The Frailty Antidote

When it comes to conquering frailty, strength, not endurance, is the cure…

Science is finally catching up to what has been known in progressive resistance training circles for decades. “Exercise,” to quote Dr. Attia, “is the greatest longevity drug.” Want to live longer? Want to improve the quality of that extended life? Take up resistance training and become significantly stronger. The Iron Elite have long known that strength equals resiliency—the strong power through life.

“A ten-year observational study of 4,500 subjects ages 50 and older found that those with low muscle mass were at a 40 to 50 percent greater risk of mortality…further analysis revealed that it’s not the mere muscle mass that matters but the strength of those muscles, their ability to generate force…subjects with low muscle strength were at double the risk of death.”

–Dr. Peter Attia, Outlive

There exists a tribe of super-agers, a definable group of age-defying individuals that look, act, and move decades younger than their chronological reality. This super-ager tribe has existed for fifty years and is comprised of all-natural competitive bodybuilders, male and female. Attend any locally held all-natural bodybuilding competition and note how, despite being over 50, 60, 70, and 80, all the winners are muscled up and possess sub-10% body fat percentiles. What collective magic do these people possess? The transformative template has been in existence since the early 1980s. The protocol requires melding two different exercise types and underpinning the exercise with strict eating.

• Nutrition: The key to body composition manipulation is the skilled blending of daily cardiovascular exercise with a “clean calorie” bodybuilding diet. Instead of eating three square meals, bodybuilders consume 5-6 smaller meals consisting of nothing but “clean calories.” The bodybuilder has a narrow selection of acceptable calories: lean protein, complex carbohydrates, fibrous carbohydrates, MCT lipids, and potent nutritional supplementation. Eliminate “dirty calories,” such as refined carbohydrates, processed food, alcohol, and seed oils. The bodybuilder’s nutritional template is limited and repetitive.

• Cardiovascular exercise: Done daily and optimally before breakfast. “Fasted cardio” (pre-breakfast) is timed exercise designed to accelerate body fat oxidation. Coming off a night of sleep, the body’s glycogen stores are at a low point. Fasted cardio seeks to burn through any residual glycogen, at which point the body will begin using stored body fat. Cardio sessions will range from 30-45 minutes, seeking Zone II (80%) intensity. Sweat is the cardio coin-of-the-realm; copious sweat expels toxins, and sweat-inducing aerobics jacks up the metabolism. Sabotage the finest cardio effort with subpar nutrition.

• Resistance training: Resistance training is the third leg of the bodybuilder’s triad. For those past age 50, the benefits of strength training are plentiful: muscles are stressed and strengthened, and brittle bones are thickened, thereby neutralizing osteoporosis. Balance and functionality are also radically improved. For the feeble, regular bouts of resistance training can double strength in every measurable test or drill. Dramatic increases in raw strength turbocharge physiological capacity. For those old and getting older, including proper protocol is life-changing, life-improving, and life-extending.  

The single most significant exercise endeavor an aging individual can undertake is to begin progressive resistance training. For the elderly new to resistance training, the gains are astounding and attained with astonishing rapidity. A stronger, sturdier human powers through life far easier than a weaker, more anemic version of themselves. Engaging in a serious, result-producing weight training program is the most effective way to forestall or reverse frailty. Recognizing strength training as the premier exercise format feels like vindication for old-school iron adherents.

For decades, cardio exercise was the recommended form of exercise for older adults. In 2025, strength training is finally getting overdue recognition as the premier exercise format for combating the effects of aging. The greatest enemy of the aged is frailty. Strength gleaned from resistance training is far more critical than endurance gained from aerobics.

Strength training is the preeminent exercise format for older people seeking to hold back the hands of time. Resistance training creates resilience and improves bone density. Full range-of-motion exercises create solidness while bestowing gyroscopic-like stability.

The physiological benefits of aerobic exercise (improved endurance and cardiopulmonary health) are fabulous and highly coveted attributes. However, when choosing one exercise format (cardio) or the other (resistance training), it is far better to be strong than fit. Obviously, it is optimal to be both strong and fit; equally obvious, it is optimal to practice a fitness regimen that includes the balanced application of both formats – plus a disciplined nutritional component.

The good news about resistance training is that strength gains quickly appear if done right. It is not unusual for the untrained older person to experience 50% strength improvements after 90 days of adherence.

Proper resistance training is not too much or too heavy – not too little or too light. Too heavy is injurious and too light is ineffectual. Optimally, resistance training is “just right,” the right amount of training and frequency, done at just the right intensities. Never was the cliché “the poison is in the dose” more accurate than when it comes to how best to strengthen the body effectively.

There is a great schism within the world of progressive resistance training: bodybuilding resistance training protocols are radically different from strength training protocols. Both are effective. Both are best practiced with exclusivity. Do not mix mediums – understand and stay true to either bodybuilding or strength training principles.

Andreas Cahling, ages 25 and 75: What is the secret? A lifetime of resistance training + disciplined dieting.

• Bodybuilding philosophy and protocols: The goal is to increase the size of targeted muscles. Torrents of blood engorge the muscle, forcibly expanding it with the fabled muscle “pump.” The goal is singular: increased muscle size. Any strength increases are incidental. The goal is not to build a bigger squat but to build bigger thigh muscles. Optimize muscle size increases by engaging in 5-6 weekly sessions. Bodybuilder muscle pumping sessions are long, 2-3 muscle groups per session, 3-4 exercises per body part, with 3-5 sets per exercise. The bodybuilder trains each muscle twice weekly.

• Strength training philosophy and protocols: Strength training is rooted in numerical improvement. Establish performance benchmarks in a series of progressive resistance exercises. Over time, seek to increase poundage or repetitions as this denotes verifiable strength increases. Periodization is resistance training preplanning. The strength trainer has specific goals heading into every training session. Sessions are infrequent. Muscles need to recover before undertaking a subsequent session.