TIME – If you want to age well, you probably already know the basics: eat a balanced diet, go for walks, stay socially engaged. But there’s one habit that experts say matters just as much—and in some cases, more—for long-term health: strength training.
For decades, weightlifting was viewed as the domain of bodybuilders, powerlifters, or young athletes. But research over the past 20 years has flipped that assumption.
Lifting weights—or using your own bodyweight against resistance—turns out to be one of the most powerful tools we have for protecting health as the decades pass. It’s not about chasing bigger biceps or a six-pack. It’s about reinforcing bones, keeping metabolism humming, preventing falls, and even lowering the risk of chronic disease.
Stronger bones mean fewer breaks
Bones may feel solid, but they’re surprisingly dynamic. They respond to the stresses you put on them, getting stronger when they’re challenged and weaker when they’re not.
“Every time you do a squat, a pushup, or pick up a weight, you’re putting gentle stress on your skeleton,” says Kristen Lettenberger, a physical therapist in New York.
She explains that pressure acts like a signal to your body to reinforce the bone, activating the cells that build new bone tissue. Over time, bone density increases and its structure gets stronger.
Bone density naturally peaks in our 20s and starts to decline by our 30s, and that decline is slow at first but accelerates as hormones shift.
“While bone loss impacts both men and women, menopause or any decrease in estrogen such as early postpartum accelerates the decline,” says Lettenberger. “The drop in estrogen decreases bone density, causing bone loss, and increases the risk of osteoporosis and fractures.”
For women in particular, strength training can be one of the most effective ways to push back against those changes …
