The Vital Prescription You’re Not Getting From Your Doctor

Last week, I had a conversation with a client who'd stopped working out 6 months ago. The issue? Something we could have easily worked around, except her doctor admonished her to stop and “just do PT.”

Thank goodness the MoveWell PTs tell their patients, “Doing PT does NOT mean you stop strength training!”

With an aging population, the fallout from the pandemic, and the increasing use of weight-loss drugs, maintaining muscle mass has become crucial.

Yet both patients and doctors report that the importance of becoming and staying strong is a subject that doesn't come up in their conversations.

Well, unless your doctor is Peter Attia....

Muscle is your health insurance

Skeletal muscle regulates blood sugar, lowers cholesterol, increases resting metabolism, and acts as a reserve for recovery when you’re sick or injured.

When it starts to atrophy, your risk for disease, frailty, and loss of independence shoots up.

Low muscle mass is linked to longer hospital stays, more complications, and lower survival rates from major illness or injury.

Muscle mass has even been shown to predict cancer recurrence and burn survival.

Frailty and prefrailty are becoming common in younger people. We’re becoming physically compromised at younger ages.

Survival is shorter for people with low muscle mass, regardless of age.

Should an accident or critical illness strike, recovery could depend heavily on how much muscle you have.

Low muscle mass could make that event hard or impossible to overcome.

That's why 50% of women 65 years old or older who break a hip in a fall never walk again.

Why aren't doctors prescribing strength training?

Over 84% of doctors say they feel inadequately trained in the subject of resistance training, resulting in exercise prescribing rates as low as 17%.

Maintaining muscle demands proactive interventions. Age-related muscle loss is inevitable without it.

Resistance training improves more than strength. It boosts bone densityand metabolism and preserves mobility. It even supports mitochondrial health—your cells’ energy engines—and reduces chronic inflammation, which contributes to arthritis, Alzheimer’s, and cardiovascular disease.

Wait! Not cardio?

Aerobic exercise is worthwhile, but....strength training goes far beyond the effects of aerobic training.

Cardio gets the glory when it comes to heart health, but a study in Sports Medicine found that low-to-moderate-load strength training was linked to fewer cardiovascular complications than aerobic exercise in older adults with heart disease, making resistance training an important strategy for reducing cardiovascular risk.

The shift to a more pro-muscle mentality will take time and involve moving past preconceived notions of what strength training means.

The most important test is....

Clients often ask, "Is it too late to start?" or "Is there any hope for me?"

There's one definitive test.

Check your pulse.

Got a heartbeat? Resistance training can make you stronger, healthier, more resilient, more independent, and reduce your fall risk.

You'll feel and look better, too!

Strength training is like a retirement account: you can start at any age, but the earlier you invest, the more it pays off.

If you're already training, this is your reminder that it matters more than ever.

If you're not? There’s no better time to start.