2025-05-28 – Health – www.theguardian.com
From preventing serious falls to being able to walk up stairs, it’s power – or how you use your strength – that will bring quality of life as you age
It’s fairly well established that strength training is helpful at every age: as well as building muscle, it strengthens tendons and ligaments, increases bone density and seems to have protective effects against everything from osteoporosis to dementia. But a new study based on data collected over two decades in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, suggests that another physical attribute might be just as important – and it’s one that declines even faster than strength as the years go by. The good news? It might also be less uncomfortable, and even slightly safer, to improve. Also, it will probably make you better at table tennis.
Power, in case your physics is a bit rusty, is force multiplied by velocity – or to put it another way, how quickly you can apply the strength you have. Sprinters, high jumpers and hurdlers need huge amounts…