts like trapbar deadlifts, bench press, pull-ups and split squats to stimulate as much hypertrophy as possible. Additionally, we include aerobic development and daily mobility work to preserve heart, brain and joint function.