Strength training after forty is the new non-negotiable

For decades, the public-health message centred on aerobic exercise. The accumulating evidence from the last ten years has shifted the conversation: muscle mass, grip strength, and resistance-trained capacity are now among the strongest predictors of healthy ageing and post-surgical survival.

Clinicians are now routinely recommending two to three strength sessions per week from the fourth decade onwards, with a particular emphasis on lower-body, posterior-chain, and grip work.