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07.12.2017

Study: your age determines the effect strength training has on your body

Strength training is an effective anti-aging medicine, but it doesn't work equally well for all aspects of aging, according to a study published in JCI Insight by English sports scientists at the University of Nottingham. Their study suggests that serious anti-agers who use strength training to stay young should also make use of other instruments - probably diet and cardio training, and possibly supplements.

Study
The researchers performed an experiment with 3 groups of 20 participants. The age in the groups was 18-28 [Young], 45-55 [Middle Aged] and 65-75 [Older].

The researchers got the participants to do an hour of supervised strength training three times a week for 20 weeks. The participants did eight basic exercises in each workout: seated chest press, lat pull down, seated row, leg extension, leg curl, leg press, back extension, ab curl. So they worked on all the important muscle groups in their body.

Results
In all three age groups strength training resulted in more muscle strength and improved quality of the muscle tissue [which means the amount of protein in a gram of muscle tissue increased].

The amount of muscle mass that the participants built up depended on their age. The older the participants, the less muscle mass they built up.

The figure above also shows that the amount of bone mass that the participants built up as a result of strength training depended on their age. The older the participant, the less increase in bone mass as a result of strength training.

The researchers also discovered a similar relationship for fat mass. Among the young participants strength training reduced their fat percentage, among the older participants it did so less or not at all.

Conversely, the effect of strength training on the insulin balance increased the older the participants were. The HOMA-IR, a measure of insulin resistance, decreased among the older participants. You need to bear in mind that the insulin function in the younger participants was still intact and that their HOMA-IR was already low.

Conclusion
"Our data indicate that resistance exercise training offsets some, but not all, negative characteristics of ageing - some of which are apparent in midlife," the researchers concluded.

Source:
JCI Insight. 2017 Sep 7;2(17). pii: 95581.

More:
You benefit from strength training just as much in your sixties as you do in your thirties 25.08.2016
Over nineties still react to strength training 24.04.2014
At 40 you react (almost) as well to strength training as when you were 18 12.02.2010

Archives:
(Anti-)Aging Muscles
Strength Training

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