Muscle Power: Weightlifting can Significantly Improve Life Expectancy

Increasing your muscle power can make you live longer.

That was the main takeaway of a study presented at EuroPrevent 2019 – a congress of the European Society of Cardiology.

Study author Professor Claudio Gil Araújo explained that activities in old age such as rising from a chair or even kicking a ball depend on power, not strength.

According to the director of research and education, Exercise Medicine Clinic – CLINIMEX, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;

“Our study shows for the first time that people with more muscle power tend to live longer.”

Before you start enjoying that smug feeling that comes with regular exercise, you should know that the emphasis here is on muscle power. Unfortunately, tons of weight bearing workouts tend to focus more on muscle strength.

This raises a question; what is the difference between power and strength?

Power refers to the work done per unit time. In other words, power increases when you do more work within the same period, or when you complete the same task within a shorter period.

For example, you need more power to climb stairs faster. You need strength, however, to push a truck.

Professor Araújo further explained that power training often involves finding a perfect combination of speed and weight. That means you have to be able to lift or move weights quickly.

But for strength training, it’s all about the amount of weights you’re lifting as well as the repetition. Speed is not a factor.

How Muscle Power Can Help You Live Longer

Muscle power gradually decreases after we reach 40.

So for the study, the researchers enrolled over 3,800 non-athletes between the age of 41 and 85 to undergo a maximal muscle power test between 2001 and 2016.

Next, the scientists established muscle power using the upright row exercise. After two or three attempts with increasing loads, each participant was assigned a maximal muscle power expressed relative to body weight.

That means, power per kilogram of body weight.

Finally, the scientists divided the values into quartiles to efficiently analyze participants survival.

During a median follow up, 6.5 years later, the researchers reported that 10 percent of the men and 6 percent of the women had died. They also noted a survival rate based on maximal muscle power.

Participants whose muscle power was above the median were believed to have the best survival, while those below the average had a higher risk of dying.

Whether it’s picking up groceries or grandchildren, power is a simple action in our daily lives. Now the researchers are trying to understand the link between muscle power and cardiovascular diseases, as well as cancer.

Professor Araújo advised;

“Doctors should consider measuring muscle power in their patients and advise more power training.”

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