Strength Training May Make Muscles "Younger"

As you know, here at the Truth Squad we are highly skeptical about the practical, on-the-ground value of a lot of scientific research. But a report about muscle aging published in the online journal PLoS One is fascinating and relevant to middle-agers pondering the value of strength training.

This study in 50 words or less
Researchers compared the molecular constitution of muscle tissue of young and old volunteers. The older people performed strength training 2 days a week for 6 months. At the end, the older folks' muscle tissue more resembled the younger people's. The old began 59 percent weaker; they ended 38 percent weaker.

Yes, but. . .
While the study wasn't blinded or placebo controlled--and the sample small--it used tissue samples and a rigorously supervised exercise program. Applicability rating: A-.

Key details

• The subjects started with one set of the more common exercises on health-club-style machines using half the weight they could lift once (i.e., if they could lift 40 pounds one time, they started with one set using 20 pounds). By the end they were doing 3 sets with 80 percent their single-rep maximum.
• This study actually shows--and we use this phrase very carefully in this blog--"reversal of muscle aging" on a molecular level (and in gene expression, which is too complex to get into in a short blog entry). Major stuff, in the world of exercise science.
  
• These researchers are not among those longevity-promising crackpots who often talk about "reversal of aging."

So what are you going to do about it?

• If you're not doing strength training, start.
  
• Hire a qualified personal trainer to get you started. I'm not just saying that; it's vital for middle-aged people for injury prevention and ensuring your program matches your goals.
  
• Here is a bunk-free article on personal trainer credentials, what to look for, etc. My only bone to pick is that it suggests an academic degree in physiology or some such is necessary. Many trainers lacking related degrees but who have certification, brains, empathy, skill and ambition, are excellent trainers. And I've met a few trainers with degrees who are outright dangerous. (Don't get me started.) AARP (hey, don't laugh) has a good guide on personal trainers too, since it focuses on trainers for middle-aged people and beyond.
• Don't think aerobic exercise will have the same benefits as shown here. You're going to need to lift weights. This point--that aerobic and strength exercise have unique benefits, and to be healthy you should get both--has been demonstrated in other studies. Here's a great story about the cardio vs. strength training debate. (Interest revealed: I'm former editor of The Washington Post health section.)