This is probably one of the most important articles I’ve ever written to help you understand the importance of resistance training in slowing the aging process and improving your overall metabolic health. We know this is important because research shows that more than 75 percent of people over 65 don’t get enough exercise to stay healthy.
However, the key is to understand which exercise will give you the most bang for the time you put in. If we have to do heavy physical work for our jobs, we don’t need to exercise. Formal exercise is only necessary because most of us have long since stopped engaging in physical labor. Modern society allows us to get food and shelter with relatively little effort. So if we wish to optimize our physical fitness, we need exercise to compensate for this.
I want to share my experience with you so you don’t have to make the same mistake I made 50 years ago. To me, the evidence is pretty clear: As you age, you need some type of resistance training to compensate for the degeneration that often accompanies aging and reduced physical activity. If you have the time, you can do cardio, but not at the expense of building lean muscle. This is mainly because aging accelerates muscle loss.
