Improve Cellular Health in Muscles with Exercise
Recent research reveals the best type of exercise for slowing cellular aging in muscle tissue
We age because our cells age. This is especially true of muscle tissue. The cells in an older person’s muscle tissue regenerate less easily than the cells in a younger person’s muscle tissue, mainly because the cells’ mitochondria—which are responsible for providing energy to the cell—become weaker and less numerous.
However, it turns out that there is a way to reinvigorate the mitochondria and help slow cellular aging in muscle tissue: exercise.
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota recently investigated the cellular impact of exercise to see how different types of exercise affected individuals in different age groups. The study participants included 72 men and women who were either under age 31 or over age 64. The researchers took baseline measurements of the participants’ aerobic fitness and blood sugar levels as well as gene activity and mitochondrial health in their muscle cells.
The participants were randomly assigned to one of four exercise groups that involved either vigorous weight training several times per week; high intensity interval training on stationary bikes 3 times per week; 30 minutes on a stationary bike a few times per week plus weight lifting on alternate days; or no exercise at all.
After 12 weeks of exercise, the researchers found that interval training caused the greatest changes in gene activity levels in muscle tissue. This was not too surprising, since the interval training was the highest intensity exercise program in the study. What was very surprising was the difference in gene activity between old and young participants.
Among the younger group, activity levels had changed in 274 genes, while in the over 64 group, almost 400 genes were affected. Many of these genes are believed to play a role in mitochondrial energy production. And indeed, testing revealed that the older participants in the interval training group had healthier, more numerous mitochondria at the end of the study.
Want to Improve Your Muscles as You Age?
If you are interested in maintaining or even building muscle mass as you age, obviously picking the right exercise regimen is important, as this study clearly shows. However, you will also want to take steps to maximize the effectiveness of your exercise. For example, both men and women need healthy testosterone to build and maintain muscle mass. This testosterone may be lacking at andropause or menopause, but hormone replacement therapy from Renew Youth can deliver the right amount of testosterone that you need. We can also offer injectable nutrient formulas that will help give you energy for your workouts and get your body burning fat more efficiently. To learn more, please contact us at 800-859-7511.
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