Balance cardio with lifting

After 40, adding more cardio alone is not the training advice many longevity doctors are giving. They are telling adults to keep aerobic work, but pair it with regular strength training to slow the loss of muscle and function that comes with age. (hindustantimes.com) Hindustan Times reported on April 21 that Dr. Vassily Eliopoulos, co-founder and chief medical officer of Longevity Health, said on Instagram a day earlier that “do more cardio” is “not wrong” but “incomplete” advice for people over 40. In that post, he said muscle mass can decline 3% to 8% per decade after 40 without resistance training. (hindustantimes.com) His practical split was specific: zone-two cardio three or four times a week for 30 to 45 minutes, plus heavy compound lifting two or three times a week. He named squats, deadlifts, presses and rows as examples of the strength work he wants older adults to keep doing. (hindustantimes.com) That advice lines up with the baseline federal guidance in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says adults need at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week and muscle-strengthening work on two or more days that hits all major muscle groups. (cdc.gov) The newer debate is not whether to lift, but how to organize it for decades instead of a single training block. Business Day’s April 20 wellness column said mixing heavier and lighter lifting in the same overall program can build strength, support muscle growth and reduce the wear that comes from chasing maximal loads every session. (businessday.co.za) The American College of Sports Medicine sharpened that point on March 17, when it published its first major resistance-training update since 2009. The group said its new position stand drew on 137 systematic reviews and more than 30,000 participants, and found that the biggest gains come from regular training rather than complicated programming. (acsm.org) ACSM still separated goals by load. For strength, it recommended heavier work around 80% of one-repetition maximum for two to three sets per exercise; for power, it pointed to moderate loads of 30% to 70% of one-repetition maximum moved quickly; and for general adherence, it said training all major muscle groups at least twice a week matters more than finding a “perfect” plan. (acsm.org) Older-adult specialists have been making a related case for years. A National Strength and Conditioning Association position statement said aging is tied to declines in muscle mass, strength and function, and said resistance training can counter losses that affect mobility, independence, chronic disease management and healthy life expectancy. (nsca.com) The shift in this spring’s coverage is the framing. Cardio is still in the plan, but the target is no longer just a stronger heart and lungs; it is keeping enough muscle, strength and physical capacity to stay independent as the decades add up. (hindustantimes.com; acsm.org)