Regular participation in muscle-strengthening activities comes with a host of health benefits including reduced all-cause mortality, increased physical function, and improved psychosocial wellbeing. Many people appreciate the importance of preserving muscular strength in the later years of life, but many overlook the value of building and maintaining muscular strength earlier in life.

Faigenbaum and colleagues (2024) proposed the concept of strengthspan – physical strength over a lifespan.

Expanding your strengthspan, with muscle-strengthening activities at every stage of life, leads to:

• greater strength reserve – you start to lose muscle and strength in adulthood, so the bigger your reserve, the more you have to live off
• greater health and wellbeing – you live healthier
• greater function and independence – you live safer and more effectively
• greater lifespan – you live longer.

To age healthier, you want to:

1. build a reserve of muscular strength early in life
2. maintain your gains in muscle and strength throughout adulthood
3. reduce the magnitude and rate of decline in old age.

TL;DR: Get stronger to live longer and healthier – starting earlier is better, but it’s never too late to start.

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References

Faigenbaum et al. (2024) (PMID: 38754987)