There is some really exciting new research about gym training. In most cases gym training will rejuvenate the muscles in older people. When this occurs it usually brings the aging process to a complete halt. The researchers in these studies were absolutely astounded when they found that the muscle tissue in the participants actually became younger.
Over 25 people with an average age of 70 took part in this study and were training in a gym. In addition there was also a group of younger participants just to compare the results found.
The older participants gained new strength and also had significantly increased molecular activity in their muscles to the point of people who were up to 50 years younger than them. Canadian scientists actually removed tissue samples and measured the gene activities and compared it to those of 20 – 35 year olds.
Researcher Dr. Simon Melov from McMaster University Medical Center in Hamilton Ontario said” We were very surprised by the results of the study. We expected to see gene expressions that stayed fairly steady in the older adults. The fact that their ‘genetic fingerprints’ so dramatically reversed course gives credence to the value of exercise, not only as a means of improving health, but of reversing the ageing process itself.”
The nutritional and exercise habits of those two age groups were the same during the study and none of the participants were on any kind of medications or had diseases that may have affected the outcome.
Of the training sessions held, the measurements of strength that was tested before the exercises showed that the older participants were an average of 59% weaker than the younger participants. After the training sessions, they were only 38% weaker which showed huge improvements of nearly 50%!
Those are some serious results, but are not in comparison to the change in the mitochondria. This kind of that power plant that sits in every cell which is responsible for generating energy. This has shown to play the main role in muscle loss and dysfunction which occurs in people as they get older.
By measuring the gene activities in the mitochondria it allowed the researchers to discover on of the key factors in the ageing process. What they found was that exercise reversed the genetic imprint back to levels that were shown in the younger participants.
Physical Activity sets the foundation for health, vitality and longevity.
So, when’s the last time you’ve been to the gym?
[...] some posts are heavily italicized. Here is an example of what I am referring to, on a recent post, Are You Too Old To Benefit From The Gym. As you can see the entire post is italicized. Its not very reader [...]
I must admit that over the years I have noticed that the age range of people in the gym has expanded to include more persons in their 50’s and 60’s. Beyond that age group I haven’t seen any change.
However, I do see more older people in my neighborhood walking at all times of the day. I even see the older ladies with their weights in hand while walking.
While I think that we have a long way to go in terms of optimizing our health through exercise, I do believe that a good percentage of society understands the correlation between activity and physical health.