"Strength" and why it is so essential for health and Longevity

So what does it mean to be strong ? and what is the real, deeper value of that?

For sure, we identify it as a positive attribute but why does it really matter so much to our health?

The fact is this: Strength is the key determinant for our health and lifespan.

Strength, health and lifespan, all extricably connected.

So what is the role of strength in this formula for longevity?

Now the strength i am going to detail is a strength that spans multiple areas of health and fitness and all are major players in our potential for a long health and lifespan.

Lets begin with physical strength...

Muscle mass and the stength training required to build it provide a myriad of profound health benefits and have been shown in multiple scientific studies to correlate strongly with longevity in humans.

People with higher volumes of muscle mass and who have greater whole body strength, in general enjoy a longer health and life span.

So why would this be ?

Well, being strong and remaing so confer improved capacity for physical performance, allowing us to function at our best and keep doing so for longer as we progress in age. All physical activity becomes easier and our productivity improves.

Simply feeling stronger and more capable makes us feel good, it gives us confidence and faith in our bodies. This helps provide faith in ourselves as the body and mind are deeply interrelated.

Muscle also helps protect our bone health. Bigger muscles and strength training apply pressure to bones, increasing bone density, which makes them more resilient to fractures and less prone to osteoporosis as we age.

Being strong also improves or physical stability, Having greater stability reduces our risk of injuries and improves our functionality. For people in old age, the value of this is in the reduced risk of having falls , which can be catastrophic for health and lifespan for people over the age of 65.

One of the most valuable benefits of having muscle is in its profound effect on our metabolic health.

Having more muscle, increases our metabolic rate ie the amount of calories we burn at rest. This makes gaining muscle one of the most efficient and sustainable ways of burning body fat.

This metabolic demand of muscle improves our insulin sensitivity as muscle acts as a storage bank for glucose. The more muscle, the more we provide an ideal location for blood sugar which helps alleviate the physiological stress that would otherwise be caused if it were left circulating around the body.

Metabolic dysfunction is the root of many of the worlds leading diseases so promoting metabolic health is vital if we are to protect ourselves from these illnesses.

Having muscle helps us achieve that.

The stark reality of life is that our bodies decline as a result of the process of ageing.

Muscle loss unfortunately is a significant feature in that decline.

Every year past the age of 30 we lose approx 1% of muscle mass through this process and along with that goes the decline in all those favourable health and fitness markers we have just been talking about.

Strength training and muscle development is simply the most effective tool we have to arrest this decline and to help maintain those corresponding benefits, promoting a long and healthy life.

An additional reason to the longevity effect of muscle and strength is not simply the presence of muscle but the health benefits acquired through the process of building the muscle and the strength....the actual training.

When we strength train, our bodies respond by producing hormones that boost the immune system and also promote brain health. The former helping us fight off disease, the latter neurological degeneration. Another unfortunate hallmark of ageing which can lead to conditions like Alzheimer's and dementia in later life

Now without question the most important muscle to look after is our cardiac muscle, aka our Heart.

Our heart is subject to the same frailties as skeletal muscle.

So when we cite strength as an attribute to aspire to, we are also talking about the strength of our heart.

A strong cardio respiratory system is probably the most valuable of all physical assets when it comes to promoting enduring health and life span in humans.

A strong CRS reflects a strong heart and lungs and can be

measured in VO2 max which is the maximum amount of oxygen our body can utilise during physical activity so the more we can the better!

This and lung capacity both decrease as we age and require lifestyle and training practices that promote strength there , while also arresting that decline.

The 3rd pillar of strength is mental strength.

We can categorise that down further into emotional and psychological strength

Strength training has been shown to improve cognitive abilities and even protect from neurological decline.

Numerous studies have demonstrated that the process of lifting weights generates a neurological response in the brain which provides these benefits.

Having a a strong and healthy mind and a brain that is workings optimally governs our entire existence and shapes our quality of life. Our ability to navigate our way through life and its many challenges is dictated by the strength and resilience of our mental control centre.

Strength and cardiovascular training has significant impact on our mental strength.

The stress applied to our nervous system through both modalities helps build resilience, providing us with greater capacity to endure the stresses of everyday life.

We experience the same physiological response to physical stress that we do with emotional stress, our bodies cannot distinguish between the two, the same hormones response is experienced. As we train our central nervous system to handle the stress and discomfort of say, lifting heavy weights close to failure or running close to the end of our aerobic capacity we are in effect ,training our tolerance to emotional stress as its the same response system.

So there we have it, the 3 primary pillars of strength for overall health,well being and longevity.

Strength we should all aspire to have if we value ourselves and our health and lifespan.