This is a hard truth that a lot of people don’t want to hear. I haven’t always wanted to hear it either, especially as my own body has changed over the years, and I am an exercise physiologist with more than 15 years of experience.
The body you want. Whatever that body might be.
I am going to talk specifically about “the body” that many of my female clients show me when they first meet with me. It’s usually a picture on their phone. Sometimes it’s even their wallpaper. Sometimes it’s a picture of themselves 20 years ago, and sometimes it’s a fitness model who happens to be 20 years younger than they are. Either way, the message is usually the same: I want to look like this.
And here comes the hard part.
Aging is happening. There isn’t anything any of us can do to stop it. I don’t care how expensive your moisturizer is, what supplements you take, how perfect your diet is or how many wellness gadgets you’ve managed to squeeze into your morning routine. You are aging. I am aging. We are all aging.
But aging and declining are not the same thing.
We can do an enormous amount to influence how we age, how well we move, how strong we remain and how independently we are able to live. And if there is one thing I desperately want more people, especially women, to understand, it’s that strength training needs to be part of that plan.
There is a reason so many of us in exercise science have started referring to strength training as something pretty darn close to the fountain of youth. We cannot stop the clock, but we can give the body a much better chance of handling what comes with it. Muscle strength, muscle mass, bone health, balance, glucose regulation and the ability to continue doing the everyday things that make you independent are all influenced by resistance training.
And before you picture yourself underneath a barbell with six giant plates on it, let’s keep this simple.
The American College of Sports Medicine actually released its first major update to its resistance training recommendations in 17 years earlier this year. Researchers looked at data from more than 30,000 people, and one of the biggest takeaways was refreshingly uncomplicated: consistency beats complexity.
For the average healthy adult, start with this: strength train all of your major muscle groups at least two days per week. That’s it. That is the foundation. You can use dumbbells, machines, resistance bands or your own body weight. You don’t need a fancy gym. You don’t need an advanced training split. You don’t need to train until you collapse onto the floor questioning every decision you’ve made since breakfast.
Now, where you go from there depends on where you’re starting.
If you are a true novice, meaning you have never lifted a weight in your life, your first goal isn’t to lift heavy. Your first goal is to learn how to lift. Start with two days per week and focus on basic movement patterns: squat, push, pull, hinge, carry and core. Pick a manageable resistance that allows you to perform roughly 8 to 12 repetitions with good form. One or two sets is plenty while you’re learning. When that becomes comfortable, gradually add resistance. There is absolutely no prize for destroying yourself during your first week.
If you’ve been strength training consistently for a while, you’re no longer just trying to establish the habit. Now we need progression. Two to four strength sessions per week can work beautifully depending on your schedule and goals. You can add another set, increase the resistance, use more challenging exercises or split your training across different days.
For someone interested in building muscle, ACSM’s updated guidance suggests working toward roughly 10 challenging sets per muscle group across the week. The important part is that your body needs a reason to adapt. If you’ve been curling the same eight-pound dumbbells for three years and could simultaneously answer emails while doing it, we probably need to talk.
And then there is advanced. If you have years of consistent strength training behind you, your program can become more specific to your goals. You may train four or more days per week, use heavier loads, intentionally manage weekly volume and organize training around strength, muscle growth, power or performance.
For maximizing strength, ACSM’s current guidance favors heavier loads, around 80% of your one-repetition maximum or greater, typically for two to three sets per exercise.
But here’s something I really want people to hear: Advanced does not automatically mean complicated. You do not earn extra health points because your workout requires a spreadsheet, three resistance bands and an exercise you saw someone doing while standing upside down on Instagram.
Simple still works.
And maybe that’s the part of aging we need to get better at accepting. The goal doesn’t have to be getting the body you had at 25. Maybe the goal is building the strongest version of the body you have now.
Because the body you want at 40, 50, 60 or 70 might start looking a little different when you really think about what you want it to do. You want a body that can get your suitcase into the overhead compartment. Get up off the floor without needing assistance. Carry groceries into the house. Climb stairs. Travel. Play with your grandchildren. Recover when you stumble instead of falling. Keep living in your own home. Keep doing the things you love without constantly wondering whether your body can handle them.
That body is worth training for.
So keep the picture on your phone if it motivates you. Just understand that the real goal isn’t to freeze yourself at whatever age you thought your body looked best.
We’re not trying to stop aging. We’re training so aging doesn’t stop us.
