How to Test Your Strength in 30 Seconds

If you want to stay healthy as you age, experts say you have to keep moving with a mix of cardio, strength and balance training. But there’s another critical element, one that doesn’t get as much attention. It’s what gives you the ability to toss a heavy trash bag into a can or lift a suitcase into an overhead compartment.

It’s called power, and it’s never too early (or late) to start building it.

Experts define power as the ability to apply force rapidly — using fast-twitch muscle fibers in short, explosive bursts. Strength allows you to lower into a chair, power gets you back up. If you trip and stumble, power allows you to quickly recover and avoid a fall.

Two years ago, Beverly Coleman, a 71-year-old bridal store employee in Lexington, Ky., noticed her waning power when she struggled to hoist a 25-pound bag of dog food across her threshold into her house. “I’d have to drag them in or ask my son for help,” she said.

Like strength, power is a “use it or lose it” ability that can disappear quickly. While strength declines around 1 to 3 percent annually after the age of 55 if you’re not strength training, power disappears at a rate almost double that.

“Often, we don’t realize we’ve lost power until it’s gone,” said Ali Hartman, a doctor of physical therapy based in North Carolina who works with seniors.

Dustin Jones, a Kentucky-based doctor of physical therapy, said that when you lose power, single tasks often feel draining. If you struggle to run up a flight of stairs or are unable to quickly step up onto a curb at a busy intersection, that’s a lack of power.

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