Why is muscle crucial?

The picture above disproves the idea that aging leads to frailty. Three scans of different males show the contrast in leg muscle mass between a sedentary man, a triathlete in their 40s, and a triathlete in their 70s! Crazy, right?

The Foundation of Independent Living

Muscle matters because, put simply , it determines whether you can live independently in your later years or face preventable age-related diseases.

It might sound dramatic, but many have witnessed a loved one suffer due to falls or fractures and being so fragile they can’t support their own weight.

Some eye-opening statistics show that the risk of mortality rises by 4% yearly in elderly patients, especially after a hip fracture. Research also shows a significant increase in death rates from 5-fold to 8-fold increase within the first 3 months post-hip fracture! This is staggering!

Why Strength Matters More Than Ever After 60

Why do people over 60 fall? Reasons vary from simple distractions like a dog crossing your path to simple missteps. What matters is maintaining balance and having the agility and speed to prevent serious injuries but also the ability to catch yourself when falling, which is the most important.

Physical strength strongly correlates with mortality rates worldwide. Leg strength often predicts survival better than traditional risk factors like diabetes, blood pressure, smoking, and heart disease. So just being stronger will give you a better life expectancy than these things put together!

Investing in Strength for a Longer, Healthier Life

Just 45 mins a day, 3 days a week of strength training can make a world of difference and give us the ability to live a high-quality of life as we age. Like most investments, whether it’s property, stocks, bonds, or a business , we want or expect returns in the future, so why wouldn’t we invest in ourselves to reap the benefits in our twilight years? Ageing is inevitable, but how we age is in our control.