Aging affects the body all the way down to the cellular level. Cells in older muscles, in particular, become weaker and don’t regenerate as easily. However, one study suggests that certain kinds of workouts can “correct” some damage caused by aging.
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., conducted an experiment on subjects age 30 or younger or older than 64. As you’d guess, gains in muscle mass and strength were greater for those who did weight training, while gains in endurance were noted in those doing interval training on stationary bikes. But biopsies of muscle cells taken after the training period turned up some unexpected results among the interval trainers. In younger subjects, activity levels changed in 274 genes. Among the older subjects, almost 400 genes were working differently. Dr. Sreekumaran Nair, the study’s senior author, noted that intense exercise seemed to “correct” the decline in the cellular health of muscles associated with aging. The cells of older subjects responded more robustly to intense exercise than the cells of the young did. As Dr. Nair concluded: it’s never too late to benefit from exercise. Click here to see full results of the study published in Cell Metabolism. Thanks to our team member Art Bourgeois for discovering this story.
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My recent blog post “The Power of Instructive Change” talked about a philosophical aspect of our approach to Masters’ athletics and competitions. Here I’ll provide our team with information that’s more technical.
Beyond our inherent reductions in sprint capacity as older athletes, there is also much good news on ways to avoid slowing physical capacities and how to be the best we can be at our sport. Some encouraging findings appear in a recent technical paper titled “Why Are Masters Sprinters Slower Than Their Younger Counterparts? Physiological, Biomechanical, and Motor Control Related Implications for Training Program Design.” It’s summarized on Jimson Lee’s website, SpeedEndurance.com. Lee, a Masters athlete and coach based in London, describes his website as “a fun, no-nonsense, useful, and interesting approach to track & field, lifestyle, health, and fitness.” He summarizes the technical paper here. Below the main text is a link to the full paper to be published in the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity by Human Kinetics, Inc. The reading might seem challenging if you are unaccustomed to scientific papers, but hang in there for some great advice. Much of the information, I’m happy to report, covers points we already emphasize in our program. We are “spot-on” in many ways with what we are doing. But you can gain new knowledge from this paper, with an opportunity to change toward the better athletic you. I hope you will embrace the opportunity to read it. Rick Riddle |
your choiceIf you don't run, you rust. Leah rewolinskiThe Villages TLC Word Nerd & webmaster Archives
January 2025
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