Strength and conditioning coach Om Diwekar recently shared a glimpse of his mother, Neha Diwekar, a 51-year-old pastry chef, acing Bhangra squats or baithkan. “My mom is 51. My mother has been working out for over 10 years, and she has been doing resistance training all this while. I am very proud of her. Even when it is difficult for her as a pastry chef in her schedule, with her proper and improper diet…there is so much of life that becomes accessible even in your old age if you regularly do some form of resistance training and a decent amount of protein in your diet. If you keep these healthy habits, the quality of your life improves by a lot.”

According to consultant dietitian and fitness expert Garima Goyal, what makes this story interesting is that Bhangra is not simply dancing. “A vigorous Bhangra session can involve repeated squatting and bending movements, stepping, jumping, arm movements and sustained activity, requiring lower-body strength, cardiovascular endurance, coordination and balance,” said Goyal.

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This is where resistance training becomes particularly valuable. “Strength exercises help build the muscles needed for everyday movements, including the quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings and calves, while upper-body exercises can improve the ability to control and move the arms and support the body,” said Goyal.

There is also a difference between having muscle and being able to use that muscle. “Functional strength allows the body to produce and control force during real-life activities. Dancing, climbing stairs, carrying shopping bags, getting up from a chair or playing with children all require some combination of strength, balance and coordination,” Goyal told indianexpress.com.

 

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For women entering their 40s and 50s, resistance training can be especially useful because maintaining muscle and bone health becomes increasingly important with age. “Regular strength training can help preserve muscle mass, strength and physical function, while weight-bearing activity can also support bone health,” said Goyal.

Do you do resistance training?

But the message isn’t that everyone needs to lift heavy weights. “Resistance training can begin with bodyweight exercises, resistance bands, light dumbbells or appropriately selected gym machines, depending on someone’s fitness level and health history. The key is progressive, consistent training rather than simply lifting as heavy as possible,” Goyal said.

 

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And perhaps the best sign that strength training is working isn’t always what someone looks like in the gym. It is what they can do outside the gym.