When I first heard longevity referenced, I was expecting to next hear about juice cleanses, magic “pills”, and maybe even some post-death freezing in case medicine makes some rather large leaps in the future. I was also playing devil's advocate, reminded of the stories you may have seen online of a 103-year-old who swears by two packs a day - you know, cigarettes and cold beer - and has never heard of aerobic exercise or an exercise program.
I don’t know about you, but seeing stories like that, you begin to wonder if longevity is even in our control, and to that, I would say yes and no. Of course, no one knows when their last breath will be, but we can be good stewards of the time we have. There are genuine steps that can be taken in a logical manner to scientifically improve longevity and health.
Now, of course, there are common markers of improving longevity, you are probably familiar with - sleep, nutrition, exercise, stress reduction, and relationships/meaning/purpose of your life. Each of these can be a dense book and then some, and many of those books have already been written. Today, though, we want to briefly look at what some argue is the biggest marker to improve longevity - exercise. Now, within exercise, you typically have two categories - strength training and aerobic exercise. Now, aerobic exercise has plenty of its own benefits, but today the focus is on strength training.
Why Does Longevity Matter?
This is no doubt an odd place to start this article, but I think it is important.
Dr. Peter Attia would argue that longevity doesn’t really matter. When thinking about longevity, I’m summarizing here, he points out that almost no one wants to live longer for the sake of living longer. Spending years 75 - 120 in a nursing home is not why we seek longevity. Instead, he points out a key difference that I love.
Healthspan versus lifespan.
When we talk about longevity, our minds often go towards lifespan - just increases the length of life. In reality, what we are hoping for is an increase in healthspan - the quality of life as you age. You want to be able to go for a hike with your grandkids, carry groceries up the stairs to your apartment, pick your great-grandkid up off the floor, and maybe even become a world champion rower in your nineties.
How Does Strength Training Help?
In a word - independence. Think back to each of those goals listed above. Almost every one of those is connected to being able to keep up or take care of yourself or even others.
If you are reading this and are in your 20s or even 30s, you may be wondering, “So what?” Why do I need to care about longevity or healthspan or anything else like that? Here’s why. You are at the peak age for building strength. At 50, you will have a harder time building strength than you do now. At 70, it will be even harder, although not impossible.
Think about it like retirement investing. It’s not sexy to think about retirement investing in your 20s and 30s, but boy, it's helpful. Compound interest is one heck of a tool. You are doing the same thing with your strength training. The more you can pile on, ideally without adding fat, the better. You are building a buffer against the undefeated Father Time. Muscle and strength loss will occur as you age; however, how much you start with and how seriously you strength train as you age, will drastically impact how your 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and maybe even 100s are spent.
If you also look at the examples above, they all have some element of strength involved. Whether it is hiking, climbing stairs, or picking up a 20 lb. great-grandkid, you need a certain level of lower body strength, not to mention grip and back strength for carrying and lifting. This is life strength training, physical functioning you can have by beginning strength training.
Check out this excerpt from Dr. Wayne Wescott on the benefits of a strength training program as a part of your exercise routine:
“Inactive adults experience a 3% to 8% loss of muscle mass per decade, accompanied by resting metabolic rate reduction and fat accumulation. Ten weeks of resistance training may increase lean weight by 1.4 kg, increase resting metabolic rate by 7%, and reduce fat weight by 1.8 kg. Benefits of resistance training include improved physical performance, movement control, walking speed, functional independence, cognitive abilities, and self-esteem. Resistance training may assist prevention and management of type 2 diabetes by decreasing visceral fat, reducing HbA1c, increasing the density of glucose transporter type 4, and improving insulin sensitivity. Resistance training may enhance cardiovascular health, by reducing resting blood pressure, decreasing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides, and increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Resistance training may promote bone development, with studies showing 1% to 3% increase in bone mineral density. Resistance training may be effective for reducing low back pain and easing discomfort associated with arthritis and fibromyalgia and has been shown to reverse specific aging factors in skeletal muscle.”
Wow.
I mean, if strength training and free weights were a pill, big pharma would be richer than Richy Rich.
Strength training can help with:
- Improved bone density
- Increased lean muscle mass (building muscle/gaining strength)
- Decreased fat mass
- Improved cognitive abilities
- Greater self-esteem
- Diabetes management
- Improved cardiovascular health
- Reduced back pain
- Less pain with arthritis
- Fibromyalgia
It truly is amazing the impact strength training can have on us, especially as we age. Muscle strength has to be a priority. You have to have an exercise program that has multiple strength training workouts with some combination of free weights, resistance bands, weight machines, or even your own body weight. The key idea here is that you need a mode of resistance.
Let’s look at three scares that face adults as they age, and how strength training can assist.
Fall Risk Decreases Due to Resistance Training
According to the CDC, in 2023, accidents were the third leading cause of death in the United States.
Now, of course, accidents are much larger than simply the elderly falling. However, it is a part of the stat nonetheless. The unfortunate nature of falls is that, while not totally preventable by strength training, there are steps that you can take to decrease your likelihood of falling.
Let’s think through how falls happen. Typically, an elderly individual snips the edge of the rug, bumps the dining room table, or loses their balance. How many times do these things happen to those of us who are young or around middle age? I would argue, fairly often. The only difference is our capacity to catch ourselves before falling - reaction time and the ability to absorb force by sticking out an arm or leg to stabilize ourselves - keeping us from having to visit the physical therapist or worse.
So, this is the first place, strength training can greatly assist us as we age. Stronger muscles can absorb force better and help us stabilize before falling.
Now what happens, when there is a fall, oftentimes a broken hip or leg. Think back to your 20s. When you fell, would your hip break? Of course, not.
Bone mineral density is the key here. Strength training not only builds muscles but also strengthens bones. Stronger bones are less likely to break in a fall.
Isolation, Mental Health, and Quality of Life
Many elderly people find themselves isolated. Now, I am not here to say strength training will cure isolation. However, I am here to say that strength training will allow you to move more freely, confidently, and with less fear (of falling, among others).
I would argue that these are many of the reasons elderly people find themselves isolated. It can become too difficult to go out and do things that used to be so common, such as going to get groceries.
Unfortunately, as many know, isolation is also rough on the heart and mind.
Another excerpt from Dr. Wescott states:
“Singh et al. have researched the effects of resistance training on depression in elderly individuals. In a classic study, they found that more than 80% of the depressed elders who performed three weekly sessions of resistance training were no longer clinically depressed after just 10 wk of exercise. Based on these studies, it would appear that resistance training is associated with reduced depression levels in older adults.”
Not only can strength training help prepare you for a high-quality of life in your later years, but it can also help you rediscover them if you are stuck.
Obesity and Chronic Disease
Strength training is huge for fighting obesity.
As I’m sure you know, obesity is linked to almost all types of mortality - cardiovascular disease, diabetes, etc.
Why is a strength training routine so great at fighting obesity? In short, strength training, when done correctly, builds muscle. Muscle mass is more calorically expensive than fat. This means that a 200 lb male with 20% body weight fat will burn more calories daily than a 200 lb male with 32% body weight fat. This increase in daily expenditure of calories helps you stay metabolically healthy.
Again, citing Dr. Wescott, “With respect to overall body fat, several resistance training studies that showed approximately 1.4 kg of lean weight gain also reported approximately 1.8 kg of fat weight loss.”
Adding strength training to your routine often will naturally result in a slight body recomposition, gain of muscle mass, and loss of fat, especially if you are new to strength training - that is a huge win with numerous health benefits.
There are countless resources on this topic, and honestly, these few paragraphs are an oversimplification, but if you take nothing else away, lift weights. Whether you are 25 or 85, lift weights and build physical strength.
Whether you have never lifted in your life or you have been lifting continuously for 20 years, start or continue to lift weights.
The benefits of strength training are tremendous. Some basic strength training exercises to begin with include squats, presses, pulls, deadlifts, carries, etc - exercises that target major muscle groups. Whether you have access to a gym and classic strength training tools or light weights, resistance bands, a kettlebell, or just your body weight, you can start a strength training routine centered on proper technique and building muscle strength. Maintaining proper form is important here. Remember, your strength training exercises don't have to be complicated to reap the benefits of strength training.
Focus on weight training, mastering your own body weight, and building muscle strength, and you can certainly reap many of the health benefits for a lifetime.
Sources
Attia, Peter. “Avoiding Injury Part 1: Eccentric Strength.” Peter Attia MD, 23 July 2022, https://peterattiamd.com/avoiding-injury-part-i-eccentric-strength/.
Attia, Peter. Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity. Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group, 2023.
“FastStats - Leading Causes of Death.” CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm. Accessed 18 July 2025.
Westcott WL. Resistance training is medicine: effects of strength training on health. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2012 Jul-Aug;11(4):209-16. doi: 10.1249/JSR.0b013e31825dabb8. PMID: 22777332.