Power for Independence

Barbell Snatch

We all know that strength training is important for maintaining independence as we age. It improves balance, reduces the risk of falls, maintains the ability to participate in activities of daily living, protects against injury, and helps reduce pain associated with arthritis. But what about power? Studies are showing that power may be moderately more successful than strength training for improving function in older adults (Lo et. al, 2022). Here's why.

First, let's define power. Power is the ability to produce force over time. It is the product of muscular strength and speed. So why is this important?

Muscular power declines sooner and at a faster rate than muscular strength as we age, reducing the speed at which our muscles are able to contract and essentially decreasing how quickly we are able to react to stimuli. Unfortunately, speed of muscular contractions is important in many activities of daily living. It can affect how quickly we are able to walk across the street, slam on the brakes in traffic, and even catch ourselves when we trip.

Training muscular power can maintain and improve our ability to be independent and do the things we love as we age. Love participating in outdoor activities or playing with your children or grandchildren? Power training will help you continue to do those things. Not only does power training protect against age-related loss of power, it improves coordination and cardiovascular health. It helps keep us from becoming fragile, allowing us to lead a full life into our later years.

I don't know about you, but power training sounds like the ticket to a good quality of life for the long-term to me.

Reference

Lo, O. Y., Kahya, M. and Manor, B. (2022). Powering through daily activities in older age - Will power training replace strength training in later life?. JAMA Network Open. 5(5):e2211631. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.