I think your premise and conclusion are correct. My only critic would be is that app the best way to get in FIRE shape or 20 something beach body shape? I think the training is completely different for these two objectives. I think you should train with your end goal in mind. So hiking if you want to be able to hike. Play pickleball if you want to be able to play pickleball, etc. I think for most 40+ year olds, the focus should be on functionality, flexibility, some strength, some endurance, etc.
Strength training past 40 is probably the number one thing a person can do to encourage the best healthspan possible. Playing pickleball or hiking will only help you with those very specific activities. As you age, muscle mass declines rapidly which severely hinders daily activities and increases risk of injury. 40-50 is the best time to start resistance training, if someone hasn’t already.
With strength and endurance training, stability generally follows, and function will come from practicing your given hobby/sport.
I recently finished “Outlive” by Peter Attia, which I’d recommend to everyone. Focused very heavily on healthspan. The audiobook is great, as are his podcasts. He’s an MD out of Austin. In short, out of nearly everything someone can do for their healthspan, strength training constantly seems to be number one for many facets.
Epidemiology studies with large data sets in the United States consistently show that people who live the longest are those who engage in low to moderate intensity exercise. These are the walkers and hikers.
High-intensity exercise adds to quality of life, but not longevity. Once you get age 50+ the high intensity exercise puts people at extreme risk of heart attack. High-intensity exercisers do not out-live non-exercisers, which is crazy. Their longevity is about the same. One of my baseball teammates from high school had his dad die of a heart attack while running on a treadmill at age 50 and was in good shape. He pushed it too hard. This happens more often than people think.
I am not an MD. However, cross-fit and similar programs are very dangerous for people age 50+. If you are going to lift weights and you are age 50+, it should be the low intensity weight lifting. Less weight with more reps. If you are 50+, don't try to max out a bench press with one rep.
Yeah, when I was in a med school class covering this topic the researcher/MD teaching made the point that most of the research at that time (awhile ago) cited "weight bearing exercise," which many in science reporting misinterpreted to mean "weight lifting," when really, any activity moving your body around is weight bearing.
That's said, it was years ago and they said a lot of dumbfuck shit in med school classes, so there's that.
But yeah, people don't need to be training to maximize strength if they're just trying to stay healthy. It's just not necessary. What gym-culture considers exercise is pretty extreme for most people's health needs.
Performance goals are not the same as health goals. Once you get to a certain level of strength, you don't actually have to keep pushing heavier and heavier weights. There's absolutely no need. There's also no need to push beyond just body weight for a lot of muscles and joints.
I do a lot of upper body weight stuff right now largely because my legs don't work, but never particularly heavy weights. The more I exercise, the easier the weights get, but I don't bother with more reps or heavier weights because I have no need to. I have good muscle mass and gold strength. More of anything would just cause damage.
I've been in rehab-mode for a very long time, it radically alters perception of how exercise helps the body vs what the fitness industry pushes.
