Adults who do not train lose between 5-7 pounds of muscle every decade. Although endurance exercise improves our cardiovascular fitness, it does not prevent the loss of muscle tissue. Only strength exercise maintains our muscle mass and strength throughout our mid-life and senior years.

During the past few years more and more studies have shown that sensible strength training produces many health and fitness benefits especially for older adults. Key research studies, such as those conducted at Tufts University, the University of Maryland and the South Shore YMCA, have provided a wealth of data on the positive physiological responses to basic programs of strength exercise. Based on presently available research, consider the following thirteen reasons why every older adult should perform regular strength exercise.

Most adults do not perform , they need to first replace the muscle tissue that has been lost through inactivity. Fortunately, research shows that a standard strength training program can increase muscle mass by about 3 pounds over an 8-week training period. This is the typical training response for men and women who do 25 minutes of strength exercise 2 or 3 days per week, and represents an excellent return on a time-efficient investment.

Research reveals that adding 3 pounds of muscle increases our resting metabolic rate by 7 percent, and our daily calorie requirements by 15 percent. At rest, a pound of muscle requires about 35 calories per day for tissue maintenance, and during exercise muscle energy utilization increases dramatically. Adults who replace muscle through sensible strength exercise use more calories all day long, thereby reducing the likelihood of fat accumulation. For more details visit