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Strength training slows the aging process by preserving muscle mass. The International Journal of Endocrinology states the following:
"In normal aging, changes in the body composition occur that result in a shift toward decreased muscle mass and increased fat mass. The loss of muscle mass that occurs with aging is termed sarcopenia and is an important cause of frailty, disability, and loss of independence in older adults. Age-related changes in the body composition as well as the increased prevalence of obesity determine a combination of excess weight and reduced muscle mass or strength, recently defined as sarcopenic obesity. Weight gain increases total/abdominal fat, which, in turn, elicits inflammation and fatty infiltration in muscle. ... Multiple combined exercise and mild caloric restriction markedly attenuate the symptoms of sarcopenic obesity."
How are we to combat sarcopenic obesity? The International Journal of Endocrinology provides an answer. It states, "The American College of Sports Medicine recommends a multicomponent training exercise programme (strength, endurance, balance, and flexibility) to improve and maintain physical function in older adults. Resistance exercise has been investigated as an approach to counteract sarcopenia by stimulating protein synthesis and cause muscle hypertrophy with increased muscle strength and with improved physical performance."
Strength training is key. But it does more than merely preserve muscle mass. It preserves the structural integrity of our entire bodies. Lifting weights and performing body weight exercises will help preserve bone density. Osteoporosis is the reason for many people losing height as they age, their spines curving, and their hips fracturing when they fall. But there is a way to fight it. And that way is strength training. If you train for strength throughout life, you are likelier to remain taller and straighter as you age.
There is more research that backs up the importance of strength training for slowing the aging process. In fact, a group of researchers actually discovered that strength training can reverse aging. The researchers identified 179 genes in which aging was literally turned back. See the research: Resistance Exercise Reverses Aging in Human Skeletal Muscle
So what is the takeaway? It is this. Do those pushups, grab those dumbbells, and start lifting.
"In normal aging, changes in the body composition occur that result in a shift toward decreased muscle mass and increased fat mass. The loss of muscle mass that occurs with aging is termed sarcopenia and is an important cause of frailty, disability, and loss of independence in older adults. Age-related changes in the body composition as well as the increased prevalence of obesity determine a combination of excess weight and reduced muscle mass or strength, recently defined as sarcopenic obesity. Weight gain increases total/abdominal fat, which, in turn, elicits inflammation and fatty infiltration in muscle. ... Multiple combined exercise and mild caloric restriction markedly attenuate the symptoms of sarcopenic obesity."
How are we to combat sarcopenic obesity? The International Journal of Endocrinology provides an answer. It states, "The American College of Sports Medicine recommends a multicomponent training exercise programme (strength, endurance, balance, and flexibility) to improve and maintain physical function in older adults. Resistance exercise has been investigated as an approach to counteract sarcopenia by stimulating protein synthesis and cause muscle hypertrophy with increased muscle strength and with improved physical performance."
Strength training is key. But it does more than merely preserve muscle mass. It preserves the structural integrity of our entire bodies. Lifting weights and performing body weight exercises will help preserve bone density. Osteoporosis is the reason for many people losing height as they age, their spines curving, and their hips fracturing when they fall. But there is a way to fight it. And that way is strength training. If you train for strength throughout life, you are likelier to remain taller and straighter as you age.
There is more research that backs up the importance of strength training for slowing the aging process. In fact, a group of researchers actually discovered that strength training can reverse aging. The researchers identified 179 genes in which aging was literally turned back. See the research: Resistance Exercise Reverses Aging in Human Skeletal Muscle
So what is the takeaway? It is this. Do those pushups, grab those dumbbells, and start lifting.
* posted by Robert on Wed, Jan 22, 2014
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Jack LaLanne
I do it as a therapy. I do it as something to keep me alive. We all need a little discipline. Exercise is my discipline.