Why Power Matters More as You Get Older

Most people understand that maintaining strength becomes increasingly important as we get older. But there is another physical quality that deserves just as much attention: power.

Strength is your ability to produce force. Power is your ability to produce that force quickly. That difference matters more than you might think.

Research shows that muscle power tends to decline earlier and faster with age than strength alone. It is also strongly associated with our ability to perform everyday physical tasks and maintain independence as we get older.

Think About How You Actually Use Your Body

Life rarely gives you unlimited time to produce force.

• Getting up quickly from a chair
• Climbing a flight of stairs
• Catching yourself when you stumble
• Stepping onto a high surface
• Picking something up and moving it
• Reacting quickly while playing sport or keeping up with your kids or grandchildren

All of these require strength, but they also require you to produce that strength at an appropriate speed. That’s power.

And while maintaining muscle mass and strength is important, research suggests that our ability to produce power can decline even faster as we age.

Does That Mean Everyone Needs to Start Jumping Onto Boxes?

Absolutely not.

Power training doesn’t necessarily mean explosive Olympic lifts, maximal jumps or throwing heavy medicine balls around. Like strength training, it needs to be appropriate for the individual.

For one person, that might involve moving a moderate resistance with more intent and speed during the lifting phase. For someone else, it could involve carefully programmed jumps, throws or faster functional movements. And for someone returning to training, simply learning to stand from a bench with greater speed and control can be a form of power development.

The important part is that it is progressive, appropriate and coached.

Strength Still Comes First

None of this means traditional strength training becomes less important. In fact, strength provides much of the foundation from which power is developed.

Squatting, hinging, pushing, pulling, carrying and progressively loading these movements remain incredibly valuable as we get older. But once you have developed an appropriate strength base, there is value in occasionally asking your body not only to produce force, but to produce it with some speed.

Recent resistance-training guidance continues to recognise strength, power and physical function as distinct outcomes that can all be developed through appropriately prescribed resistance training.

Train for What You Want to Keep

We often think about training in terms of what we want our body to look like now. There is nothing wrong with that.

But training can also be an investment in what you want your body to still be capable of doing 10, 20 or 30 years from now.

Being strong matters. Being able to move that strength quickly matters too.

The goal isn’t to train like you’re 20 forever. It’s to maintain as much strength, speed, confidence and physical capacity as possible for as long as possible.

Keep Reading

• Stop Training Just for Today: Train for Your 70-Year-Old Self
• Is Strength Training Overcomplicated? What the New ACSM Guidelines Actually Say
• Are You Actually Training Hard Enough? A Simple Guide to Reps in Reserve

Ready to build strength and power that lasts? Start with our Jump Start program or get in touch with our team to find out how coached training can help you stay strong, fast and capable for years to come.