If you thought muscle-strength training was the stuff of Arnie-like muscle men and the gym junkies, think again. No matter who you are, you can benefit from muscle-strength training.

And when it comes to aging, muscle-strength training actually provides us with great anti-aging benefits.

Forget reaching for your credit card and paying big money for expensive cosmetic treatments and anti-aging creams and potions. There are things you can do right now to build your muscle strength and slow aging!

So to explain why muscle strength training is so good in fighting aging…

…We need to know what happens as we age
As we age our bodies begin to lose flexibility, along with muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness.

And as that happens, our balance decreases, along with our stamina and coordination. Our bones also become less dense, making them brittle and more prone to breaking.

We also become more prone to conditions like heart disease, arthritis, high blood pressure. And if that wasn’t bad enough, we also become more prone to obesity!

Nutrition and exercise play a huge role in determining how well we will age, and the good thing about nutrition and exercise is that we are in total control of those.

The loss of muscle as we age is called sarcopenia and alarmingly, it affects approximately 45% of the US population. When people lose significant muscle, they are more prone to falling and experience difficulty doing those day-to-day activities. Unfortunately these people are more likely to be placed into a nursing home.

What we can do now to build muscle strength
The thing to note here is that muscle training will not completely prevent the onset of sarcopenia. What it will do though is greatly slow down the rate of muscle loss you may experience.

Now I’m guessing you’re probably worried that muscle strength training is going to require countless hours in the gym – not to mention pain! The good news is that it won’t require hours in the gym, it won’t require you to lift heavy weights and anybody can start building muscle through strength training – even if they have never done any physical training before.

All it takes is a few minutes a day, three times each week and you will enjoy the anti-aging benefits of muscle training.

Studies have found that just a few minutes of strength building exercise per day, three days each week will result in significant increases in strength after just one month. Older individuals who do this sort of exercise as well will also increase their walking speed and improve their balance significantly.

Pretty amazing just how much of a positive effect strength training can have for older people!

Here are a few really useful muscle strength exercises you can start doing today, in the comfort of your own home:

Bodyweight Squats, Push-ups, Lunges, Dumbbell Rows, Barbell Curls, Lying Dumbbell Extentions

Start working on your muscle strength today and you won’t be able to thank yourself enough tomorrow!