Ask-A-Coach: Why Power Training for Older Adults?

In the world of exercise science, power is our ability to generate force quickly or at a high velocity. Power training involves exercises that require rapid acceleration and deceleration, such as jumping, throwing, and rapid movements.

We’ll get into some specifics as to how we can implement this concept in a safe and meaningful way, but you may be asking yourself why this type of training would be important for older adults in the first place?

The truth is, it’s not just important, it’s vitally important.

After the age of 40, without intervention, our muscle power (strength + speed) rapidly drops at a rate 2-3x faster than just strength alone. This decline is most notably observed in sport specific performance. However, the largest impact and the most important reason for power training for older adults lies in fall prevention.

Falls are the leading cause of accidental death over the age of 65. Accidental falls are directly correlated to lower limb extensor power which is the ability to push off the balls of our feet (i.e. shuffling feet instead of pushing off and picking the feet up).

Power training teaches us how to move quickly (ie: side-step an oncoming dog/car), push-off the balls of our feet (ie: prevent shuffling), and gives us the ability to catch ourselves from falling and/or absorb impact when we trip. It isn’t just the ability to move quickly, it’s our ability to react, decelerate, & absorb force. It improves reaction time, dynamic balance, and can reduce fall risk by up to 30-50%.

Through simple yet explosive exercises such as medicine ball throws & slams, plyometrics and/or agility ladder, airbike bursts, etc., we can train our nervous system to communicate and activate the muscle fibers needed for quick explosive movement & coordination.

The important thing to remember is that power training is relative to each individual. For example, you might have a young athlete jumping onto a 24” box, while lower body power for an older adult may simply be high knee marches or going through an agility ladder. As long as the movement is faster & done with more force than what they encounter on a day-to-day basis, it is training power development for that individual.