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Aging and strength: Not that long ago, aerobic exercise was considered the most important, and in many cases, the only acceptable form of exercise for older adults. That is no longer the case. Many of the characteristic changes associated with advancing age, such as slower resting metabolism, reduced strength, increased body fatness, can be attributed to reductions in lean muscle mass. Indeed, the term sarcopenia, meaning age-associated muscle tissue loss, has been coined to explain this process.

Many studies have demonstrated that older adults can expect improvements in strength and muscular endurance and in muscular size of a magnitude similar to that in younger strength trainees.

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