Resistance Training for Older Adults: Position Statement From the National Strength and Conditioning Association

The NSCA's position statement on resistance training for older adults starts from the problem it addresses: with age, even without disease, people lose muscle mass, strength and function, which reduces their resilience and leaves them more vulnerable to falls, disability and loss of independence.

It reviews the research and concludes that resistance training is a powerful way to counter that loss, with benefits for strength, muscle mass, physical function, mobility, independence, chronic disease management, mental well-being and quality of life. Its recommendations are organized around program design, the body's adaptations to training, functional benefits, and adjustments for frailty, sarcopenia and other chronic conditions.

Its stated aims are a more unified approach to resistance training for older adults, wider recognition of its benefits, and fewer of the fears and other barriers that keep older adults from starting.

Summarized from the published abstract; the full text was not open to us.