As more and more studies come out on weight training, I get more excited! 
I know my target market isn’t 65-75 years olds, but I do have a good number of people in this age group that visit this site. But more than that, I want to show you who have 20-50 years before you get to this age bracket, the benefits and power of resistance training. It would be interesting to have seen this study done on a younger group as well.
Things like pilates and yoga are great, but they just don’t substitute for resistance training. There is something that happens to the body when you use challenging weights!
Here is the abstract from the New York Times. Thank you Aimee for sending this to me!
“Older women who did an hour or two of strength training exercises each week had improved cognitive function a year later, scoring higher on tests of the brain processes responsible for planning and executing tasks, a new study has found.
Researchers in British Columbia randomly assigned 155 women ages 65 to 75 either to strength training with dumbbells and weight machines once or twice a week, or to a comparison group doing balance and toning exercises.
A year later, the women who did strength training had improved their performance on tests of so-called executive function by 10.9 percent to 12.6 percent, while those assigned to balance and toning exercises experienced a slight deterioration — 0.5 percent. The improvements in the strength training group included an enhanced ability to make decisions, resolve conflicts and focus on subjects without being distracted by competing stimuli.
Older women are generally less likely than others to do strength training, even though it can promote bone health and counteract muscle loss, said Teresa Liu-Ambrose, a researcher at the Center for Hip Health and Mobility at Vancouver General Hospital and the lead author of the paper, which appears in the Jan. 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine”
-New York Times
OK, that does it! Time for my workout. I would love to be 10% smarter in a year!!
OK, I am interested and willing. But at age 65, what do I do for weight training? I need to start from the beginning. What is your advice?
UW Extension Rock county has a great strong women program for the middle age and up. We meet twice a week for weight lifting and stretch exercises that follow. It is offered in numerous areas in Janesville, Beloit and Milton. It is a very reasonable and a good and fun program. I am not sure how many other counties offer this.
If you remember me from your first Bootcamp Cruise I have one year left in the 65 – 75 age group. I attend bootcamps and kick boxing classes as well as working in considerable weight training. No where near ready for those so-called toning and balance groups. Some of them even exercise in chairs. Wish I could vouch for being brilliant as a result. Some might even testify that I’m a certified dufus. Patty and I wish you and Abby well.
Don,
You and Patty rocked you certainly didn’t show your age and sure rocked on the cruise! You are a great example for me to live by.
Dustin