Active Lifestyles team empowers residents to build strength for Life

As part of Healthy Aging Month, the Active Lifestyles Team have been doing Hand Grip Strength Pop Ups at SCL centres to give people an insight into their overall muscle strength and what they can do to improve this.

Building and maintaining strength throughout life is important for both physical and mental health and also physical function. Muscle strength begins to decline after the age of 30 so it is important that everyone takes part in strengthening exercise at least twice a week to build better baselines, resilience and protect against a multitude of health conditions, and a gradual loss of functional independence (Ashley Gluchowski, 2024).. As well as giving an insight into overall muscle strength Hand Grip Strength is also a reliable marker of health and the risk of frailty in the future.

The pop ups at Eccles, Swinton and Worsley were a great success with around 30 attending the Worsley session alone, and many coming along to the centres specifically for the challenge.

Both members and non-members were given practical advice to work into their current daily habits. These included one lady who regularly attends a circuit class at Eccles and has always used the same weights, and is now going to start levelling up her weights to incorporate progressive overload in order to increase the challenge and build strength.

Another lady currently swims regularly, to whom we explained the benefits of weight baring activities and targeted strength training and she’s now keen to start adding these to her workouts, a few people who were recovering from an injury / operation who were keen to find out where they were at and how to continue building strength and a lady who doesn’t currently do much strength exercise but is now keen to try some of the SCL classes for more hints and tips which she can practice at home. No matter how people scored everyone found it really helpful.

In addition to the long term protective effects of taking part in strength training short term benefits also include improved sleep, energy, mood, immune function and so much more, so you’ll reap the benefits now as well as in the future. Remember it’s never too late to improve your strength and strength training is for everyone at all ages!

For more information, see our Strength & Balance page and consider coming along to one of our strength classes, you won’t regret it!