Mix light and heavy weights to stay strong with age, Arnold advises
Both light and heavy weights build muscle in older adults when exercise is taken to failure, not just one or the other.
Reported by menshealth.com
ShareWhy it matters
Older adults can maintain muscle and strength without investing more time in the gym by adding just a few heavy sets weekly.
In Australia. Australian fitness coaches and gyms can use this evidence to help older clients build strength safely and efficiently with a simple mixed-weight approach.
Key facts
- Fast-twitch
- Fiber type hit hardest by aging
- To failure
- Required effort level for growth
- One or two
- Recommended heavy sets per week
- Arnold Schwarzenegger recommends combining light and heavy weights to maintain strength as you age.
- As we grow older, both slow-twitch and fast-twitch muscle fibers shrink.
- Fast-twitch fibers experience the greatest loss.
- Many people believe light weights only build slow-twitch fibers and heavy weights build fast-twitch ones.
- But research shows both can build both types when taken to maximum effort.
- The key difference is time.
- Heavy weights reach maximum muscle recruitment faster.
- This makes them more efficient for busy older adults.
- Schwarzenegger advises adding at least one or two heavier sets per week to your existing routine, even if it's mostly light weights or resistance bands.
