The role of strength training has been known for some time, and has even been mentioned in RIVM Exercise Guidelines – A kind of five-wheeled exercise. Strength training ensures that you maintain your muscles. “We will see a clear decline if we do nothing for a long time,” says nutrition and health professor Marjolein Visser of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise each week. But opinions vary on how much protein you should consume. “I think many older adults who go to the gym once or twice a week and eat normally don’t need any extra protein at all,” says Visser. “You don’t need to use protein powders and protein shakes.”
What are proteins?
Protein is the fuel for your muscles. When you strength train, you break your muscles down a little and then build them back up stronger. Your muscles then need what are called amino acids: the smaller building blocks of proteins. “If you eat too little protein, your muscles will lose those proteins,” says Visser. “That’s why you need enough of it, otherwise you’ll lose muscle.”
Maintaining muscle isn’t the only benefit of strength training. Here’s how to do it accordingly. Way Health Center It also improves metabolism, mental health and prevents osteoporosis. Being fit later in life doesn’t necessarily mean you have to walk around with abs, but it can actually provide benefits on a daily basis. “My dad recently tripped on the subway and didn’t fall,” says Arie Boomsma.
The TV presenter and author trains once a week with his parents, who are 81 and 82. “And every Friday they train with a group of 60 or older people,” he says. Boomsma sticks to at least 1 gram of protein per kilo of body weight. He recommends getting protein mainly from foods such as meat, fish, nuts and legumes.
Don’t start too heavy.
If you want to start strength training, it is wise not to lift things that are too heavy and too often. If you train in the gym, you can always contact a fitness trainer for advice. “My parents started certain exercises with 5 kilograms and now they do 30 kilograms,” says Boomsma.
In addition to strength training, balance exercises are also included in the exercise guidelines. “My mom always says, ‘It may not protect you from falling, but you can survive it. You can keep tying your shoelaces, and don’t hesitate to take a step.’”
