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WHAT'S NEW
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June health news: Lift weights for a younger you
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Pump it up! Medical research reveals that weight training can reverse the aging process.
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By Heather Camlot
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Weight training has long been known to build endurance, increase muscle strength and improve health but now, it seems, lifting weights can also reverse the aging process.
How weights can revitalize cells
A recent study published in PLoS One, the online journal of the Public Library of Science, found that mitochondria, the parts of our cells that convert food and oxygen into energy, can be revitalized through resistance training.
"The mitochondria have their own DNA and this DNA accumulates damage throughout life, but ultimately contributes to decreased energy production; and the accumulation of products in the cell, that leads to the aging process," explains Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky, a professor of pediatrics and medicine at McMaster University and co-author of the study with Simon Melov of the Buck Institute for Age Research in Novato, California.
Study participants and results
Tissue samples from 25 people who were 70 and older were taken before and after undergoing twice-weekly weight training for six months. Those tissue samples were compared to samples taken from healthy people between the ages of 20 to 29 and researchers discovered that aging mitochondria could be reversed by 40 to 45 years.
"What this means to the older adult is that even those who have not participated in physical exercise in the past can show an improvement and partial reversal of the aging process in their muscle, which may lead to improved function," says Tarnopolsky, director of McMaster's Neuromuscular and Neurometabolic Clinic.
How weight training leads to a better quality of life
Muscle strength and knee extension strength was also examined in the study. The former improved by 21 per cent, while knee extension strength improved by 50 per cent. "Many of the individuals felt that daily function was easier for activities that required strength such as picking up grandchildren, going upstairs and carrying groceries," says Tarnopolsky.
Four months after the end of the study, a follow-up showed that although the participants no longer went to the gym, they still maintained the benefits and most continued to do some form of resistance training at home, like lifting soup cans or using elastic resistance bands.
Talk to your doctor
Before beginning any exercise program, schedule a checkup with your doctor, regardless of how healthy you feel, says Tarnopolsky. Once cleared for exercise, start slowly and work under the supervision of an expert, such as a certified personal trainer or kinesiologist.
"Many people are not familiar with proper technique for weight training and starting with inappropriate equipment with wrong technique could lead to injury to bones and joints," he explains. While the study only focused on strength exercises, Tarnopolsky states that endurance exercise is equally important, especially for weight management and cardiovascular health.
If you want to reverse the aging process, it's time to get up and get moving. "It's never too late to start an exercise program," says Tarnopolsky. "Everyone can benefit from an increase in physical activity."
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