Weight Training, Healthy Assets to Old Age

Sweat poured down Maria Kuswandari's (40) temples as she tried to hold on to lifting a yoga block while repeatedly doing squats. "Can I stop for now? I feel like I'm going to faint," Maria said to her trainer on Tuesday (27/5/2025) morning at a fitness center in South Jakarta.

With a smile, her coach invited Maria to sit down and have a drink. Shortly thereafter, the coach brought her a type of aromatherapy in a small container resembling a balm package. He asked Maria to inhale it to reduce the nausea and pressure that had caused the young athlete to feel dizzy.

For 15 minutes, Maria took a break and was willing to continue the interrupted training session. After successfully repeating 10 times with the right movements, the day's training was over. "It looks like that. Try it," she said with a laugh.

At that time, it was the third week for Maria to embark on her weight training journey. Within a week, there were two sessions that she had to attend. Each session lasted 45-60 minutes. The training portion was gradual but continuously increased in terms of repetitions and difficulty level.

In the first week, Maria focused on breathing exercises and basic movements, such as standing and squatting positions. Entering the second week, Maria slowly began to get the squat material, but without lifting any weights. Only in the third week, the weights given were yoga blocks.

"At first, ohwhy is it only like this. I wanted to use dumbbells or barbells. I don't remember my age at all. But it turned out that just using a yoga block made me almost faint. For beginners, it's better to do it gradually, especially if you have a history of injuries," Maria explained.

Weight training is considered by Maria to be very important for her current age, although she regrets not starting it when she was in her twenties. Until now, the sports she has engaged in have been running and yoga. Recently, she has come to realize that the running she enjoys also needs to be balanced with weight training.

Khairani Fauziah, a fitness instructor commonly known as Embun, explained the importance of weight training from a young age. According to her, this weight training helps to build muscle mass and minimize the risk of injury in the future.

Our heart benefits from exercise. Because when we exercise, it releases something called 'myokin'.

Amid the growing awareness of exercising and living a healthy lifestyle, Embun is experiencing a surge in clients aged over 40. These clients, he continued, have only recently realized that maintaining the body and health requires a process. Moreover, it is never too late as long as one is willing to consistently start.

"Individuals who are accustomed to exercising with weight training have a better reaction response compared to those who have never done so at all; this will be felt more as they age. For instance, when they fall or slip, their bodies will not react, but will simply resign to the fall. This is what then becomes a risk," Embun stated.

For this reason, young individuals also need to pay attention to the balance of exercise they engage in with weight training. Dewi suggests incorporating weight training into the exercise routine at least twice a week. For beginners, it can start with simple movements and short repetitions. Over time, these movements and repetitions can be increased in level according to each person's physical capacity.

This is exemplified by Lodewijk Rorong (28). Working as a nurse in a private hospital with a busy schedule does not hinder him from exercising. In fact, he has arranged his schedule so that he can continue to engage in sports amidst his busyness.

Working as a nurse demands agility and optimal physical condition, and Lodewijk considers weight training to be the appropriate type of exercise for him. Although he trains without an instructor, Lodewijk, who was previously active in basketball, has learned to listen to his body, ensuring that he never forces himself to lift weights beyond his capacity.

He provided an example, stating that when lifting a weight of 20 kg and being able to perform 8 repetitions, it is possible to increase the weight to 22.5 kg, although the number of repetitions would decrease. "If the weight is increased while maintaining the same number of repetitions as before, it is better not to do so," he said, having trained with weights for nearly 5 years.

His desire for weight training is supported by a circle of friends who also help him develop, even without an instructor. Gym Bro, as his training partners who often work out together at the fitness center are called, share the same intention of wanting to remain active in old age. Lodewijk himself trains regularly three times a week, with each session lasting 90 minutes. This duration is divided into 60 minutes of weight training and 30 minutes of cardio.

"Because I work in a hospital, I can see. Older patients, some are still energetic, some are already having difficulty doing anything. When investigated, it turns out that the scariest thing is when you never move. From there, it began to be mandatory to exercise even though it was difficult to be consistent," said Lodewijk.

Cardiologist Vito Damay from Siloam Hospital emphasized the importance of regular physical activity in minimizing the risk of heart attacks. "Many people are afraid of heart attacks when exercising. In fact, heart attacks are more common among those who are inactive, and they often occur, for example, during the night while sleeping," he stated.

Regarding the type of exercise, Vito opens many options from cycling, running, aerobics, and many more as long as it is adjusted to the body's condition and routine. For example, someone who has never run but then wants to be able to complete a marathon or half marathon without regular training, then it is not recommended.

On the other hand, the various sports mentioned must also be balanced with weight training, which serves to strengthen muscle mass. According to Vito, any form of cardio exercise requires muscle strength, thus it is necessary to incorporate 2-3 weight training sessions to hone the muscles within the regular exercise schedule.

"Our heart benefits from exercise. Because when we exercise, it releases something called myokin. This is released when the muscles contract. If done routinely, the muscles will be more flexible and more resilient. The impact on the heart muscle and blood vessels, if there is a heart attack, the damage is less. So, this exercise is actually a natural medicine and a friend of the heart," Vito explained.

So, still hesitant to try weight training? Better start now for a healthy and active old age.