Many older adults miss training because of the time factor. Many adults mistakenly assume that in order to see results from lifting weights, a person has to live in the gym, enduring two hour plus workouts, six days a week. Nothing could be further from the truth.
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Twice-A-Week Training for Adults to Improve Strength and Lean Mass
Now, researchers from the University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic have recently shown that two short (30-minute) sessions a week in the gym is all that is needed for older adults to experience effective body fat loss and valuable gains in building muscle and strength.
The primary goal of this study was to assess whether the improvements in body composition witnessed in a group of older adults during 15 weeks of supervised strength training could be maintained over another six months of unsupervised exercise.
Two Supervised Strength Training Sessions
Just over 60 women aged 30 to 50 years participated in this research. They were randomized to control or treatment groups. The treatment group performed two supervised strength and cardio training sessions a week for 15 weeks followed by another six months of twice-a-week unsupervised training.
The control group performed no weight training. Measurements at baseline, 15, and 39 weeks included body weight and body composition by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA).
Results showed that once the women got into the routine of hitting the gym twice a week, they never looked back. Almost 90% of prescribed exercise sessions were completed by all participants.
Body Composition After 15 Weeks
Body composition results in the initial 15 weeks of supervised training revealed that these gals lost fat (-0.98kgs) and build some valuable muscle (+0.89kgs) compared to the control group. Best of all, these improvements were maintained over the 6 months of unsupervised exercise training.
Twice-weekly strength training is feasible for busy middle aged people. Best of all, significant results can be obtained from such a small time investment. If you don’t create time for your health now, your health will rob you of time later.
