Why don't you provide examples of weight training. Most of us know that it is good for us - you missed the boat on those one.
32
I was really hoping you were going to tell me the couch potatoes had won this one. Of course I knew it couldn't be, but as long as the study was being done, well, I could dream...
16
As an "Over Doer" who is pushing 80, my muscle mass is greater than at any earlier age. I can't get younger people to exercise with me more than once.
I was doing over 200 chinups/pullups daily but I "listened to my backbone" when it said too many. so I modified so that joints were not tested near as much as brute muscles, now all is great again. still doing over 120 pushups, some full body muscle-ups and quite a bit of running, especially uphill, each day. I really first started exercising after 60. really went gung ho at 71. I have never been a fan of fried/fast foods. Weight 192# & no body fat.
Plea to others, "Have intimate dialogue with your body, let it know that you want better performance & listen when it states that bones & joints are hurting(back off) but when muscles complain of being sore, push them even more." Point of this message, bones can't take it & they make U pay, muscles learn/adjust to live with what exercise U toss at them.
As an African descendant, I despair for others of my group as we are the most at risk for early demise, obesity & bad health. online age calculators refuse to forecast my age as stats say I am already dead. Please listen to the real items from your body, give it what it needs, not a bunch of junk.
@jabber in Texas states about arthritis, The Great Courses has yoga video classes specifically for people suffering with arthritis. Many of the series is available from the Dallas public library for free, even streaming into your home.
69
To Jane Brody:
Please, please address the needs of arthritic people in these articles!
How do I protect my joint when trying to lift a weight that puts stress on it? How do I deal with the rest intervals I need because I get so sore?
23
@jabber re: how to protect your joints... Exercise in water! You can still interval train in a pool, you just really have to push yourself. :)
27
Our bodies always slave to our minds
A happy and contented mind leads to good health and activity.
Exercises do help but what really contributes to longevity is a happy and cheerful attitude
Yoga which is a fusion of mindfulness and gentle stretching contributes to along and useful life.
29
I changed my life. At 56, I designed and fabricated a 3-wheeled recumbent bicycle and trailer just to ride the 2200 miles from State College, PA to Santa Fe, NM. I was obese at 330lbs and dreamed of being the fit 220lbs with 7 percent body fat that I enjoyed well into my 40's. I rode the length of the Appalachian Mountain Range from Pennsylvania to its end in Huntsville, Alabama, then turned West and rode through the mid-South in mid-summer. I lost an incredible 70lbs on a daily diet of Ramen noodles with added eggs and veggies, a banana and either an apple or orange, coffee, tea and Tang (turns out I needed the sugar!).
Covering West Virginia was my own personal olympics and the place where I set my land speed record of the entire trip - 56.1mph (again, with trailer in tow).
I like to say that if I was the least down on the human race, it didn't even take the length of West Virginia to fix that. Why? Random acts of selfless kindness by complete strangers, along the entire 2200 mile route, without ever having asked for anything. We live in an amazing world and I have forever been changed, physiologically and spiritually, by the experience. I am now 60yrs old and am scheming future trips (and funding), one for Sydney to Perth along the Great Ocean Road and beyond, and one for China. I feel a debt to the nameless heroes I met and am working on a book to tell the story of their amazing acts of kindness that I encountered along my journey.
116
I love your post, I’m 68 and have never been in better shape. I’m 6’3”, 205 llbs and work out every day, light weights, 10 mins on a sinning bike, and the ropes, and a lot of stretching. The most rewarding aspect is my boundless energy!! Instead of slowing down, I feel like I’m 30 years old.
25
@Paul Hester
Congrats on your new life! But…
I find counterproductive that the NYT chooses an extreme example of how exercise and health go together.
Nobody needs to drop from the face of the earth, leave job, family and friends, to become healthy.
This is an extreme example that seems to have more to do with low self esteem and possible some mental health issues.
There is no mystery to a healthy life: Eat healthy (avoid processed foods), exercise moderately (walk, bike and workout at home or a gym), be kind to others (volunteer), watch less TV and read a book to exercise your brain.
Of course, very few people can start training and running a marathon at 80 but this is not common or desirable for most of the population. In addition, this kind of examples discourages others from exercising because the message is “if you don’t go extreme you shouldn’t try at all.”
NYT: great article, extremely poor choice!
25
Interval training with Qi Gong, bodyweight movements, kettlebell for linear external weight and a mace for centripetal external weight and footwork drills for the past 7 years have absolutely regenerated me. Google my teacher, Sifu Singh.
8
Go rowing. An indoor rower such as the Concept2 or the WaterRower or many other models are good low-to-no impact exercise. If you are near a rowing club, check it out. It is an all-ages sport good for absolute beginners through Masters level. There is also a great social aspect to it. 2,4,or 8 people in a rowing shell . You can also "scull" by yourself and have a great time doing that as well. Ready? Row!
14
I began lifting weights 33 years ago at the age of 35 in part because my ex and I owned/operated a Tex-Mex restaurant where I became addicted to deep-fried cheese burritos and refried beans made with lard. No one could have told me weight resistance training would forever change my life. My trainer took me from a size 12-14 to a toned, ripped, size four in nine months. I'll lift until the day I take my last breath.
23
I am an 87+ yr. young woman. I take daily 1 hr. walks. a time that allows me to socialize with strangers. Because I love nature I listen to the language of trees and thank them for contributing to my good health. I sing with the local birds and dance when my body wants to stretch. Evenings, before going to bed I do Yoga exercises. And I laugh a lot -- at myself. Yes, continuos movement keeps one young.
49
Good for you....I have seen this with 89 year olds....positive mental attitude and keep moving
16
I am 69 and I lift weights twice a week and do aerobic exercises (elliptical) 4-5 times a week. I also play doubles tennis twice a week and I walk 9 holes twice a week. BUT, I find it extremely hard to do the interval training described in this article. Working out hard for 4 minutes, going slow for 3 and doing this sequence a total of 4 times is next to impossible for me. I am very healthy, have a trim build and enjoy active activities....BUt whoever thought it's easy or possible for someone like me to do the 4,3, 4,3,4,3,4,3 interval training is crazy. The article looses credibility for me.
15
@Rick Roeder
Do 45 seconds hard then 2-3 minutes slow, and repeat 4-5 times.
7
@Rick RoederI agree on the 4 minute intervals. I do the minimal 10 minute, 3 interval, stationary bike exercise that was described in this column some time ago. The intervals last 20 seconds and then there are 2 minutes of recovery. I am unable to go all out for longer than 20 seconds so I can't imagine what could be meant by a 4 minute interval. Maybe just pedaling a little faster?
I do ride a recumbent trike 12-19 miles twice a week over rolling terrain and my resting pulse at 80 years of age is 42.
6
People who feel well are more apt to exercise, so the study may in fact be measuring the better health of people who are genetically disposed to be biologically younger than their years. A self-fulfilling prophecy (although no one disputes it is better to exercise, if you can, than not.)
13
Doing the interval training keeps you strong and healthy. It’s also hard work that pays off. I’ve added 4 days a week of interval training to 4 days of Ashtanga Yoga in order to maintain and improve my yoga practice at age 57.
I’m 80 years old. I stay out of gyms, which are stressfully intense. l walk around my block couple of times a week. Drink wine, mojitos, etc, but not before 5pm. Ignore most articles about health. Our fate is not in our stars or gym, but in our genes. And never, ever watch Faux News or read Trump’s tweets, which are brain cell murder.
81
Good to know it is never too late..
I am 79.
23
After spending 5 days in a hospital, in bed most of the time, I had 2 surgery procedures which depleted my strength significantly.
I knew it would take time to recover, especially at 80 years old, but my dog needed my attention which motivated me to move. Each day I felt my strength returning, the more I walked, the better I felt.
Getting back to my exercise routines felt great, albeit with some trepidation, but again the more I worked out, my muscle memory took over.
It's true, our bodies respond to exercise post surgery faster after previous workouts no matter the age.
Best to start training, or maintain, we never know when we will need the conditioning foundation, it's the best investment out there.
41
I suspect that much of the difference between the weight lifters and the interval trainers is bad weight lifting technique. Virtually everyone who lifts weights is doing it wrong. They put on a lot of weight. Then they lift it five to ten times and take a long break to diddle with their phone for ten minutes. Where did they get this stupid idea?
9
from the Olympics?
5
Looking at the study itself, they excluded the groups below (meaning that the regimen and study results are not safe and/or relevant for the following groups). These groups include anybody who exercises, and anybody who has the problems associated with not exercising, especially after age 65, so I am not sure who this study is supposed to apply to. How many 65-80 year olds are there who do not exercise for at least 20 minutes twice a week, but also do not have any of the following problems?
"Exclusion criteria were structured regular exercise (>20 min, twice weekly), cardiovascular disease, metabolic diseases (type 2 diabetes mellitus, fasting blood glucose > 110 mg/dL, and untreated hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism), renal disease, high body mass index (BMI > 32 kg/m2), implanted metal devices, pregnancy, smoking, and history of blood clotting disorders. Exclusionary medication included anticoagulants, insulin, insulin sensitizers, corticosteroids, sulfonylureas, barbiturates, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ agonists, β blockers, opiates, and tricyclic antidepressants."
14
take a walk. putter around the yard. start a garden. the idea is to move, and move some every day.
i'm lucky enough at 57 to ride my bike to work... 25 minutes of easy exercise on the way in, 20 minutes of moderate exercise on the way home!
19
You missed the point. You didn't read the article. The most highly beneficial association is between intense exercise of around thirty minute intervals, in other words, aerobics
11
Al, just to be crystal clear, the best effects came from not just regular aerobics, but high-intensity aerobic interval training. Overall they were exercising five days a week, and doing high-intensity interval training (HIIT) 3 of those days.
In the study itself, they define this as follows: "HIIT - High-intensity interval training consisted of 3 days per week of intervals on an electronically braked cycle ergometer (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and 2 days per week on motorized treadmill walking (Tuesday and Thursday). The interval protocol was a 10-minute warm-up followed by 4 cycles of 4-minute high intervals (> 90%) with 3- minute rest (pedaling at no load) then a 5-minute cool down. The time per session at high intensity was 16 minutes. The treadmill protocol was a self-selected walking pace (2-4 mph) with a 10-minute warm-up, 45 minutes at incline at 70% VO2 peak then a 5-minute cool down.
That amounts to 43 minutes total on the three aerobics days, but, crucially, the main aerobics was broken into four 7-minute intervals: 4 minutes of intensive biking and 3 minutes of pedaling without resistance. And on the two non-aerobics days they had a leisurely, hour-long walk.
20
no, not enough.
1
Have researchers looked at the impact of vigorous use of the tv remote control
28
It's best to be skeptical of fitness advice from anybody, unless they are old and in perfect health.
8
Ok, I am a weirdo, but I think about this a lot. I am 47 and a few years ago I changed my workouts. I was a heavy lifter, maxing out at about 400 on bench, but I was getting constant tendinitis and I was putting on too much weight. I changed everything: the basis of my workouts became pull ups (weighted, unweighted and angled) , dips ( the same) , a ton or core work but from unusual angles, and rucking (walking with a weight vest). The results have been very good, and I feel a lot better. I still do some heavy lifting but only say like one set of four at 275 for bench followed by extremely light weight slow movements for chest. My rationale was we are products of evolution, and as such benching super heavy weight wasn't beneficial, whereas pulling pushing, and carrying were. Also, changing the angles of weight has caused some new muscle lines on this old man body. TOld ya I was weird
25
Stop making sense. By the way - can you tell me the details of your "core-work"? I can use the advice of some who knows what they're talking about. Thanks in advance.
2
Did anyone in the interval group drop dead of an MI during the intense phase of their exercise?
I have no doubts that elevating the heart rate more strengthens the heart more but I don’t know what to tell someone who is over 45 or so and hasn’t done intense exercise since they were teenagers. At what point do you say “ok, now you can start interval training?” Do new intense exercisers need a cardiac stress test? I don’t know.
16
Yes, check with your doctor first. Isn't that the usual strong recommendation?
1
a diet that includes oatmeal, every day, should come first for the person who has not exercised heavily in 10+ years. that and zero processed sugar, or sugar substitutes. excess sugar gets processed by the liver into cholesterol. the oatmeal fiber helps to clear out the cholesterol already present and stopping sugar will help to keep it from being produced in the future. (I make my own granola at home. try it. (Mix in large metal bowl, 2 tubes of oats, 2 cups each of walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, peanuts, and desiccated coconut. Mix a 46 oz jar of unsweetened apple sauce, 12 oz of honey or maple syrup, some vanilla, salt, and a cup of canola oil. preheat the oven to 350f. boil the wet mix for a good 5 minutes stirring continuously and then mix with dry, thoroughly. heat cookie sheets with 1/2 of this mix for 20 minutes, stir, 10 minutes, stir again and then ten more minutes or until there is no more steaming when stirred. then i turn off the oven and put the whole thing in the large metal bowl and leave it for several hours, until it has cooled. put back in the oats tubes. should keep for two months.
You make an excellent point, but if they weren't all screened and tested for such possibilities before being allowed to do the exercise, I'd be surprised.
2
Get off the statins, bad for your mitochondria. I’m a doctor. Got my degree at Google University
14
Where does this article say get off statins?
1
Your statement is unproven and possibly wrong, Statins have been associated with interference in mitochondrial function, but other than the rare (1 in 10,000) cases, that interference is not damage. It seems to be the cause of cramps and some muscle soreness, but tests have shown no diminution in muscle function, and there's nothing on permanent damage to mitochondria:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5575577/
2
cool! that's where I get my diagnoses
3
I wonder if interval training mimics the fight or flight response, a physiological reaction that occurs in response to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat to survival.
9
The article says that everyone experienced improvements in fitness and ability to regulate blood sugar. Does that include the control group, i.e., those who did not exercise?
21
Hope springs eternal.... ;)
6
Sooz or Snooze??
It's all about staying power, yes you start with high expectations, gonna do it this time you say, but things happen, maybe boredom, the repetition, the muscle discomfort, the rush to check your weight, nothing has changed, same old, same old.
Maybe, same old, same old is the stagnation? Maybe it's time to find, search for that which will maintain, then increase your motivation. I know, at least I have a good idea what keeps my interest, has to do with how I feel.
At 80 years old what makes me feel good is what I continue to do, and that is being addicted to and enjoying endorphins. Don't search for it in your Formulary, you won't find it because your body has it ready to go, you just have to find a way to release it.
It may not be what you're used to, it may be very different, but the availability exists, the thing that motivates you to move, could be walking, or riding a bicycle that makes you mobile, or the hundreds of niche market self-powered vehicles that people find interesting to look at. The key is to find which one will unlock the door to that feeling of well being.
Feel lucky? Go ahead and make your life better, I do but in reality, we make our own luck, but you knew that already.
18
Pushing past your comfort zone is key. Group exercise is wonderful and gets you further than you may think.
11
Gretchen - Just read the study and noticed a small mistake in your (otherwise excellent) article..."pedaling hard for four minutes, resting for three and then repeating that sequence three more times" - the sequence was repeated 4 times and for 2 days, the High Intensity subjects walked inn the treadmill for 45 minutes at a moderate rate (70% VO2). I'm starting this today. Happy New Year!
8
One glass of red wine daily.
9
I just passed my 88th birthday, and exercise vigorously (both weight and aerobic) five days a week for about an hour.
I had an irregular heart beat that was medically predicted to kill me before my 24th birthday. That irregularity has completely disappeared, according to my current cardiologist.
I use alcohol responsibly and indulge in an occasional cigar. My parents lived to their late 90’s. I’m convinced that their genes, in addition to my exercise, have contributed to my longevity.
42
Makes sense, but not because of the "genes" mumbo-jumbo. I'm a 75-year old genomics researcher who largely follows an exercise regimen taken from a NY Times video intended to maintain knee stability, plus exercise to mitigate lower-back pain and balance. I've also added pushups for upper-body strength and a brief run uphill to get my heart rate up to 160 beats-per-minute. I have doing pushups but, my God. my biceps feel great when I stop! Same with the sprint run with dog. While there are well-established benefits for moderate exercise, it does appear that you need to push your limits to get the most benefits.
16
My problem with exercise is a stubborn tendency toward tendinitis if I do many kinds of exercise too regularly or too intensively. It is quite frustrating.
I would love to see how that is best avoided or mitigated.
19
Learn self-massage. Particularly trigger point therapy. The book by Clair Davies is excellent.
3
Many of us have accumulated injuries through the years, often in fact caused by exercise but well worth the price. Try many forms of activity, until you find those that will not aggregate the areas in question ie certain weight lifting exercises that don’t hurt, swimming, bike riding, nordic track, elliptical machines, etc. there will be things that you can still do...
4
Until tests are devised that reveal who has superior DNA and who not, it seems to me unlikely that reliable opinions can be useful in assessing and comparing anyone's physical condition, or arrive a health prognosis.
I'm almost 80, have abused drugs and alcohol, starved for long periods, oit of ignorance eaten all the wrong foods, been fat, been too thin, been tortured extensively, traumatized both mentally and physically (broken C1 and C2, paralyzed) . . . and yet survived cholera, deliberate poisoning, sky-diving and ski high-velocity impacts, venomous attacks by supposedly deadly spiders and snakes, been severely burnt and long-term frozen (without losing limbs, 5 months in a coma in the jungle and my own stupidity. My doctors agree with me: good genes.
31
Race Walking, combined with 5-10 pound dumb bells as a separate exercise, will accomplish all that is required with optimal safety. 5-10 miles per workout, 3-7 days per week, according to the inclination and speed of recovery of the individual, is optimal. The strenuousness of the workout may be judged by breathing, and interval "sprints" can be employed. There are world records for those in their 80s and 90s and there is age group competition for all decades over 40. First, get a good coach; it is difficult to self-teach proper style. Additionally, proper shoes, although inexpensive, should be carefully chosen.
Race Walking is great cardio-pulmonary exercise, also exercises upper body, trunk muscles and thigh and leg muscles. It can be done anywhere.
10
I trained as a middle distance -distance runner throughout my 30s. In my 40s I segued into running easy distance. As the decades went by I reduced my mileage. At the age of 71 I now run about 20 miles a week. I run some runs fast while others slow. I run one interval workout a week, a dozen repeats up an incline about 200 meter in length. I also do a session of yoga afterwards. I worked with light weights from the age of 16 until about 15 years ago. Now I do push-ups, crunches, dips, and pull-ups. I swim almost every day for 4 months a year. I would swear that pace hasn't lessoned in the past 30 years but the stop watch tells me otherwise. I have some sciatica problems which for some reason don't bother me when I run or sit. I feel great and enjoy working my body. I also continue to coach high school kids in xc and track.
16
67 and I highly recommend Yin Yoga - check it out www.yinyoga.com - can be done anytime anywhere which bypasses having to get to the gym. Combines strength training with stretching - I add weights and core strengthening exercises as well
2
69 and "got old" this year. Those 2500 miles a year riding hard on my road bike are now between 1600 and 1800, 1.5 mph slower. My endurance had ebbed some and am now using an inhaler before a ride (average about 24 miles) and taking more mini breaks. Still, I love the mental and physical benefits and feeling, through recovery takes longet; less back to back rides. I do not take my statins if I'm riding the next morning or afternoon and occasionally use Volteran for joint and muscle pain. Like many i spin on my trainer in winter. Drumming used to be my upper body work but now my shoulders say "no!".
4
Try standing while you're burning more calories than on a bicycle, gaining endurance, increasing core strength that cycling does nothing, all with no pounding on your joints and tendons.
This 80-year-old found by experimenting with something different, stand up scooters after many years of spinning putting pressure on my back. Two Me-Mover's later, I'm still finding more improvement in my body.
3
841 (and counting) fitness experts here per usual.
18
I would like to see some studies on skiing and skiers. If you're someone who likes to rip down the runs then between the chairlift and the skiing, you're doing high intensity intervals.
3
What kinds of exercise are appropriate depends greatly on the individual. For many older people with certain degenerative diseases, “intensity”needs to be defined, channeled and monitored.
15
Thank you for pointing out the necessity of tailoring each individual;s exercise
routine to their specific needs. structure, life style, and overall wellness and
physiology. We all have different needs and our bodies are much more likely
to do well if our workouts consists of exercises we like and exercises we do
correctly when we're alone.
4
Flaw in this study is that use of statin drugs was neither controlled for nor excluded. Good evidence exists that statins, even in lowest doses, totally block mitochondrial adaptation to exercise.
29
Good point, but if subjects were assigned randomly those on statins would have likely been spread evenly across the different groups. Also, we would expect that more of the older people to be in statins than the younger, yet the older people improved more. So possibly statins could have an effect on the amount of effect, but not the direction of it in this study.
6
Sounds reasonable. i
1
My mother is 100 and lives in a retirement community. I cannot see any difference in the habits of these very old people and other Americans. Aside from the near absence of truly obese people, they eat the same things, do no more exercise than other people, don't have different attitudes as far as I can tell. I have been sitting with people who have lived into their nineties, me with my salad and them with their hot dogs, and marveled.
25
In fairness, out of a population of 326 million Americans there have to be hundreds of thousands of those who lowered their odds but still beat those lesser odds.
8
The most difficult part of going to the gym is actually getting to the gym.
42
Critical words are “believed to.”
3
The best exercise is the one that you will continue to do.
37
59 and in the best shape of my life from running and high intensity workouts. One thing I would add don’t just lift at the gym add in things like alternating waves with ropes etc.
6
65 in 2018 and training for my 3rd Ironman triathlon which will be my 135th tri. A combination of high intensity coupled with weights and yoga keeps me moving. But yes, low population in study so don't jump to conclusions.
11
Good for you Cheryl.
4
65 yrs old. Type 2 diabetic, moderate a-fib, arthritis, sciatica blah blah etc. Lost 45 lbs over 10 yrs its staying off. I hike, trails around here they gain altitude rapidly. I try to do a minimum of 5 mi/10k steps and during the summer months (when mountains are snowless) can average 7mi. Recently started using insulin and am weighing food with a cool scale. I follow tot calories, carbs, fiber. And am avoiding insulin driven weight gain and am loosing a bit each week. To each his own. Take a nap in the pm.
I don’t see much in comments about stretching. It’s critical. I do about 1 hr/day program developed by my physical therapist.
As a punch line the last Bruce Test put me at 140% of expected a VO2 Max of a 40 yr old.
I also recommend a dog as companion for mental health and a training buddy.
Mainly.....present a moving target.
23
I am proof that it works. This year and at age 50, I officially beat two fitness Guinness World Records using a strict routine of High Intensity Interval training. I am today probably in the best shape of my life. However, one thing is very different from my younger days. If I stop training for just a week or two there is a dramatic decrease in strength and endurance vs. doing the same at a younger age.
55
Same here, very noticeable.
2
I am 68, doing walking 45 minutes a day and weights. Type 2 Diabetic, diagnosed but not taking medication for it, nor the statin and BP med. Trying Chinese and Indian herbs. I am building upper body muscle very well, went up a full size. However, if I skip a day or two, I feel that I am loosing the muscles as rapidly as the build up.
2
Hmmm....
"Many of these affected genes, especially in the cells of the interval trainers, are believed to influence the ability of mitochondria to produce energy for muscle cells.."
So given this some of the recent research into Nicotinamide Riboside and Pterostilbene and how they positively impact mitochondria might be on to something? It would make sense that anything that bolsters the functioning of the main "engine" of the cell would have positive benefits overall for the body. Within limits of course.
Thanks for the article.
John~
American Net'Zen
6
Inspired by this article, I decided to include interval fast episodes in my daily three mile walk on a gravel path by Lake Michigan. After warming up, I sped up, promptly stubbed my toe and did a face plant, unable to recover my balance with the momentum. Black eye, fractured finger, no brain bleed, could have been much worse. So now, in addition to my normal weights and balance exercises, I am walking only on smooth paths and at my normal moderate pace, 10,000 steps a day, 7 days a week Sorry if my 82 year old mitachondria don't like it.
98
Work out to your own level of mindful fitness. Drink water and take time to recover. Baths of Epsom Salts with Lavender are a therapeutic treat. Enjoy your blessings of health. And breathe. Namaste.
35
We know this. My mother has lost her muscle strength because her severe arthritis makes it too painful to walk. Where are we in the race for the cure for this crippling disease that traps people in wheelchairs too soon?
34
Google "Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells" and "Osteoarthritis". That will lead you down a rabbit hole that should answer your questions.
7
My mother has similar problems, but she found a warm water pool that has exercise classes and that helps her keep moving and eases her pain.
2
I had bought my mother a NuStep Cross-Trainer like the ones they use in rehab centers. It was expensive but worth it. My mother liked the machine at rehab, but she only went to rehab twice a week and she would get about 15 minutes of machine time. Thirty minutes a week did nothing.
Once we got the machine at home, she was able to use it everyday, at her convenience, and her legs were very strong. Her problem was scoliosis so she was unbalanced and prone to falling. I sold the machine after she died at 93. Should have kept it because I could use it now.
1
Has anybody got injured? Any adverse long term side effect? First thing that any clinical trial of a drug or treatment do is to assess the safety. This is a small trial that did not look into that. I know first hand how effective HIIT can be, but I wouldn't recommend to older people to go all out with it just yet, especially without supervision. For one thing, older people may not recover from over-training as well as young people do. Though rare, over-training can have a devastating effect on the long term quality of life if repeated.
15
What do you do with obsolete equipment rarely used? Discard it, right?
Doesn't make sense to have something that rarely makes an effect on our lives, common sense.
Yet many let their muscles go the way of rarely used stuff, muscle loss is natural as we age, however by not using them, it accelerates the process.
If you believe you can improve your fitness, you can for the majority of us elderly. It takes the same desire we all have to improve our lives, belief in ourselves.
I gave myself a boost a few years ago by including a mobile stepping machine with weight training. I would ride to the gym on a bicycle, but because of the relatively short distance, I didn't get much of a workout. So I tried this scooter. Yes, I had to acclimate to the different use of muscles, soon after even at 78 I adapted, we can adapt, all of us if we have the desire.
Find what motivates you to start the adapting process, those muscles can become stronger, they were programmed that way.
13
I'm lounging on the couch reading this and thinking of what to have for breakfast when I really have to start thinking of when I can get to the gym!
16
Two unique forms of exercise are working for me, later in life: E-biking and kickboxing. Electric-assist bikes are amazing. Hills become non-issues! Trails, exercise, outdoors, fun... Check it out online. And kickboxing at my local gym is equally amazing, in a different way. Full-body, cardio and resistance, not boring, intense (or not) as I want it, great group of people. Can't recommend it enough. Between the two, I'm all set!
8
@Jim Gentry The best electric-assist bikes require one to pedal in order for the motor to assist so there is no loss of exercise, just more fun in going faster. My ICE Sprint trike with Shimano Steps 8000 e-assist just go through customs and I am eager to ride it and increase my average speed from 10mph to 17mph.
Hoist those weights! Strength and fitness awaits you.
8
The social aspects of exercise are just as important as the physical benefits. That is why getting to the gym and being a regular participant in various classes, Pilates, aerobics, exercise with hand weights and other equipment, etc. is fun, not a chore. I get to chat with the same friendly people and feel the energy that encourages me to do a bit more than I would otherwise.
14
I couldnt agree with you more. Especially for individuals who are less self motivated classes are a great way to go. We 3 or 4 men in the classes are a distinct minority but the workouts are always challenging and sweat inducing. Everyone works at their own level of their abilty and alternatives are offered. At 63 and the oldest in the class I am definately in the best shape of my life. I get a far superior workout in a group with a good trainer than I would ever get on my own.
3
Tues: 45 min zumba 45 min coffee break 45 mins zumba class 15 min of heavy weights.(arms)
Th: 45 min zumba with 3lb weights. 45 min coffee break 45 min zumba class 15 mins heavy weights ( legs) Thursdays pretty much wipe me out..but I recover well... by resting
Friday if I am rested... 45 min zumba.
To me this is the best..I have done zumba for 7 years..My mother is 88 she joins me on T/TH for 45 mins each day. Perfect BP... maintain weight... eat and drink whatever I want... keeps my mind happy as well....
I love zumba the music, moves, social aspect..
8
and should old bodies expect to be subjected to sudden intense activity? is it better if they are? the resources the body devotes to such readiness in older people might be taken from other more valuable uses
5
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/02/08/well/move/lessons-on-aging-well-fr...
...
He then went out and set the one-hour world record for people 100 years and older, covering about 14 miles.
Afterward, Dr. Billat had him begin a new training regimen. Under this program, about 80 percent of his weekly workouts were performed at an easy intensity, the equivalent of a 12 or less on a scale of 1 to 20, with 20 being almost unbearably strenuous according to Mr. Marchand’s judgment. He did not use a heart rate monitor.
The other 20 percent of his workouts were performed at a difficult intensity of 15 or above on the same scale. For these, he was instructed to increase his pedaling frequency to between 70 and 90 revolutions per minute, compared to about 60 r.p.m. during the easy rides. (A cycling computer supplied this information.) The rides rarely lasted more than an hour....
4
I’ve done water aerobics, both shallow and deep, for about 20 years in various places.
Several of my classmates have had knee or hip replacements over the years. Invariably, their doctors remark about their faster than average recovery.
Stories like this prompted me to change gyms and go somewhere where I can get a vigorous and varied workout (cardio, intervals, strength, balance) five days a week.
3
Sreekumaran is a great name for a researcher of aging.
Kumara is Sanskrit for boy, the Four Kumaras were sons of Brahma. Not interested in the typical arc of aging, family, etc, they requested a blessing to remain five years old, eternally.
Rough translation of Sreekumaran is blessed boys.
9
Gretchen Reynolds has been reporting (helpfully) for years on the science supporting HIIT, especially the superior benefits it offers over steady state exercise and in a shorter period of time. Much of the science is the work of Martin Gibala, Ph.D., who has set forth his and others’ results in a short book entitled The One-Minute Workout, which gives the science of HIIT and how to utilize it, for regular exercisers and for new exercisers, including 10 protocols showing various intensities and lengths of time, all of which have been proven to improve fitness for a variety of populations. (I have no relation, economic or otherwise, to this work. I just appreciate it.)
As I read today’s report, what is new in this study is proof at the cellular level that HIIT appears to slow and even reverse the aging process.
Science is helping us know more about what works best to keep and improve our health. Not all questions are answered, but we know more now than we did. Thanks!
13
Vanity started my exercise regime about 55 years ago, feeling good maintains the desire with some bouts of ego.
Feels good to be taken for a younger man, why not?
I can feel the same increase in strength when I maintain a strict training program as I did when I was younger. Even in aerobics, if I continue increasing my time on the Me-Mover, I can go further on future rides. The same with weight training, if I maintain by using the same weights, I do not progress, but increasing reps or weight, my strength increases. Obviously, I have my limits at 80 years old, but it's true, we can improve our fitness even at an elderly age.
I think some people are conditioned to not believe what we can do with our bodies because of years of a certain lifestyle. Defeat apprehension by proving it to yourselves.
9
In reading the posted comments, I am amazed at how many snarky, anti-exercise statements people made. I agree with the comments that said that the sample is too small to whole heartedly accept the results as gospel, but personally I do think that interval training should be an important part of people’s life and aging. In general, it should be obvious to everyone that exercise should be part of everyone’s lives. For those who mock people who exercise, well, proceed at your own risk!
18
I agree. Probably, these are rather lazy people who use clever arguments to support their own sedentary lifestyles!
5
I am becoming more afraid of injuries, especially now that Republicans seem bent on making sure that no one can afford health insurance.
42
Wish they went into more detail about the interval training. What exactly did they do?
12
Attn: Eric Jensen,
If you click on the text of the article in the second paragraph,"Study published this month in Cell Metabolism", you will gain access to the full published scientific article.
Here is the excerpt from the article which answers your question: HIIT was 3 days per week of cycling (4 × 4 min at >90% of peak oxygen consumption [VO2 peak] with 3 min pedaling at no load) and 2 days per week of treadmill walking (45 min at 70% of VO2 peak).
HIIT is high intensity aerobic interval training.
27
Interval training is essentially a level of “I can do this” activity punctuated by bursts of “I’m going to die” exertions.
Such as:
Jog to warm up
Sprint
Jog (catch your breath)
Sprint
Jog (catch your breath)
If you are training with a coach, continue until your sprint is indistinguishable from your jogging.
5
Age makes a difference... and waiting till you are 50 lbs over weight then deciding to exercise..makes it twice as hard. I believe life is balance. You over due it at the gym..you pay for it. If you don't g0 to a gym, you pay for it. Dance..is my answer, yoga bores me to death......good luck with your journey... each person has their own idea on what works for them.
9
When we work out the last thing on our minds is a future medical event such as emergency surgery. We need our bodies prepared which is the reason for continued maintenance. Imagine if we never changed the oil in our powered vehicles, just skipped everything, but some people do, and more never even consider exercise.
Maybe because of "too old" to start now, really?
I'm recuperating from a few procedures, I can feel my strength coming back the more I move. That muscle memory thing makes things easier.
We should all give our muscles things to memorize, better than starting from scratch at a vulnerable level.
7
The bottom line is to make sure to stay active. We live in a society where the ideal is having the time and money to watch a big screen TV for as many hours as we like. It is a prescription for getting old fast. Be active. Don't sit for extended periods of time. At least once an hour get up and move around for a few minutes. The real period of challenge is when you are in your 70s or 80s and have been active all your life. Then suffer an injury or the onset of arthritis of the knees or hips and our motivation often goes out the window as we can no longer do our interval training or running or spinning. The real challenge is to stay active AT THAT POINT doing whatever it is that you body needs now...perhaps recuperative yoga or pilates.
19
Resist the temptation of the mind to see things in terms of black vs. white, good vs. bad, or even shades of gray. Do what feels good to your body, swim one day, ride a bike the next, lift weights the next, just stay active. This also includes staying active mentally for those who ignore exercising the brain will not have the ability to enjoy the strong body.
17
I participate in aquacize several times a week. We get it all: aerobic, cardio, weight training, core exercises. It is fantastic on aging joints -- all gain, no pain.
21
Younger and through my fifties, I was an avid aerobics, weight, walker, hiker and pool exerciser. Now I have severe knee problems, rotary-cuff problems and arthritis in my hands. Naturally genetics have much to do with this, however, I learned something that I hadn't heard in my youth. All the weights I kept adding to keep myself stronger as I aged, were actually tearing up my body. What I've learned is that unless you're a body-builder your weights shouldn't be more than 7 or less lbs. The correct advice that trainers need to emphasize is it's REPETITION THAT COUNTS. Many of the famous trainers now, and their students, will realize this, when they're in their sixties.
22
Sandra, I don't understand you? What do you mean all the weights you kept adding? Were you actually doing regular weight training with a Certified Coach? Have you kept a good BMI? A diet high in calcium and other vitamins and minerals? I agree that everyone is different, but I would hazard avid aerobics leads to more issues with joints than does supervised weight training. Perhaps the advice you give is relevant to your particular body only, I don't know. All I know is that I'm 52, in the best shape of my life, and I continue to have PR's in weight lifting, and metabolic conditioning work outs, and have no joint issues, as long as I listen to my Certified Coach and rest when I'm tired. Sorry, but I do not agree with you on your advice.
5
I think her point is that you may be singing a different tune when you are in your sixties, as she now is.
7
Agree - many of us who did all those step workouts (remember step workouts?) have since learned that they are heck on the knees. And, lifting weights overhead ? There are still machines in gyms where you can do this. Don't. Your rotator cuffs will thank you. Keep moving, of course, but remember that moderation isn't a bad thing.
12
This article confuses me. 1. If the control group did no exercise, how did they experience gains? 2. The point about the older cohort and 400 genes vs the 33 and 19: I just don’t understand your point!
6
I took that to mean all the groups beside the control group.
2
I do high intensity interval training at spin class. I have never felt younger and I'm 59.
6
Be sure to stretch for at least 10 minutes after spinning. I didn't and injured the whole left side of my body 5 years ago!! I went for it and ended up in lots of pain. Just coming out of it now....good luck be careful
As I read the article 'everyone experienced improvements in fitness and an ability to regulate blood sugar.' That would seem to include the control group, wouldn't it?
Doesn't any one proof read these articles?
9
Control groups exist in all good research to account for the placebo effect. This explains why individuals in depression drug research seem to benefit from a sham medication. Ditto for antihypertensives. In a well designed study, even the researchers are "blinded" as to the group to which the participants belong, to nullify a similar effect on observations and measurements. It is quite possible that mere participation in a fitness study improves perception of fitness or well being.
5
The “best exercise” for all ages without question is a swimming regimen of three to five days a week. It combines all the benefits of jogging, biking, stretching, gymnastics, weights, cardio, etc. Additional pluses, especially for seniors, is the walking to and from pools and outdoor water options, adjusting to cold water, and the bending and twisting that’s required to make turns at every lap, climb out of a pool, get dressed and undressed, dry yourself, comb hair (if you still have any) and deal with foot apparel. These seemingly modest exertions can burn a score of calories to add to the total.
17
Let us not overthink this. Do it all. Lift weights. Do HIIT. Spin. Stretch. Yoga. Take really good care of your body and it will reward you in so many ways, not the least of which emotionally and mentally. Financially as well.
29
If your older then 65 you better have enough $$ or financial resources to make it to the end. America has no use for older workers ageism is rampant.
15
Agree with you, Brent. And may I say that Crossfit covers several of those movements everyday. Coupled with yoga, it's my life-saver!
1
If you’re over 65 and on a Medicare supplement, see if it covers Silver and Fit (which requires registration at one participating gym) or Silver Sneakers (which gives you access to several gyms in your area). Either program gives you access to fitness facilities at no extra charge above your Medicare supplement.
7
Why is there no mention of tennis which is the ultimate interval exercise with its short spurts of running interspersed with walking around?
6
But rough on knee joints.
5
Tennis can also cause shoukder cuff injury and tennis elbow, but for those who don’t suffer from these, it is great exercise.
2
Tennis is the penultimate activity/sport and can be pursued till the day u die. It provides total immersion, both physical and mental. Consider serving a ball at 80 - 100 MPH. Consider returning that same ball. Everything's engaged including eyes, arms, hands, legs, feet, and perhaps most important, brain. The 1000 sq ft on your side of the net ensures u will be moving, a lot. You'll get to serve (a real challenge) and return serves, hit groundies from both sides, and most fun of all, hit balls in the air before they bounce (aka volley). You'll get fresh air blasting through your lungs (with short rest periods between points.) You can even play doubles if you're a wuss. Yes, knees and elbows are an issue but can be managed with a little common sense.
I'm 77, play 3 hours/week and my game continues to improve. It's an absolute joy to walk onto a tennis court and I intend to do it for at least 20 more years.
4
This kind of study is interesting, but often overblown, as it is here. No one can say that interval training is best to combat aging. That strong implication weakens the credibility of this reporter.
5
Remember that all activity help, get outside and move yourself!
3
I'd love specific guidance on what exercises would help me become more fit. At the moment I walk when it is not too hot or cold and garden as needed.
6
How about letting us seniors know exactly which exercises will help us save our brains. I do the elliptical 3/4 times a week but when I try to speed it up I can only go for a very few minutes.
7
Warm up for 5 minutes.
Speed up dramatically for 30 seconds; slower for 90 seconds;
Repeat for 25 minutes; cool down.
I lost 50 pounds this way. Have kept it off for nearly 10 years
7
my mother ( 88) does zumba with me 2 times a week..45 session.
1
@Eva VaucheeEva: to save brains, get rid of TV. People zone out on TV watching. Brain goes into coma. I have had no TV for about10 years, read books and internet news. I put my laptop on kitchen counter and do squats or pulsing for legs, push offs for arms. At 81, because of past sports injuries in triathlons, marathons, just had shoulder replacement surgery and now slowly getting back to gym exercising and looking forward to gym and socializing.
The article says there were 4 groups, 3 who exercised and one that didn't. Then, after the exercising period was over, the blood work and other exams were re-administered and "everyone" showed some improvement. Does mean that the group that did not exercise also showed some improvement? Doesn't that undercut the proposition that exercising is good for us? If the couch potatoes improved that seems to undercut the value of the study.
15
I assume this is the placebo effect. (Just signing up for a fitness study will make you feel, and thus be?, more fit). What I don't understand is what "activity levels of genes" means and also how that is measured. Can anyone help?
2
My guess is, it should have read "all of the exercisers experienced improvements". That is what I have read elsewhere.
1
Dreadfully written article. Just totally confusing. If you are young, which exercise routine produces the best results? If you are old which exercise routine produces the best results? Obvious questions which were the subject of the research; the research surely produced the answers but no clarity or precision in the reporting here. The NYT can do better than this.
35
Just do Crossfit.
Maybe look up this information on your own instead of expecting a short article to give you all the answers of fitness.
3
There's talk about children losing their muscle tone as most of them simply sit with their phones and text. Are their mitochondria aging faster when they are in their 30's will they be like seniors? Will they be able to recover?
9
many older people can no longer exercise very well due to changes in their joints. muscles are easy to keep going but once joints are worn down, it is difficult to do much about it.
12
Yes, but it's exercise that creates the strength to support your joints and prevents them both from pain and from becoming worn down. I've been trail running up and down rocky mountains for 20 years, I do interval training and weights three times a week, take care of a farm and cut my own firewood. I'm 60 with no injuries, sore joints, or chronic pain. When I sit for week everything hurts. Start slow and keep it up, it takes a year to heal and get strong but there is no substitute. It's your life but I see people at the gym every day who are injured or have arthritis or are overweight and could easily call it quits but don't.
11
Swimming or exercising in the pool is low impact and can provide endurance training.
1
This is thinking that destroys the body! (Starr small, but start).
7
Exercise is good for all but be careful. Your muscles may be able to tolerate moderate exercise or more but your ligaments and tendons may not be as forgiving. And those ligaments and tendons may take months or years to heal. Find a PT who is used to dealing with us more mature folks when getting started.
20
Great tips; regardless of age, seniors should continue to remain as physically active as possible, with the approval of their medical professionals. In-home caregivers can provide great assistance through motivation, encouragement, and participating together with seniors in exercise programs. More resources here: http://livewellathome.com/our-services/
2
My friend just came out of the hospital after having his 3rd stroke, 2 within a few days. he's a year younger than me. He's been told not to drive for obvious reasons, he sounds the same except for some slight speech problems. I used to go with him to a gym which he went to limitedly because of leg problems. I discussed joining a limited exercise group with him many times doing seated exercises, he never did. I know there are many reasons for strokes, inactivity is just one of the potential causes.
There are many studies about physical inactivity, regarding working out for an hour 3 or 4 days a week at the gym is not enough. Sitting for long periods at work or sitting while traveling is detrimental. Bottom line we have to move more using our legs.
When we were younger we moved more, ran more, played more. Now not so much unless you find something that will motivate and encourage you to move such as BPV's (body powered vehicles).
I went shopping today without a car, I used a Me-Mover that has a rack for heavy packages. I also take my dog for long walks, ride a bicycle or Me-Mover to the gym.
There is no excuse not to move on your own without a motor vehicle if you're capable under most circumstances. Our well being depends on how motivated you are.
There are many studies about physical inactivity, regarding working out for an hour 3 or 4 days a week at the gym is not enough. Sitting for long periods at work or sitting while traveling is detrimental. Bottom line we have to move more using our legs.
When we were younger we moved more, ran more, played more. Now not so much unless you find something that will motivate and encourage you to move such as BPV's (body powered vehicles).
I went shopping today without a car, I used a Me-Mover that has a rack for heavy packages. I also take my dog for long walks, ride a bicycle or Me-Mover to the gym.
There is no excuse not to move on your own without a motor vehicle if you're capable under most circumstances. Our well being depends on how motivated you are.
12
Obviously, these groups were examined for potentially life-threatening issues before participating in this study... so, how many people with hidden heart disease or undiagnosed high blood pressure might find interval training deadly? Reminders never a bad thing when discussing exercise among seniors.
6
While waiting to see my doctor in the clinic a research student approached me to find out, if eligible and approved by my doctor, if I would like to participate in an exercise study for people 60 and over. I signed the consent form and was screened. My screening involved being able to stand up from a sitting position 5xs with my hands across my chest, to walk a short distance which was timed, and to complete a Depression Scale. I was informed I was not eligible for the study because of my score on the Scale. This was disheartening because the study's goal was stated as improving the minds and bodies of elderly persons including elderly with mild, moderate, or severe depression. I contacted the Principal Investigator and explained what I was told by the screener and asked to be re-screened mainly because I disagreed with the results on the Depression Scale, even though I responded "No" to the item, "Are you happy." I am may have goofed-up on other items as well. The study was for 12 wks with a control group and I figured I could benefit so much from the information. When you volunteer for a research study subjects never really know the exact purpose and what researchers are really testing. Happiness is relative and I was honest -at the moment, I was not happy, but I'm certainly not on meds nor suicidal either.
6
Not helpful for physically challenged where balance is a problem. Genetics plays a big role. Arthritis too. I know get in the water. Cement on the way there is not inviting. Yes, we should move around and walk if possible. Intense exercise for the elderly does not extend life and makes a lot of people suffer unnecessarily.
6
Leg discomfort after a workout was expected, but passing a kidney stone was a double whammy which took its toll for a few days. Getting back on schedule took some effort, but I knew I had too. As many times before pushing past self-inflicted barriers always gave me positive results, still does.
After working out for a short time I can feel my energy increasing, each routine felt better than the last. I know how difficult it can be for finding the motivation to exercise when you think you can't, then find out it was all in your mind. I can always tell how a workout session will be during the first few sets or a few miles on the Me-Mover, you never know until you try, and try you must.
After working out for a short time I can feel my energy increasing, each routine felt better than the last. I know how difficult it can be for finding the motivation to exercise when you think you can't, then find out it was all in your mind. I can always tell how a workout session will be during the first few sets or a few miles on the Me-Mover, you never know until you try, and try you must.
3
Looked up the Me-Mover based on your comment. Would have loved exploring this more, but since my feet hurt due to bone spurs (can’t really use an elliptical anymore), I realized quickly that it wouldn’t work for me. Back to the traditional bike and rowing machine for cardio, but what a great device for working out on!
Will someone send this article to Trump? I think exercise will help his brain function.
49
I was amused they talked about sedentary men of my age group. I suspect they are easy to find in cities. Out here, this 65 year old body helped his 73 year old neighbor baling hay last week. The week before I was helping a 76 year old move 4 x 12 sheets of 5/8" sheetrock for a remodel he was doing in his house. If you are a male between 65 and 75 out here, you better be able to lift and move a hundred pounds unless you have a physical disability or you will get laughed out of town.
18
Truly humorous. Isn't there a word for that attitude? Oh, right: conceit. BTW, what is the incidence of, say, alcoholism and spinal issues among your rural population? Kettle, meet pot...
4
Don't knock this comment. When I lived in the Midwest, practically every time I looked out of my window I saw my 80 yr old landlord performing some feat of strength that was just part of everyday living out there.
8
My 80 year old husband cuts and stacks firewood for our house, walks the dog and walks 3 miles every morning on the treadmill in our basement. He inspires others.
5
When I experience a second wind during a Me-Mover ride, or that last rep turns into the second to last rep during a bench press, I get a feeling of accomplishment. It's a good feeling, gives me the motivation to continue improving either by adding weight within reason, or go further on the Me-Mover or increasing the intensity.
I've been experiencing these feeling for a long time during other methods of exercise such as trikking, riding a StreetStrider, I had to acclimate to each of these self powered vehicles, adjust, give my body time to get used to the new work I'm asking of my body. if you don't ask your body to work the muscles they lose size and strength that like a row of dominos has a bearing on the whole package of you.
Stop working your core, you have difficulty with balance and most everything you do below and above your waist line. You did things when you were younger that was fun to do, play out side, things that helped you grow stronger which you did. Nothing has changed except maybe lack of motivation to play more. Go outside and play on a bicycle, Me-Mover, walk, run, wake up those muscles you used when you were having fun, they're still there even if you may think they aren't.
I've been experiencing these feeling for a long time during other methods of exercise such as trikking, riding a StreetStrider, I had to acclimate to each of these self powered vehicles, adjust, give my body time to get used to the new work I'm asking of my body. if you don't ask your body to work the muscles they lose size and strength that like a row of dominos has a bearing on the whole package of you.
Stop working your core, you have difficulty with balance and most everything you do below and above your waist line. You did things when you were younger that was fun to do, play out side, things that helped you grow stronger which you did. Nothing has changed except maybe lack of motivation to play more. Go outside and play on a bicycle, Me-Mover, walk, run, wake up those muscles you used when you were having fun, they're still there even if you may think they aren't.
5
Unable to leave the beauty of his reflection, Narcissus lost his will to live. He stared at his reflection until he died. wiki
OK, everyone of us here cannot go near water-EVER! :=)
OK, everyone of us here cannot go near water-EVER! :=)
2
I ma seventy-eight years young. Every day I do either the Beijing Form Taiji, the Eight Pieces of Brocade Qigong or both of them. Air pollution levels are miserable in NYC today so I only did one rep of the Beijing form out of doors. It wlil rain tonight, and tomorrow I expect to do fiv reps of hte Beijing form and to do the Eight Pieces of Brocade exercise doing the eight exercises at the twelve to twenty-four level. Maybe I will have enough time to do a few more reps of each of the exercises.
11
I've been working out, weigh training for a number of years, of course it was easier to build muscles in my 20's and 30's, but I continued into my 40's, 50's and still weight train in my late 70's.
Here's something to consider, and believe, we can still build muscles at later ages.
When I was going through medical treatments a few years ago, I lost musculature, my shirts were looser, my legs got thinner, my body was fighting a disease.
Now here's the good part, I regained musculature by hitting the weights harder when I got better, and riding a Me-Mover. Now I can still see improvement, I can still bulk up, of course not the same as 30 years ago. Believe it, you can gain strength at any age, that is if you really want it, just depends on your motivation.
Here's something to consider, and believe, we can still build muscles at later ages.
When I was going through medical treatments a few years ago, I lost musculature, my shirts were looser, my legs got thinner, my body was fighting a disease.
Now here's the good part, I regained musculature by hitting the weights harder when I got better, and riding a Me-Mover. Now I can still see improvement, I can still bulk up, of course not the same as 30 years ago. Believe it, you can gain strength at any age, that is if you really want it, just depends on your motivation.
11
As a physical therapist, here is a problem we have with out patients. For years, decades even, older people have been 'prescribed' a maximum heart rate of around 120 beats a minute - or less. High intensity interval training quickly jumps a heart rate to above 140 beats a minute. For an intense workout, a peak of 160-170 is not uncommon. Medical science has not yet given us a safe upper level heart rate level to work with a patient, let alone the older patient athlete.
13
Never heard that, I sure have the high rate, no worries is my thing...
1
Bruce,
Thanks, you just said there's no upper limit !
I exercise with seniors with heart rate monitors, we've all heard max is 220- age as a general rule to be ignored. Because we're fit, we see the max in a hard uphill sprint, might be close to 180, no more: that's our max.
Thanks, you just said there's no upper limit !
I exercise with seniors with heart rate monitors, we've all heard max is 220- age as a general rule to be ignored. Because we're fit, we see the max in a hard uphill sprint, might be close to 180, no more: that's our max.
2
One exercise in particular affects nearly every cell in the body. healthytrampolins.com
2
I want to share the following because it's about exercise and cancer.
I was 68 years old when I was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer, I felt good, weight trained, free weights, trikked long distances, great appetite, everything seemed to working great, I thought.
After the PSA test another test was done, yes I had cancer, then the treatments started. I continued to workout as best I could, even trikked before the radiation treatments, it calmed me.
The point is there were no symptoms, none until the PSA test.
Since then it was doing what I could to come back, exercise wise. It was a struggle but in time I got back most of my strength, I worked hard at it, still do.
As far as what's the best exercise, everything you do is the best as long as you continue.
There are times the last thing I want to do is exercise, but I have to kick my own butt to get out of that loggy feeling, and it works, I always feel better afterwards. At least i have options, that wasn't taken away from me.
Bottom line guy's, check yourselves out, it's no big deal, a blood test could save your lives.
I was 68 years old when I was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer, I felt good, weight trained, free weights, trikked long distances, great appetite, everything seemed to working great, I thought.
After the PSA test another test was done, yes I had cancer, then the treatments started. I continued to workout as best I could, even trikked before the radiation treatments, it calmed me.
The point is there were no symptoms, none until the PSA test.
Since then it was doing what I could to come back, exercise wise. It was a struggle but in time I got back most of my strength, I worked hard at it, still do.
As far as what's the best exercise, everything you do is the best as long as you continue.
There are times the last thing I want to do is exercise, but I have to kick my own butt to get out of that loggy feeling, and it works, I always feel better afterwards. At least i have options, that wasn't taken away from me.
Bottom line guy's, check yourselves out, it's no big deal, a blood test could save your lives.
11
Plus the PSA thinking is really changing fast., Stop testing, then every two years now the next physical may be a test or not? Just saying that do it and you will learn about what the medical community is currently thinking about one of men's major problems.
Oh, the finger has not happened for about 4+ years for me, not sure if others have stopped that, you shop around...:-)
Oh, the finger has not happened for about 4+ years for me, not sure if others have stopped that, you shop around...:-)
2
Thanks for your input. What we will find out in the coming years is that we are all getting cancer on a regular basis. Our immune system is responsible to scavenge and destroy those aberrant cells. We will find that the exact exercise suggested in the article, when not done to complete exhaustion, along with a diet that includes antioxidant fruits and vegetables will help our immune system to do the best possible job of eliminating cancer cells before they become big enough to form a tumor which the immune system can not handle. Sadly, even this will not work every time, especially for those with a genetic predisposition for specific cancers, or who have been exposed to carcinogenic chemicals, viruses and certain bacterial infections. The next several years hold promise for our understanding of our potential.
1
I agree with Dave's feeling that we are all fighting cancer cells every
day. Exercise and deep breathing help. The most potent anti-cancer foods are mushrooms, nuts, berries, and greens. Mushrooms keep a developing tumor from getting a blood supply -- anti-angiogenesis.
Our bodies have a way of adjusting, nature taking its course. Sitting for hours then sitting in a motor vehicle to go somewhere like a restaurant, or a movie, or a friends house to sit some more, then go home, turn on the TV and yes, sit. what do you think happens? Our bodies adjust to doing nothing, our muscles, the ones we used to use are not needed the way they were to be used when we were younger motivated to do what our muscles were prepared for, remember.
So, our bodies compensate, adjust to non use, loss of muscles, loss of balance because our core muscles aren't used, loss of general strength which is one of the major reasons nursing homes are filled with non user muscles that started long before it was their time.
Nature adjusted those bodies for non use, but nature can and does readjust, regain, increase, redevelop. You think not?
At 79 years old I still see improvement, growth in strength, endurance because if's fun to fool mother nature.
I can't read your minds, you all know what to do, forget your age and find that "sweet spot' I've mentioned before, the trigger that motivates, mine is weight training, riding a Me-Mover.
You want motivation? Look at yourself in the mirror without clothes, if your happy with the image continue sitting, but remember what's happening on the inside, the same as on the outside.
So, our bodies compensate, adjust to non use, loss of muscles, loss of balance because our core muscles aren't used, loss of general strength which is one of the major reasons nursing homes are filled with non user muscles that started long before it was their time.
Nature adjusted those bodies for non use, but nature can and does readjust, regain, increase, redevelop. You think not?
At 79 years old I still see improvement, growth in strength, endurance because if's fun to fool mother nature.
I can't read your minds, you all know what to do, forget your age and find that "sweet spot' I've mentioned before, the trigger that motivates, mine is weight training, riding a Me-Mover.
You want motivation? Look at yourself in the mirror without clothes, if your happy with the image continue sitting, but remember what's happening on the inside, the same as on the outside.
9
I think it's been well established by now that "sitting is the new smoking", and not much to add to that. But I'm visiting my family in the Midwest (I've been in California for 30 years) and we discuss food and wellness. and I had a long talk with my mom about the most basic stuff, like how bad soda is. for example (because she still drinks it): Diet, non-diet -- soda is poison. Look at ingredients and preservatives. My motto is: eat what your grandparents ate, study their habits. That's it. Eat real food, breathe, exercise. Done.
8
My husband and I (seniors) muck livestock pens everyday as well as work in our commercial garden. We get plenty of natural exercise.
6
You could verify whether the intensity (heart rate) of your occupation reached into the prescribed range by wearing a heart rate monitor. You'd have to know something about your heart rate responses in order to do that...max HR etc. The commonly prescribed upper HR range would be something like 80-85% for a brief interval of at least one minute.
3
I suppose that the more genes are affected by exercise, the better. I would have liked a bit more detail as to the significance the difference.
7
I have 2 friends that have had strokes, both are doing as best they can. I guess as we age stuff happens, the time has a way of making us wear out, our bodies change internally and externally which for many is accepted as nature taking its course.
Some of the "stuff" may be held in check if we make that exercise investment that gives the highest returns. Ironically it's never too late to invest, you could start now! But that "now" morphs to "maybe later", then later never happens, and those returns are never realized.
I rode my bicycle to the Y today between rain showers, did bench presses, incline flys and lat pull downs, crunches, and stretched on a Precor stretch machine, it was my deposit in my bodies investment.
What was your investment lately?
Some of the "stuff" may be held in check if we make that exercise investment that gives the highest returns. Ironically it's never too late to invest, you could start now! But that "now" morphs to "maybe later", then later never happens, and those returns are never realized.
I rode my bicycle to the Y today between rain showers, did bench presses, incline flys and lat pull downs, crunches, and stretched on a Precor stretch machine, it was my deposit in my bodies investment.
What was your investment lately?
5
So I go to a community senior exercise class and it is a blast for me. Then I go ride my bike or go up to a stadium and workout, track and field stuff.
At the seniors thing it seems everyone just wants to try to live longer with more comfort and make friends. So at 70 I am one of the most fit persons there. I talk to folks and I am social but what I do not do is encourage others to exercise harder. The investment is what makes them feels good today and is not open for judgement from others. I do this for myself, but I must say I am very vain and do like attention. So it may be a fine line in exercise, do it at your pace and glorify yourself.
At the seniors thing it seems everyone just wants to try to live longer with more comfort and make friends. So at 70 I am one of the most fit persons there. I talk to folks and I am social but what I do not do is encourage others to exercise harder. The investment is what makes them feels good today and is not open for judgement from others. I do this for myself, but I must say I am very vain and do like attention. So it may be a fine line in exercise, do it at your pace and glorify yourself.
2
Vanity is good, it's what started weight training for me at a younger age. Many as they get older accept nature taking its course, for them their mindset changes when their hair goes grey, it's harder to keep the weight off, so let the aging process happen.
Why not age with dignity, our muscles still work, albeit muscle loss is natures way of telling us we don't need the same amount of muscle mass, however the process can be slowed by resistance training.
At 79 years old I can still do many exercises I did years ago with similar weight, as far as endurance, find something that compels you to get out and move. I found a Me-Mover which makes me want to ride because I feel better when I'm on a trail at speed. Besides it's better than having conversations with your friends about what you did when you were younger when you can do almost the same now, if you want it bad enough.
Why not age with dignity, our muscles still work, albeit muscle loss is natures way of telling us we don't need the same amount of muscle mass, however the process can be slowed by resistance training.
At 79 years old I can still do many exercises I did years ago with similar weight, as far as endurance, find something that compels you to get out and move. I found a Me-Mover which makes me want to ride because I feel better when I'm on a trail at speed. Besides it's better than having conversations with your friends about what you did when you were younger when you can do almost the same now, if you want it bad enough.
2
The exercise is very good for the body. My question is, my skin on my legs is so loose and saggy and makes me very self conscience if I go to the beach. I also don't wear shorts in the summer. Is there any exercise that can help minimize the sagging skin.
10
build muscle..on your legs..it helps..then add color...
Logic dictates most any exercise is better than no exercise, age is actually academic as long as you do not exceed your capabilities.
Each of us have our own opinions as afar as what's the best exercise, best could be the worst for some and vice a versa.
While it's true any new exercise demands acclimation and for some the adapting process may be difficult, leading to a negative opinion., which is why many fad exercise machines are abandoned, premature opinions.
As an example, I started to use the Me-Mover last year at 78 years old, my first experiences were somewhat uncomfortable for my legs, the lactic acid build up created discomfort. However I continued, I realized my body was in the process of acclimation.
A short time later my distance and intensity increased as I knew it would we all adapt no matter age. It's important to repeat, we will all acclimate if we continue the exercise. If that process is understood there would be more people exercising with a positive attitude because of the results, mine was a reduction and elimination of a hip problem when walking.
It's not the first step that's the most important, it's continuing those steps.
Each of us have our own opinions as afar as what's the best exercise, best could be the worst for some and vice a versa.
While it's true any new exercise demands acclimation and for some the adapting process may be difficult, leading to a negative opinion., which is why many fad exercise machines are abandoned, premature opinions.
As an example, I started to use the Me-Mover last year at 78 years old, my first experiences were somewhat uncomfortable for my legs, the lactic acid build up created discomfort. However I continued, I realized my body was in the process of acclimation.
A short time later my distance and intensity increased as I knew it would we all adapt no matter age. It's important to repeat, we will all acclimate if we continue the exercise. If that process is understood there would be more people exercising with a positive attitude because of the results, mine was a reduction and elimination of a hip problem when walking.
It's not the first step that's the most important, it's continuing those steps.
4
not to mention the more "important psychological benefits" that exercise bestows upon us. 300,000 years of Homo Sapien evolution (millions of years of primate and homonid evolution) has not prepared us for a sedentary life staring at smartphone, computer and TV screens. While eating fast but terrible food that makes us even sicker than not moving.
4
I've yet to see a Boomer that thinks he/she looks his/her age. ;-)
14
I'm a boomer, and I don't look my age. I look older. Prematurely gray hair which I don't want to waste time or money coloring and too much weight. Both make me look older.
3
I look younger..than 56.
The article begins by noting that aging extends to the cell level. No , all activity begins at the cell level and builds from there.
2
I thought all cells were directly impacted everyday in every way.
I am approaching 71 and have been cycling regularly since 1973. People often tell me I look a decade or more younger than my age. Although I weight lift and hike as well, a vigorous bicycle ride of an hour or two gives me a feeling of well being that no other type of exercise does. At this point in my life, I have zero joint or back problems and feel young and vigorous.
12
Good for you. There are exceptions to every rule.
Just for the record you don't have as much lung capacity as you did at 25. If you don't have cataracts you will. If at this point you don't have back trouble, at which point did you? Even the graceful Federer has had back problems in his 30s. The disc begins deterioration at 21, the mind at 42.
That said, keep plugging. You are obviously lucky and motivated.
Just for the record you don't have as much lung capacity as you did at 25. If you don't have cataracts you will. If at this point you don't have back trouble, at which point did you? Even the graceful Federer has had back problems in his 30s. The disc begins deterioration at 21, the mind at 42.
That said, keep plugging. You are obviously lucky and motivated.
5
We make our own luck in a significant way when it comes to aging. There's a distinct difference between chronological age and skeletal age. You are skeletally much younger than your chronological age would suggest because of your exercise activities. The biggest buzzkill for lung capacity and spinal health is lack of activity, not aging.
3
Exactly your age, have done short bike rides, 8 miles 3X/wk for 3 years and now I am trying to run. My oh my is running a lot harder than biking. I have the endurance but the legs are hurting or having those muscle issues. I mostly stop for reasons other that fatigue from running. Managing all these issues is part of the fun, I tell myself? Anyway running is really hard for me.
1
Adopt a large, active mutt. Better yet, adopt two. You'll find yourself taking loooong walks at least three times a day — no excuses.
11
I have three huge active dogs, but I also live in the country. Just yesterday I took one of them to a park and walked him for 3/4 of a mile. I was miserable. Time to pencil some regular exercise into the schedule.
1
Wow. Talk about junk science. Do the math. Each group had NINE subjects assuming the 72 were divided equally by age, 36 under 30 and 36 over 64. Then they were divided into 4 groups, a control group, an interval training group, a weight training group, and a moderate exercise group. Dividing 36 by 4 equals 9. So, from the NINE subjects, the study infers what - changes in cellular makeup after a biopsy. Maybe it is true. Maybe it is true that a line can be drawn directly between these exercise regimes and muscle health. Who knows? One would not know from this. The Times of old would not publish an article like this.
5
It's just a study. This is how the germ of an idea develops. The story doesn't claim this is definitive -- it says "the study suggests ... " which also suggests your mileage may vary. FWiW, it squares with my exercise experience.
3
This is perfectly good science. Random assignment of treatments allows strong causal inference. The small sample size could be a problem if they tested many response variables (setting up a potential for type I errors) but that doesn't appear to be the case. Replication is certainly needed but this study is sound.
5
I would bet on the efficacy of the results being well demonstrated projected into studies with much larger numbers of subjects.
2
I'm surprised there aren't very many women commenting on this story, since most of the women I know are really into exercise. I started exercising seriously after a health scare in my 40s, and am still going. I walk or take public transit whenever possible, play tennis frequently, and work out in the gym two or more times a week.
At the gym I usually walk fast on the treadmill for 30 minutes, then do moderately heavy weights (10 or 12 pounds,) for a few minutes, do stretches and pushups for 10 minutes or so.
It's a simple, inexpensive program and it has worked for me so far. My weight hasn't changed since college, and my health is generally good, though I have an occasional muscle ache.
At the gym I usually walk fast on the treadmill for 30 minutes, then do moderately heavy weights (10 or 12 pounds,) for a few minutes, do stretches and pushups for 10 minutes or so.
It's a simple, inexpensive program and it has worked for me so far. My weight hasn't changed since college, and my health is generally good, though I have an occasional muscle ache.
5
If you get old enough you will wear out and die. In fact if you live to 100 you may well not be able to hear, taste, see or think clearly. That said, I've exercised aerobically since I was 31 and I'll be 72 in a few days. I gradually exercised with greater moderation given the risks to my joints, particularly my knees. Based on other studies I did interval training for a few weeks and my knees became painful. I stopped. I plan to take up swimming that was not even mentioned in or part of the study for the interval training . Hopefully my knees won't continue to pay the price they did on a bike. I am small and wiry, carrying absolutely no excess weight, but joints still wear out. We are human after all. I think the scientists were a little "tunnel-visioned" who designed the study.
11
it's true, joints and cartilage are worn down as we age even when we exercise. My hip was in pain last year when I walked for a limited distance even though i ride my bicycle extensively. I accepted the pain, at 78 years old, why not? We do wear down, but weight training has helped more than I expected since I never really stopped for a number of years.
But the hip problem was getting to me until, and let me preface the following wasn't a miracle cure, it was using physical conditioning differently.
That difference was a Me-Mover which I've written about here before. About 3 weeks of riding the scooter and it's system of propelling, stepping with no hard impact on my joints did what I couldn't do with other exercise, my hip pain was gone. Apparently it was the combination of leg, hip, core area muscles working together that did the trick. It's a compelling kind of exercise because I'm motivated to go further, not just in distance but during HIIT routines, and at my age if makes me feel stronger, cross training for me at its best.
But the hip problem was getting to me until, and let me preface the following wasn't a miracle cure, it was using physical conditioning differently.
That difference was a Me-Mover which I've written about here before. About 3 weeks of riding the scooter and it's system of propelling, stepping with no hard impact on my joints did what I couldn't do with other exercise, my hip pain was gone. Apparently it was the combination of leg, hip, core area muscles working together that did the trick. It's a compelling kind of exercise because I'm motivated to go further, not just in distance but during HIIT routines, and at my age if makes me feel stronger, cross training for me at its best.
2
Is the rowing machine the same? There must be 100s of other solutions to your problem: 'the I need to shamelessly promote something for who knows why' thingee.
2
@Curiouser, My 100,000 miles biking, plus decades of year around basketball have left me with zero knee problems and I'm in my mid 70's. Barring physiological problems, knee problems can be avoided. Seat height and pedaling cadence are both important for the health of the knees. Too low a seat puts a lot of strain on the knees compared to the optimal height. Lower cadences strain the knee joints more than higher cadences where there is less pressure/strain on the knees per individual pedal stroke. The optimum power and performance cadence has been studied and found to be at 97 RPMs, where knee problems are also minimized.
Apart from the distortion of the results caused by selective quotation of the original article, the science itself is questionable. Since it is not known for the most part what the sequences being switch on or off are actually doing, there is no reason to believe that we have a "the more the merrier" situation. A higher level of gene activity change may just as well signal a cellular trauma with hysterical repair activity going on. Nobody can know if that is good or bad for cellular health and longevity. Another example of confusing causality and correlation, which is inherent in much of the bad medical science today.
2
Armin, your point is well taken, that the results reported in the article/study are not, in and of their self, completely explained or definitive.
However, when tasking into consideration the:
- low impact nature of stationary bike exercise,
- the normal human response to exercise demands,
- the fact that the exercise was interval training, not endurance racing,
there would not likely be any significant muscular-skeletal harm, only conditioning.
And:
- it is well established, that all cause mortality declines with increasing exercise, to a point.
(The Nurses' Health Study is a prospective cohort study established in 1976 when 121,701 female registered nurses aged 30-55 years... Levels of physical activity in leisure time was first assessed in 1980, and then updated every 2nd year until 1990... There was an inverse relationship between total mortality and level of total physical activity.
ref: http://www.danmedbul.dk/DMB_2009/0109/0109-disputatser/DMB4055.htm)
One can see the general correlation between these 2 studies and other exercise-health studies as "all pointing in the same direction."
However, when tasking into consideration the:
- low impact nature of stationary bike exercise,
- the normal human response to exercise demands,
- the fact that the exercise was interval training, not endurance racing,
there would not likely be any significant muscular-skeletal harm, only conditioning.
And:
- it is well established, that all cause mortality declines with increasing exercise, to a point.
(The Nurses' Health Study is a prospective cohort study established in 1976 when 121,701 female registered nurses aged 30-55 years... Levels of physical activity in leisure time was first assessed in 1980, and then updated every 2nd year until 1990... There was an inverse relationship between total mortality and level of total physical activity.
ref: http://www.danmedbul.dk/DMB_2009/0109/0109-disputatser/DMB4055.htm)
One can see the general correlation between these 2 studies and other exercise-health studies as "all pointing in the same direction."
3
Hmm. I guess that is why this 65 year old retiree hurts some days. Lifting 4 x 12 foot sheets of 5/8" sheetrock, concrete blocks, building a new home, and still able to flip a 100 pound bag of feed to my shoulder hurts more than it used to when I was 50 but I can still do it.
2
Another study stating the obvious. My only recommendation: ride a real bike - not a stationery one. Ditch the car. Integrate the bike into your daily life. (I am 67 and have lived without a car for 4+ years and for the last 11 years have averaged about 5400 miles per year - 15/day - on my bicycle. Exercise for exercise sake is much less satisfying than utilitarian integration of one's exercise - plus, even more importantly, the environmental benefits are incredible.)
23
Sadly an inconvenient truth for the vast majority. 70% of US population do not participate in any form of formal exercise whatsoever. It's my experience that the aging generation are typically unable to wrap their heads around the benefits of proper exercise, giving all kinds of excuses about the avoidance of it.
2
Try to go to sleep during a party is the same as trying to exercise in your bedroom, your mindset is corrupted.
Give yourself the opportunity to be involved in waging war against your bodies inclination of losing muscles, and it is a war of muscle survival
Surrender and accelerate the inevitable loss of strength that happens with age, continue sitting, then sitting some more in your motor vehicle, and accept the old rocking chair syndrome of old age.
It's all about mindset, setting up your motivation to move, to find something to fight gravity like resistance training, or move on a self-powered vehicle.
If you think you cannot slow the aging process, join millions of opinionated people that love to sit, they'll tell you, you're like a battery that loses energy if you move too much.
Change your mindset, or rock your life away in that chair that represents the slow defeat of your body and mind.
Give yourself the opportunity to be involved in waging war against your bodies inclination of losing muscles, and it is a war of muscle survival
Surrender and accelerate the inevitable loss of strength that happens with age, continue sitting, then sitting some more in your motor vehicle, and accept the old rocking chair syndrome of old age.
It's all about mindset, setting up your motivation to move, to find something to fight gravity like resistance training, or move on a self-powered vehicle.
If you think you cannot slow the aging process, join millions of opinionated people that love to sit, they'll tell you, you're like a battery that loses energy if you move too much.
Change your mindset, or rock your life away in that chair that represents the slow defeat of your body and mind.
7
Couldn't agree with you more.
1
I'm currently 65 and an active adult. I enjoy exercise most days of the week. I do some weight lifting but don't try to extend myself. If I feel good I do a few extra repetitions. I add some weight as I've gotten stronger. I also swim. Once again I mostly take it easy but I push it when I'm going good. I also golf, disc golf and take walks. It's critical to keep moving as best as your body allows. Physical exercise gets the blood flowing. I think that this is critical to good health at many levels.
8
This article is misleading. It implies that only HIIT training had positive benefits when in fact it was both the HIIT group and the combination group that showed changes. The NYT article says "some rode stationary bikes a moderate pace for 30 minutes a few times a week and lifted weights lightly on other days" but in fact, if you read the published paper (supplementary methods), that group did 30 minutes of cycling followed immediately by 30 minutes of weightlifting 5 days/week. If you're going to bother to put details about the study in your article, you ought to get it right. I know the media likes a punch line, but if this silly article leads people to decide to cut weightlifting from their exercise regimen, that would be a really dumb outcome that does not follow from the actual data. (and this is aside from questions about the design of the intervention, which seems non-ideal).
22
thanks, Erin. as an older lifter (i'm 59 and a pretty committed powerlifter, training x3/wk), i immediately had questions about what was referred to (almost offhandedly) as "light weightlifting". i'll get hold of the paper.
i'm pretty confident that strength training such as weight/powerlifting has massive benefits for young, middle-aged and elderly people!
i'm pretty confident that strength training such as weight/powerlifting has massive benefits for young, middle-aged and elderly people!
1
If the opportunity presents itself, I do both the same day, aerobic, anaerobic. I ride my Me-Mover to the Y for weight training, then have a second aerobic exercise on the way home.
Besides the Me-Mover gives a more intense workout than a bicycle in a shorter period of time because of the propulsion method.
I also do my shopping with the Me-Mover, never have a problem with parking. If sidewalks are not available, I'm on the side of the road or do some off roading.
Actually, I do 95% of my transportation by me, since I started using my own power my weight went down, as well as my BP. I feel better as my endurance increases.
They say I guess doctors that our legs are the first to go, well I'm giving my legs a second wind, along with my body.
This age thing we all talk about is non-sequitur when throwing weights around or pounding the pedals on the Me-Mover. it seems to be discussed a lot by the elderly, some overly cautious which is understandable. I do train more than I did when I was younger at 79 years old, more time on my hands, better than just talking about doing stuff, is doing stuff that will improve you.
Besides the Me-Mover gives a more intense workout than a bicycle in a shorter period of time because of the propulsion method.
I also do my shopping with the Me-Mover, never have a problem with parking. If sidewalks are not available, I'm on the side of the road or do some off roading.
Actually, I do 95% of my transportation by me, since I started using my own power my weight went down, as well as my BP. I feel better as my endurance increases.
They say I guess doctors that our legs are the first to go, well I'm giving my legs a second wind, along with my body.
This age thing we all talk about is non-sequitur when throwing weights around or pounding the pedals on the Me-Mover. it seems to be discussed a lot by the elderly, some overly cautious which is understandable. I do train more than I did when I was younger at 79 years old, more time on my hands, better than just talking about doing stuff, is doing stuff that will improve you.
5
I just turned 70. I don't look or act 70 but I am 70. My back hurts. I'm getting lots of advice. Here's what I found so far.
Walking is good.
Motion is the lotion.
Sitting is bad. It hurts.
I started swimming a little. No pain there.
I started exercise equipment. Some of it makes the back hurt more.
I do modified yoga. That helps a lot. Plenty of back and spinal stretches.
It takes discipline. I have little.
I'm going to be working with young people for the next two weeks doing physical building. My experience is that I feel good when I do this and forget about pain till I get home.
After reading comments I'm going to cut back on my statin.
I'm going to try and read more if I can sit in comfort.
Walking is good.
Motion is the lotion.
Sitting is bad. It hurts.
I started swimming a little. No pain there.
I started exercise equipment. Some of it makes the back hurt more.
I do modified yoga. That helps a lot. Plenty of back and spinal stretches.
It takes discipline. I have little.
I'm going to be working with young people for the next two weeks doing physical building. My experience is that I feel good when I do this and forget about pain till I get home.
After reading comments I'm going to cut back on my statin.
I'm going to try and read more if I can sit in comfort.
12
Try reading while standing and/or stretching stretching. If sitting, engage your core.
find a trainer and get yourself under a barbell
4
I too have back problems, a lower disc that's deteriorating. Working out helps me along with stretching on a Precor stretch machine I use at the local Y. After each weight training session, I do about 15 minutes of various stretching. I'm also careful of the weight routines, mostly on benches with barbells and dumbells. I use a stand-up preacher curl bench, takes the strain off of my back when I curl free weight.
I'm reluctant to mention my other back help machine because I've mentioned it numerously here, but it works for me, especially my core which helps my equilibrium. I noticed the difference when riding my bicycle, no core help at all, and puts a strain on my back. Standing on this scooter compels me to use my abdominals and back muscles which I need for stability especially at my age, late 70's.
I recommend anaerobic and aerobic training, less sitting, more moving. All exercise is the best for aging muscles as you make up your mind to do it.
I'm reluctant to mention my other back help machine because I've mentioned it numerously here, but it works for me, especially my core which helps my equilibrium. I noticed the difference when riding my bicycle, no core help at all, and puts a strain on my back. Standing on this scooter compels me to use my abdominals and back muscles which I need for stability especially at my age, late 70's.
I recommend anaerobic and aerobic training, less sitting, more moving. All exercise is the best for aging muscles as you make up your mind to do it.
4
Everyone of a certain age should run, jog, swim or cycle to the White House and then walk back and forth, in service of our mitochondria and the good of our nation, and demand an end to this disastrous Trump administration.
Because what the study didn't take into account was the emotional and spiritual benefit of exercise on the human brain and nervous system as well as those aging muscles--which actually benefit from our emotional and intellectual health and well-being. Donald Trump's mere existence is bad for many people's health but his presidency? Everything from PTSD to flat out cellular suicide has been the result. People aren't feeling good. It's not a coincidence.
So. Fight aging muscles by creating a better environment for your mind, heart and soul as well as your bodies. That means both in your body's environment, your home environment AND your country's--which directly influences your home...and body.
I'm guessing, without the benefit of a research study, that listening to Donald Trump speak for a sustained 7 to 10 minutes a day would lead to an unbelievable genetic impairment, rise in blood pressure, loss of muscle tone and endurance, blood sugar out of whack and some fairly severe gastrointestinal distress. Donald Trump, in essence, is very bad for your health.
It's never too late, I'm suggesting, to exercise your right to stand up for your country.
Because what the study didn't take into account was the emotional and spiritual benefit of exercise on the human brain and nervous system as well as those aging muscles--which actually benefit from our emotional and intellectual health and well-being. Donald Trump's mere existence is bad for many people's health but his presidency? Everything from PTSD to flat out cellular suicide has been the result. People aren't feeling good. It's not a coincidence.
So. Fight aging muscles by creating a better environment for your mind, heart and soul as well as your bodies. That means both in your body's environment, your home environment AND your country's--which directly influences your home...and body.
I'm guessing, without the benefit of a research study, that listening to Donald Trump speak for a sustained 7 to 10 minutes a day would lead to an unbelievable genetic impairment, rise in blood pressure, loss of muscle tone and endurance, blood sugar out of whack and some fairly severe gastrointestinal distress. Donald Trump, in essence, is very bad for your health.
It's never too late, I'm suggesting, to exercise your right to stand up for your country.
300
Ugh!! this is a decent article and inappropriate to post political commentary.
4
Well, if you don't have this one your mind all the time, and worried about it, you are not paying attention!
3
Bravo!
6
Gosh I wish they had included SWIMMING in the study. It is such great exercise for older bodies. Energizing with no pressure on my 57 year old sore feet or joints. I gotta believe my mitochondria love it.
10
I think the finding that interval work yields benefits that are not obtained from sticking with aerobic exercise and weights can be generalized. Swimming is harder to incorporate into a study of this nature, but that should not prevent you from applying the findings to your swimming regimen.
3
My neighbor and I are both vets, however, we're different when it comes to exercise. We discuss various topics, but when it comes to exercise and his smoking, he cuts to another topic.
"The best exercise for aging muscles" is finding motivation, some have stopped looking, other's give up soon after they start, still other's start then stop.
We are all different, different needs, different opinions, but yet we're all the same, physiologically which means our bodies have needs even if many are of another opinion.
Depends on what is considered urgency, such as feeling good, less stress, following factual physical conditioning guidelines, the ones that tell you to move using your own energy before you cannot,
Sometimes you must be your own motivation before no one, even you stops caring.
"The best exercise for aging muscles" is finding motivation, some have stopped looking, other's give up soon after they start, still other's start then stop.
We are all different, different needs, different opinions, but yet we're all the same, physiologically which means our bodies have needs even if many are of another opinion.
Depends on what is considered urgency, such as feeling good, less stress, following factual physical conditioning guidelines, the ones that tell you to move using your own energy before you cannot,
Sometimes you must be your own motivation before no one, even you stops caring.
8
An excellent study that's non-sequitur for many because confirmed facts are ignored based on years of life's conditioning. Changing habits are difficult, starting new habits even harder. for many something significant must happen, something vital in their life such as a major health problem. But even then it's still not a given, because of addicted habits.
I've seen people smoking outside of institutes that give cancer treatments for their lung disease, illogical, but addiction is powerful.
As far as exercise and the bodies response, I can relate since I had, past tense hip problems, walking short distances gave me pain, even though I weight trained and ride a bicycle. I must repeat the fact a Me-Mover helped me, I didn't know it would, but after riding for a short time the pain eventually stopped. Now I'm not suggesting there aren't other ways to resolve that issue by different exercises, it's just that the Me-Mover propulsion method happened to do the trick.
Bottom line, it's that proverbial first step, you all know the one that changes your lifestyle, you can, or not. You also know the consequences, or you should.
I've seen people smoking outside of institutes that give cancer treatments for their lung disease, illogical, but addiction is powerful.
As far as exercise and the bodies response, I can relate since I had, past tense hip problems, walking short distances gave me pain, even though I weight trained and ride a bicycle. I must repeat the fact a Me-Mover helped me, I didn't know it would, but after riding for a short time the pain eventually stopped. Now I'm not suggesting there aren't other ways to resolve that issue by different exercises, it's just that the Me-Mover propulsion method happened to do the trick.
Bottom line, it's that proverbial first step, you all know the one that changes your lifestyle, you can, or not. You also know the consequences, or you should.
2
Hello. As Miranda in PBS notes the fitness industry is relatively new. Yes we need exercise and cross training but you had hip issues not despite biking and weight training but no doubt BECAUSE of repetitive stress on those joints.
Swimming. Daily. Heavenly for me.
Swimming. Daily. Heavenly for me.
I agree about the stress on my joints which is why I appreciate the low impact when riding the Me-Mover. The impact of walking used to put a strain on my joints, now I can use my walking, running muscles for hours without any discomfort. I was surprised that at my age I could improve my physical condition, albeit not without acclimation.
I adapted in about 10 days of riding the Me-Mover, my muscles became stronger, my endurance increased, and at 79 years old, I felt great.
I think many people in my age group accept their physical condition, after all, we are the elderly, we deserve some rest. But then that rest turns into surrender to a lifetime of physical movement.
We, all of us must move by our own strength, we must stop sitting so much, we are in a pandemic of sitting. Find your motivation, find your strength to move, we can adapt, no matter your age.
I adapted in about 10 days of riding the Me-Mover, my muscles became stronger, my endurance increased, and at 79 years old, I felt great.
I think many people in my age group accept their physical condition, after all, we are the elderly, we deserve some rest. But then that rest turns into surrender to a lifetime of physical movement.
We, all of us must move by our own strength, we must stop sitting so much, we are in a pandemic of sitting. Find your motivation, find your strength to move, we can adapt, no matter your age.
5
Okay. I have the feeling you have stock in Mover-Me. You're pushing it so hard that I'll never even consider it.
6
I met someone a few weeks ago, an RN that had major back surgery and wears a leg brace. I gave her a demonstration of a self-powered vehicle that I ride. Although she has a slight disadvantage in her leg movements, she was proficient in propelling the vehicle.
It must be her medical knowledge background that motivates her to go beyond the norm, or maybe it's her inner drive that motivates, whatever the reasons, she is unique.
Exercise does positive things, a given, age is academic, another given, we adapt, all of us, you can prove it.
It must be her medical knowledge background that motivates her to go beyond the norm, or maybe it's her inner drive that motivates, whatever the reasons, she is unique.
Exercise does positive things, a given, age is academic, another given, we adapt, all of us, you can prove it.
4
It would be useful to know which muscles were sampled, since not all skeletal (voluntary) muscles are the same. For now, I'll assume the muscles in question are the slow-twitch lower extremity ones (glutes, quads, hamstrings), with their dominant aerobic metabolism, and not fast twitch, anaerobic pecs, bi- and triceps.
Resistance training definitely is important in the aging population. It helps maintain muscle-mass, which protects against type-2 diabetes. It helps strengthen bones themselves and also the muscles that support the joints -- especially the hip joint!
Resistance training definitely is important in the aging population. It helps maintain muscle-mass, which protects against type-2 diabetes. It helps strengthen bones themselves and also the muscles that support the joints -- especially the hip joint!
3
Our body craves movement while our minds crave silence
16
Interval training mimics the circumstances of how our ancestors moved-- no one ran for the sake of running for hours on end. No animal does either. The variation that interval training introduces forces your muscle to adapt constantly, rather than become overused in a narrow range of motion, and it also stimulates the brain more than something repetitive. I wonder why the sole use of stationary bikes-- I have found using the elliptical to be much more comfortable and natural, without the saddle digging into your crotch and behind.
8
Agreed, but elliptical and circuit machines are too comfortable. Stairmaster, especially escalator type, is better cardio vascular and fat burning workout, and intervals are even better. I'm 57, and that free weights = 15 lbs. lost in 3 months, and kept off for 6 months so far. Cutting back junk food and portions a bit helps, but intervals/weights were key.
I've interval trained for many years, including in retirement. What's unique about my interval training is that it occurs on a stationary bike at the gym and with my SO in the bedroom. It is proven that a healthy regular sex life is part of a good life. And regular sex should have intervals of cardio activity, rest and more cardio.
7
"Everyone"? Including control group?
6
Good article. Interval training does make sense and is probably the most effective style. More important impact to aging health is diet and weight control. A study of one, me, concludes controlling my weight is about 90% of the battle, plus exercise is most effective.
9
And then there is the case of my Dad. He smoked from age 12 till he quit in his sixties. He ate fried foods his entire life. His idea of exercise was a walk from his chair to the bathroom. He never went to the doctor - he almost died from a hernia he neglected. He never took any pills. And he lived to 90 - a peaceful, happy man who died of a cardiac arrest in his living room. Perhaps this whole thing is less black and white than scientists are explaining in articles like this. Maybe our lifespan has other factors besides exercise and diet - maybe happiness, joy and love have something to do with it? While these things scientists are at a loss to explain and quantify, they surely exist and I think they affect our health and well-being. Have there been controlled studies for happy people vs sad people or angry people vs friendly people? Are scientists even plundering the depths of emotion as having any connection to lifespan, or is that considered quackery by these scientists? I think people can die of anger or unhappiness - I've seen it. And a study like this is meaningless if that is not a control used in the study.
22
There's always the one outlier that everyone comes up with to dispute the findings...
6
While genetics and maybe environmental factors are a big part of it, I tend to agree with you, I do think there is something about happiness, living without stress and being happy with your life that can help.
3
Another worthless study that in the end gives some people, who should be getting some exercise, pause. The best workout for aging muscles is the one you do. Every day you wait to figure that out is a lost opportunity.
5
Your comment baffles me. Why in the world would the data from this study cause anyone not to exercise? You are correct that the important thing is to find the exercise that you can and will do and then to do it. However, what is the harm in actually having some data regarding how effective different forms of exercise may be in relation to each other? If more information causes someone not to exercise at all it would be my best guess that individual is simply looking for an excuse not to exercise and is not likely to be exercising anyway.
8
huh, I took it the other way. That is you do exercise it actually has the potential to improve things at the cellular level in a dramatic way, that's pretty great. Getting older you start to see things change to fast that this actually makes me pretty hopeful, and makes me want to look at interval training!
10
I would take this study with a large grain of salt: Only 72 people. Half over age 64, half under 30. Half men, half women. Divided into four exercise groups. That means only a total of about four people per group, per age, per gender. Not much of a sample size. Also, there were no results given for those who didn't exercise.
19
Tell you what, guys. After age 80, the benefits of walking, resting, reading, and music: and of course a piece of good dark chocolate is all that's needed to make one feel good. No Sweat.
3
It is implicit that the control group had little or, more likely, no changes, as that is expected. It did have people from each age group for purposes of comparison to the others.
One additional fact that the article omits: you get your mitochondria structure from all your female ancestors, and none of the males. Your mitochondria would theoretically be traceable back to Eve, whether the legendary one from the Bible or the actual one who is thought to have lived in Africa hundreds of thousands of years ago!
6
yes, mitochondria is interesting stuff! We were also taught that it's a separate organism that lives in your cells, so it isn't really "you", in that it doesn't have your DNA, it's more of a symbiotic relationship but we couldn't live without it at this point. Of course that is from a science class from 30+ years ago, so that might all be viewed as incorrect now! : )
2
The hypothesis is that the earliest one-celled protozoans (eukaryotes, or 'true nucleus') took up bacteria to use as an energy source. Some took up photosynthetic blue-green algae and became the precursors of plants.
In my line of work, I see people of advanced age in all kinds of different conditions. It's amazing how after 65, everyone deteriorates differently. What I also see: people wait until they have no arches or huge bunions or knock knees and or painful hips, before they seek help. All preventable, but more than not, the older generation will ignore it until they have to see a doctor. I have helped clients to get rid of bunions, planter fasciitis, bow legs, sciatica and much more on the Pilates Reformer. Joseph Pilates understood the aging body, not all trainers do. A 68-year-old client recently decided to pump up the volume and switched to a trainer at the gym and ended up with tendinitis. Persevere but in docility and acceptance.
8
How can pilates help you get rid of bunions? I'd love a non-surgical way to get rid of them.
5
Maybe if people were vainer, even older people, maybe if they looked at themselves in the mirror more they would get what's going on. But obviously many do not care when they should. Those extra pounds develop, then develop even more requiring changes in clothing sizes, then accepted, it's that acceptance that eventually is the trigger to decreased health because, among other reasons, vanity is lost.
Inside many of us is us many years ago hidden beneath too much of us we don't need.
Losing that excess will bring back what we had, we all deserve to be vain.
Inside many of us is us many years ago hidden beneath too much of us we don't need.
Losing that excess will bring back what we had, we all deserve to be vain.
3
What this doesn't tell you is what exactly interval training consists of...is it high intensity, low impact? I do a combination of spin (bicycle), Body Pump (weights) and Yoga/Pilates 5 out of 7 days a week. Is that interval training. I'm 70 years old and have always exercised.
7
from the article
"some did brief interval training three times a week on stationary bicycles (pedaling hard for four minutes, resting for three and then repeating that sequence three more times)"
Interval training typically refers to exercise in which you alternate between intense effort and either rest or a more relaxed pace.
"some did brief interval training three times a week on stationary bicycles (pedaling hard for four minutes, resting for three and then repeating that sequence three more times)"
Interval training typically refers to exercise in which you alternate between intense effort and either rest or a more relaxed pace.
4
My mother age 90 recently started physical therapy after a time in the hospital. It is impressive how quickly she responds to the supervised exercises. She is not just stronger, she is much stronger much faster than I'd expect even of someone younger. It has affected the rest of her health too, in a number of good ways.
"Exercise" can mean many things, and I think it is important that for her it has been supervised by people who know what they are doing.
The potential for progress is impressive.
"Exercise" can mean many things, and I think it is important that for her it has been supervised by people who know what they are doing.
The potential for progress is impressive.
17
I remember advice from an exercise guru on TV. "The best exercise is the one you will do."
I favor a mix of aerobic interval training and resistance (weight) using cable machines instead of free weights, which can be hard on joints.
I favor a mix of aerobic interval training and resistance (weight) using cable machines instead of free weights, which can be hard on joints.
11
One-half hour lap swimming - American crawl, or just starting out, interspersed with a breast stroke - three to four times a week, mixed with light weight-lifting two to three times a week helps with endurance and muscle mass and strength. Swimming causes capillary expansion in the body's vascular system, providing highly oxygenated blood to the extremities. In bitterly cold winters, you stay warmer outside and recover quickly after coming indoors. In summer heat waves, your body throws off heat easily so you can tolerate high temperatures and remain active outdoors. All functions improve, including mental acuity.
13
Yes, swimming is great exercise, and there are lots of studies that support that. This article suggests that doing interval training in the pool may be even better for you than doing a steady 30 minute swim. I'm a 50+ competitive swimmer and triathlete, so I do endurance and interval training in the pool, on the bike and running so I've got all my bases covered. But I see a lot of people in the pool just swimming endless laps and it is likely that some form of interval training in the pool instead would be better. I also find that doing intervals, and mixing up strokes, helps with the boredom of swimming laps, although I also know people who treat swimming as a sort of meditation and just get in the zone.
7
What is "American crawl"? Freestyle swimming used to be called Australian Crawl.
4
While the findings of this study are potentially encouraging to older adults seeking to retain their physical capabilities, the NYT article should have noted that the findings are of the kind that might be reinforced or vitiated by the next study. While waiting for that study, the recommendation to exercise in as many ways as you find rewarding and can sustain aligns with the findings of all health and fitness studies.
7
Ice dancing, works every part of your body and mind and takes you happily to the grave,I hope!
What is ice dancing?
1
You recommend people take up ice dancing at 60+ years?? If you're already a good skater maybe, but I've already broken one hip, so no thanks!
5
I recently took up hockey at age 43. I had learned to ice skate about 6 months before I put hockey pads on for the first time, so I was in no way a very proficient skater. I still have a lot to learn. But I was surprised to learn that, unless you fall, ice skating is a low impact sport. I cannot run for fitness because it hurts my hips, but I can skate just fine. I would imagine ice dancing would be even better because you're not getting checked up against the boards as much and no one is coming at you with a big stick. The tradeoff, of course, is that in hockey you get to wear pads. In hockey, shin guards go all the way up to cover the knees, and they rock! You don't have to take up hockey or ice dancing, but you might be surprised that ice skating is nicer to your hips than you imagine.
1
The Geezer Gym (haiku) "Interval training - causes healthier old cell - mitochondria"
9
use it, or lose it. the responsiveness of the human (and other mammals) bio-system seems to be one that relishes longevity and survival, above and beyond the accomplishments of comfort, ease and modern convenience. aside the interference of disease, injury and unusual defects, the evolved creature has adapted quite well.
2
People spend FAR too much time stressing about what is precisely the best exercise for whatever situation. I got news for you. Don't sweat the small stuff. The marginal difference in benefit between Exercise A or Exercise B is far less important than just getting off your ass and exercising in the first place. As we age, moderation is just logical.
33
So very true. Just do it seems the wise motto.
5
You're missing the point of this study. It's not about what type of exercise is done, it's about the intensity. While the benefits of low to moderate intensity exercise are well know, what is news is the additional benefits of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) at slowing or reversing the aging process at the cellular level. In addition to this study, other studies have shown that HITT greatly slows the decline in the maximal rate of oxygen consumption (VO2 MAX) as one ages.
7
I work out at a Gym at least once every day and twice about 3 of the days a week and I agree with this article...the other factors not included are Diet which is just as important along with Detoxing your body with certain foods and sauna epson salt baths etc. the last is Rest, while high intensity is Great it can not be stressed enough that over stressing your body or mind is counter productive and in lifting weights it is better to go lighter with more repetitions than Heavy.
5
Why are we always looking for the one answer..muscle mass, strength, endurance, aerobic capacity are just a few goals...weight loss, density, increasing HDL are all part of the picture. And while it's intriguing to not differences in gene function with speculation of the meaning for certain genes turning on or off, my read is that the take home is that moderate excercise daily with reasonable increases in intensity...really basic ideas...are again supported. And so what we really need are multi-year studies...adding in diet etc... but regardless, interesting article and information...okay back to the wood shed.
3
The great unanswered question - just how relevant is a study of sedentary adults as a guide to the exercise plans of those who already work out regularly?
This sort of article can be more helpful around New Year's Day for folks just starting down a path of regular exercise. I don't have the impression that actually describes the regular readership here.
This sort of article can be more helpful around New Year's Day for folks just starting down a path of regular exercise. I don't have the impression that actually describes the regular readership here.
4
Hmmm, healthy but sedentary. Like people who work in offices long hours each day; or go from work to taking care of kids after work, and then fall into bed; or have 90 things on their to-do list each day and "exercise" often falls off that list. Gosh, not the regular readership here. It's just those other folks . . . .
9
There is research that shows that high-intensity interval training (HITT) greatly slows the decline in the maximum rate of oxygen consumption (VO2 Max) as one ages compared to low to moderate intensity aerobic exercise in regular exercisers and athletes. I wouldn't be surprised if similar preservation was shown to be true for changes at the cellular level.
1
Very interesting. What muscles did they biopsy? Just leg muscles affected by riding bicycles? Do mitochondria improve their energy producing activity throughout ALL body muscles or only the leg muscles? Did the 400 genes change in ALL muscle cells?
12
Excellent question. And since I recently read that major trauma can cause many previously inactive immune system genes to turn on--for some people--it would also be interesting to know whether the number of genes influenced varied from person to person and by how much.
3
Here's the MOST important advice by far:
Find something you enjoy. Otherwise you're not going to do it.
Period.
Find something you enjoy. Otherwise you're not going to do it.
Period.
30
I could not agree more with this statement. That's why I do water aerobics. If an exercise is going to bore me to death it becomes tedious and borders on torture like riding a stationary bike which is the worst! When I'm at the gym doing the water aerobics I can look through a glass wall at the folks doing the machines and weight lifting, etc.. NONE of them look like they are having fun. We in the pool are enjoying ourselves.
4
Agreed and upvoted. However if one forces oneself for two or three weeks one may find that the ordeal is turning into something quite pleasant or at least one learns that the excercise has had a positive effect on mind and body. For many that is sufficient to continue.
7
I found I enjoyed exercise much more when I got to do it on the company dime.
1
Two words: push ups.
3
One word. PLANKS.
4
Can we change the algorithm so that it doesn't show up under popular because everyone is looking at it every day?
2
I find yoga and pilates helpful to get the muscles warmed up. I go on my elliptical and dance to my favorite music for exercise. It helps to firm up my muscles and improves breathing and stamina.
5
That's my routine at 66 minus the Pilates.
2
I like the treadmill that I use at the gym. It is "manual" in that it is not electrically powered. Your steps get it going. The tread covering belt that you walk on is on a slight forward, upward curve and is very spongy, good for my old knees. I burn calories very fast on it and have to frequently stop to catch my senior citizen breath. It does not make my knees sore like the regular, electrically powered treadmill used to. The knee tip was given to me by my doctor.
6
Wow, that may be the identical gym where Rocky Balboa worked out. Just when the owner retired to Florida he moved the equipment with him
1
I'm turning 70 this month. I run three times a week and lift twice. A couple of years ago I decided to discontinue the typical 3 mile slog on the treadmill, which I always found to be painful, but only in the pschological sense. Now, I go through a 1.5 mile warm up run and try to get up to a comfortable stride for the last half mile. Then 10 minutes of rest and stretching, followed by about a mile worth of intervals of varying distances, focusing on busting it to carry as high a speed as I can attain over distances from 200 meters to a mile. It's more fun, more difficult physically and I don't dread the workout!
7
None of this matters if we don't stop the nuclear ambitions of North Korea.
21
focus, focus, stay focussed.
9
I agree. And the am itions of Donald Trump as well.
4
..Or get Trump out of the WH. One lives longer with less stress
29
The fact that 400 genes changed is interesting from a scientific point of view, but utterly uninformative as an indication for which exercise is best. Maybe these genes promote health, or maybe not? I bet drowning or poisoning would induce changes in even more genes...
13
I wondered the same thing! Were the genes helpful or not? Did they check? Not enough thorough info.
3
Yes, close to useless information.
Were those 400 oncogenes that were expressed? And what was the quantified change in blood sugar? What about the most important biomarker for all-cause mortality: blood pressure?
Good to see older genes responding better than the younger ones - but was that merely due to a lower baseline functionality?
Google enhanced readers are way smarter than newspaper reporters, so more and deeper data is required. It's not like you don't have the column inches. The NYT is still reporting like it's a daily newspaper in the 1800's.
Were those 400 oncogenes that were expressed? And what was the quantified change in blood sugar? What about the most important biomarker for all-cause mortality: blood pressure?
Good to see older genes responding better than the younger ones - but was that merely due to a lower baseline functionality?
Google enhanced readers are way smarter than newspaper reporters, so more and deeper data is required. It's not like you don't have the column inches. The NYT is still reporting like it's a daily newspaper in the 1800's.
2
One interested beyond a superficial level might want to read the actual study.
5
Walk! Walk!! Walk!!!
15
No, I think it's run hard, rest, run hard, rest and repeat!
5
If you're not sweating like a pig for 20-30 minutes, you're not doing it right.
2
Again, like many other posters you're missing the point of this study. This study adds to the body of research that shows that, while low to moderate aerobic exercise is beneficial at any age, the key slowing physical decline as one ages is the intensity of the exercise.
1
After playing active sports most of my life. I no longer want to do weights at 50. Walking, riding my bike and skating are all I want to do now. My friends that do heavy weights, crossfit and other extreme workouts get hurt all the time.
8
You have to make an effort. Just listen to your body. Push just a little harder, not in an extreme way. Moving the joints against some weight will build back muscle and lubricate the joints, too. Very helpful for those with arthritis.
5
"After 12 weeks, the lab tests were repeated. In general, everyone experienced improvements in fitness and an ability to regulate blood sugar."
Everyone? Even the fourth group that didn't exercise at all?
Everyone? Even the fourth group that didn't exercise at all?
14
Everyone! Time heals all wounds. Even those inflicted by the passage of time.
3
One glaring omission with any article like this is - sample HIIT exercises, especially for 60+ people.
6
Just look some up. WARNINGS are good, too:
"HITT is not for everyone. You need great motivation and physical stamina to push yourself to the limit. If you’re not used to this type of training, your muscles and joints may pay the price through sprains and strains.
Is It Good for Me If I Have a Health Condition?
Getting and staying fit is part of managing conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart disease. And HIIT is a great way to lose weight and boost your overall health.
This workout places big demands on your heart, so you should check in with your doctor see if HIIT is OK for you. You should also start slowly, doing a few intervals for a short period of time.
You may not be able to do HIIT if you have joint or muscle problems, like arthritis. Ask your doctor first."
http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/a-z/high-intensity-interval-traini...
"HITT is not for everyone. You need great motivation and physical stamina to push yourself to the limit. If you’re not used to this type of training, your muscles and joints may pay the price through sprains and strains.
Is It Good for Me If I Have a Health Condition?
Getting and staying fit is part of managing conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart disease. And HIIT is a great way to lose weight and boost your overall health.
This workout places big demands on your heart, so you should check in with your doctor see if HIIT is OK for you. You should also start slowly, doing a few intervals for a short period of time.
You may not be able to do HIIT if you have joint or muscle problems, like arthritis. Ask your doctor first."
http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/a-z/high-intensity-interval-traini...
4
interval training pretty much the same thing
2
The NYT has published at least a couple of very good articles on HITT and a quick search will find lots of other articles.
1
For my 50s, overweight, prediabetic self the solution has been an elliptical. Though I lifted weights and used a treadmill, the biggest gains have happened since I put an elliptical into the mix. I still do everything else, but I started losing significant (>20 lbs) weight since I added the elliptical to my routine. Now I alternate the elliptical and the treadmill as the aerobic component of my every other day routine and the results have been impressive. The elliptical is tough in the beginning but the effort is well worth it. Best cardio workout bar none, plus, its easy on older knees. to get the same level of cardio workout on the treadmill takes twice the time or distance plus a lot more stress on the old joints.
10
Walking. Strength training video here and there. Can't that be enough?
4
Unfortunately, no, it's not enough. While walking and other low to moderate aerobic exercises are way better than doing nothing, this study adds to the body of research that indicates that the key to slowing physical decline as one ages is the intensity of the exercise.
1
Great, now lets conduct an experiment on cells without exercise or cars or tv or desks with laptops.
2
Go to local animal shelter. Adopt a dog. Walk him four times a day. Sprint with him. Pick him up and carry him a block or two. Same thing, but saving two lives.
67
That is about the only exercise I get these days. I got a dog about 9 yrs ago and walk her twice a day. But it is better than nothing.
6
Just don't be that other person, who likes to walk, without the dog prop! You"ll be dodging attacks, in communities, that are like kennels!
3
Concept 2 (Or equivalent) rowing machine. Learn the proper technique to avoid injury. DO NOT set the resistance to "10" and enjoy yourself. I row 3-5 times a week. I have lost >30 pounds without dieting, BP is 110/70, heart rate averages mid 50's. I'm 64 and have been rowing about a year and one-half.
16
That's pretty inspiring, thanks for sharing your regimen and results.
1
And thank you. It really is true when folks say once you find an exercise you enjoy you will stick with it. I actually feel bad if I miss a day of rowing. That has never happened before. One added benefit: Some people get bored rowing, so the ergs are always available at the "Y" I visit.
5
My wife and I 54 and 59 swear by the PELOTON. We normally do choose 45 minute interval rides. Some include arm workouts while continuing to ride. Ride at least 4 days per week and lift weights on other days. Works for us.
1
My Qi Gong teacher recommended interval training in this way: Dance or move vigorously to light rock music for 4 minutes, then slow the pace for 6 minutes, repeat 3 times. So, it's interesting to see her ideas have been corroborated. I'm going to try this! (Age 76)
13
My Zumba classes work very much that way.
Deep water exercise at least three times a week. And walking Interesting read!
3
Seems like a male-majority report, as I see few women at gym working only with weights. The weight we lift in yoga is the weight of our own bodies.
4
I was a body builder for decades - easily could leg press three times my own body weight, and bench press my body weight. Increased my bone mass as proven by a DEXA scan, and greatly improved my mood. While I do like yoga now that I'm close to sixty (two years away) I still think for those women that feel comfortable in a gym - lifting is the best way to build bone, and improve lean body mass. Of course for some both of these exercises may be too difficult, so do anything ... walk, stretch, dance, whatever. I now compete in ballroom dancing, and I love it (enjoying your exercise is paramount to doing it).
3
Go to Golds gym theres women in the weight room there
1
I agree started lifting weights ten years ago at age 44, dont plan on quitting til I cant do it anymore :) They can keep those classes and cardio machines. lift weights and get a rebounder (mini trampoline) You can get one helluva cardio workout on the rebounder
One word: swimming.
7
Swimming is great cardio vascular exercise, but does little for bone mass - which is a big concern for most aging women. I love to swim, but hate chlorinated pools.
4
Jumping up & down in the shallow end of the pool works for bone mass, I do believe.
2
Since it's the "high intensity" part that conveys the benefit (and not the "interval" part), one assumes that lifting weights at a higher intensity (e.g. appropriately loaded squats and deadlifts) would convey similar benefits. And the additional muscle mass provides important protection against the dangers of frailty.
1
This is a common misunderstanding of interval training and high-intensity interval training (HITT). While one can get much of the benefit of HITT training by getting in good enough shape to perform aerobic exercises at an intense rate for long periods of time, it takes a long time and the right personality to get to that point—and both are things that most people lack.
HITT works precisely because of the interval. One varies the work and rest lengths depending on the goal, but the key to HITT is that a high level of intensity and volume of work can be done in a relatively short period of time precisely because of the alternating between work and rest. And studies show that most people, even those quite advanced in age, who are serious about preserving their health adopt well to HITT.
And yes, it is important to combine weight lifting with HITT to best preserve one's heath. In fact a lifting program can be designed to do both, combining heavier lifting to best preserve muscle strength and lighter HITT lifting to slow the decline of aerobic capabilities and changes at the cellular level.
HITT works precisely because of the interval. One varies the work and rest lengths depending on the goal, but the key to HITT is that a high level of intensity and volume of work can be done in a relatively short period of time precisely because of the alternating between work and rest. And studies show that most people, even those quite advanced in age, who are serious about preserving their health adopt well to HITT.
And yes, it is important to combine weight lifting with HITT to best preserve one's heath. In fact a lifting program can be designed to do both, combining heavier lifting to best preserve muscle strength and lighter HITT lifting to slow the decline of aerobic capabilities and changes at the cellular level.
2
Yoga, yoga, yoga - nothing else I've found quite keeps the body young than a 1 hour yoga practice. Try a class once a week - that's all it takes.
12
85 & counting - 3 Yoga classes/week & warming up is required to get to the other side of pain.
I know besides Mom's genes (96 when she died), Yoga is keeping me going to the extent I'm able to keep going.
However, I think intensity (based on the study) is missing, I am going to try some - tonight!
I know besides Mom's genes (96 when she died), Yoga is keeping me going to the extent I'm able to keep going.
However, I think intensity (based on the study) is missing, I am going to try some - tonight!
8
yoga made my pain worse. boxing saved my back and my hip!
1
Interval Training = Soul Cycle
The results are amazing... even if you are the oldest person in the room.
The results are amazing... even if you are the oldest person in the room.
5
HIIT (high-intensity interval training) can be great training, but the author (and/or headline writer) goes *way* beyond reasonable conclusions from the study. Sheer number of genes that undergo changes in level of transcription from DNA to mRNA (what she is trying to describe as "activity levels in genes") is hardly clear evidence that HIIT is better. If you click through to the abstract of the research article, the conclusion is that HIIT is good for bumping up losses in oxidative metabolism (through changes in mitochondrial function). That HIIT would be better than weight training in that capacity is hardly surprising, given the different energy systems stressed in the two types of workouts.
This isn't a knock on HIIT at all; it's known to be a good way to enhance sustained aerobic and anaerobic performance. Rather, it's a criticism of chasing down "number of genes with changes in transcription" as somehow meaninful on its own. Different genes have different degrees of effect, and just counting is likely to be near-meaningless, a kind of pseudo-data.
This isn't a knock on HIIT at all; it's known to be a good way to enhance sustained aerobic and anaerobic performance. Rather, it's a criticism of chasing down "number of genes with changes in transcription" as somehow meaninful on its own. Different genes have different degrees of effect, and just counting is likely to be near-meaningless, a kind of pseudo-data.
18
Thanks for this. I'm no scientist, but even I was suspect of the overall conclusion/recommendation.
6
The study noted the benefits of both lifting and HITT at the higher level of muscle mass/strength and aerobic capacity while also adding to the "incompletely defined" effects of such work at the cellular level. The article appears to do a good job of summarizing the study for laypersons, again noting the benefits of both types of work. The article's title, "The Best Exercise for Aging Muscles" makes no unreasonable claims—in fact a reasonable reader should easily be able to conclude that the best exercise for aging muscles is a combination of lifting and HITT.
Neither the study (based only on my reading of the summary) nor the article claim that "Sheer number of genes that undergo changes in level of transcription from DNA to mRNA (what she is trying to describe as "activity levels in genes") is clear evidence that HIIT is better." Nor does either claim that "chasing down [the] "number of genes with changes in transcription" [is] somehow meaninful on its own". Again, the study only claims to add to the "incompletely defined" body of knowledge of the effect of exercise at the cellular level.
If fact the study supports and provides an increased understanding as to why previous research has shown that HITT is the most effective way to preserve VO2 MAX as one ages.
Neither the study (based only on my reading of the summary) nor the article claim that "Sheer number of genes that undergo changes in level of transcription from DNA to mRNA (what she is trying to describe as "activity levels in genes") is clear evidence that HIIT is better." Nor does either claim that "chasing down [the] "number of genes with changes in transcription" [is] somehow meaninful on its own". Again, the study only claims to add to the "incompletely defined" body of knowledge of the effect of exercise at the cellular level.
If fact the study supports and provides an increased understanding as to why previous research has shown that HITT is the most effective way to preserve VO2 MAX as one ages.
At the age of 88 I still work afternoon shift 6 days a week in a warehouse.
Every night a four minutes sprint to the local gives me enough time to have at least 4 pints. Also the cigarette tastes better after the run.
Hope to make it to 110!
Every night a four minutes sprint to the local gives me enough time to have at least 4 pints. Also the cigarette tastes better after the run.
Hope to make it to 110!
25
I suppose a snail can call what it's doing a sprint too.
2
Thanks for the unscientific anecdote tumi..., but your story proves nothing, except that you are a poor role model for younger folks.
1
Aw, Iver -- that's harsh.
1
Bursts of energy exercised as we hunt or run for our lives. I can do that.
6
Time to change my stationary bike program! This needs follow up studies and national attention!
1
I lived 15 years in NYC, LA, and now retired in Chicago. Loved the old McBurney YMCA on W. 23rd Street. A wonderful man, Teddy, ran a tight ship. He treated everyone special and we all treated him just special. Actors, Judges, Businessmen, Lawyers, Retired fellows, and younger guys like me. There was a fellow 5 lockers down from me in his 90's: Old John. Grew up in the 'hood, and had been a member of McBurney since he was 7 years old. AND - get this - he STILL led an exercise class 3 days a week that was well attended One day I asked him, "What is the secret of living a long life?" He said, "A fellow here at the YMCA when I was young gave me the best advice. It was, "A running river never freezes." So, all I can say is, "Keep moving. No matter how much it hurts...just keep moving." Another great retired fellow from the Garment District name Max kept a bottle of Scotch in his locker. After his workout, he poured an ounce or two. Being a good Irish guy, one time I asked, "What's the deal with the Scotch, Max?" He said, "Well, it is good to take a little time after your workout to relax." So, if I did not have much to do after my workout, I'd get a cup from the water cooler and he would share a touch with me. We would chat. I'd buy buy a bottle for him on occasion. Really nice fellow. So...my conclusion in my late sixties is, "Keep moving, and drink a little Scotch." I once told this to my cardiologist about 10 years ago and he said, "Listen to The Elders."
13
I livied in NYC for 16 years and loved the old McBurney "Y" on West 23rd Street. There was a fellow in his 90's, Old John, who grew up in the hood and still ed an exercise class. I asked him what the secret was.
"A old fellow onces told me, 'A running river never freezes. No matter how much it hurts, keep moving. Another retiree from the Garment district, Max, kept a bottle of Scotchin in his locker and had an ounce or so after his workout. I inquired. He said, "It is nice to relax after a workout to prepare for the rest of the day." So, I took the advice ever since and exercise and have a little Scotch. At 67, and back in Chicago, my cardiologist concurs with that advice!
"A old fellow onces told me, 'A running river never freezes. No matter how much it hurts, keep moving. Another retiree from the Garment district, Max, kept a bottle of Scotchin in his locker and had an ounce or so after his workout. I inquired. He said, "It is nice to relax after a workout to prepare for the rest of the day." So, I took the advice ever since and exercise and have a little Scotch. At 67, and back in Chicago, my cardiologist concurs with that advice!
17
As someone who has worked out aerobically, anaerobically, walking, taking vigorous interval classes, kickboxing classes each and every day for 35 years, I can attest to how I feel, which is completely and unequivocally energized. In my mid 60's, I go easy on jumping jacks now and make sure to do deep stretching each day. Still, I am shocked that I feel the same way I did in my 20's and 30's - probably better. Who knew?I am still able to continue my exercise regimen to the fullest and the endorphins flow all day. What could be bad?
10
Be careful of hubris. Aging bodies can go bad fast, even for people who exercise.
11
The car needs to be parked. The human body was designed to move. Needless article-Just walk whenever possible.
9
Yes. Considering the state of American education generally (25% drop out rate), it occurs to me that Phys. Ed is no longer taught in our schools.
5
not to mention there are NO SIDEWALKS in many communities. we are way too car centric
6
My neighbor has dumbells that sit dormant, he is one of many that do not believe in going further, beyond an invisible line he drew in his mind. I've met many in the years of weight training.
I hear the age thing in conversations, "have to take it slower getting older you know". When I'm at the gym or riding the Me-Mover, age doesn't enter, maybe it should. My doctor says, "how do I feel when I work out", I tell him ok. he can't tell me because it's how I feel, and when I'm working out it feels good, of course, some days better than others.
Those days when I feel "on" when the weights feel lighter than usual, I increase the reps, do some extra routines.
Today on the Me-Mover was one of those "on" days, felt faster, wished I stayed out longer.
I don't know where that line is, or ever thought of a line, I know where my max is, sort of. I'm still trying to find how far I can go, it's all about the journey, you need a map most of the time, but getting lost has it's advantages too.
I hear the age thing in conversations, "have to take it slower getting older you know". When I'm at the gym or riding the Me-Mover, age doesn't enter, maybe it should. My doctor says, "how do I feel when I work out", I tell him ok. he can't tell me because it's how I feel, and when I'm working out it feels good, of course, some days better than others.
Those days when I feel "on" when the weights feel lighter than usual, I increase the reps, do some extra routines.
Today on the Me-Mover was one of those "on" days, felt faster, wished I stayed out longer.
I don't know where that line is, or ever thought of a line, I know where my max is, sort of. I'm still trying to find how far I can go, it's all about the journey, you need a map most of the time, but getting lost has it's advantages too.
5
During my cancer treatments in 2005, I continued working out as best I could. I rode my trikke just before the radiation.
I even continued some weight training which kept me positive. The doctor used to ask if I was sleeping ok, I told him yes.
I don't know if the weight training has a bearing on my surviving aggressive cancer but it made me feel calm, it took away apprehension.
I felt the effects of the treatments later, my endurance, my strength was depleted when I started serious training again like it was when I first started training many years ago.
The challenge was overcoming the growth process, reeducating my muscles to grow again. My age didn't have a negative effect, still, doesn't, the rules don't change they still apply as they did when I was a young man.
You put the time in, you reap the rewards, those last reps are important, the ones you add on as you gain strength, you always gain strength if you make up your mind.
I even continued some weight training which kept me positive. The doctor used to ask if I was sleeping ok, I told him yes.
I don't know if the weight training has a bearing on my surviving aggressive cancer but it made me feel calm, it took away apprehension.
I felt the effects of the treatments later, my endurance, my strength was depleted when I started serious training again like it was when I first started training many years ago.
The challenge was overcoming the growth process, reeducating my muscles to grow again. My age didn't have a negative effect, still, doesn't, the rules don't change they still apply as they did when I was a young man.
You put the time in, you reap the rewards, those last reps are important, the ones you add on as you gain strength, you always gain strength if you make up your mind.
9
Here is something that hasn't changed in the years I've been doing exercise, aerobic, anaerobic, an increase in strength, and endurance. it's what happens to all of us, no matter our age and physical condition, we all adapt.
Maybe some people forget because of time spent away from exercise, they don't remember how faster they became when they ran every day when they were younger, it still remains the same as we grow older, albeit a little slower, but the improvement happens.
I thought of that today when I came back from a relatively short ride on the Me-Mover. The route I took included rolling grades, it was mostly on sidewalks, some roads. When I returned home I realized the ride didn't seem enough, it was too short, less effort was expended than before, the climbing felt easier, as did the cruising at speed, I concluded that my endurance has increased from previous rides.
The same happens anaerobically, when I put more effort at weight training, those days when I feel stronger, I can feel the results during later workouts, the improvement.
The point being the more investment in exercise, the greater returns no matter the age. At 79 years old, it still works, I do it because it's worked for me for over 50 years.
Maybe some people forget because of time spent away from exercise, they don't remember how faster they became when they ran every day when they were younger, it still remains the same as we grow older, albeit a little slower, but the improvement happens.
I thought of that today when I came back from a relatively short ride on the Me-Mover. The route I took included rolling grades, it was mostly on sidewalks, some roads. When I returned home I realized the ride didn't seem enough, it was too short, less effort was expended than before, the climbing felt easier, as did the cruising at speed, I concluded that my endurance has increased from previous rides.
The same happens anaerobically, when I put more effort at weight training, those days when I feel stronger, I can feel the results during later workouts, the improvement.
The point being the more investment in exercise, the greater returns no matter the age. At 79 years old, it still works, I do it because it's worked for me for over 50 years.
3
Exercise should include an observation of the environment if at all possible and in some areas it is not possible due to insecure outside areas but if it is possible to walk or run in a park or a neighborhood road etc - observation of nature that is ever changing with seasons and time of day and migration of birth and death of fauna and flora and greetings to neighbors etc. .
15
I appreciated seeing the details of the effective exercise plan. I am "protected" by a paywall from reading the article in Cell Metabolism, even though the research was funded by my tax dollars.
7
In scanning the comments I see that many others are as perplexed at I as to the meaning, point, inference, conclusion and usefulness of the article. I was an English major at university and I couldn't understand what the heck was being dis-communicated. Sketchy as the kids say today.
12
Don't be so exercise-cenrtric. I understand the midtown Manhattan fascination with cycling but other forms of execise do exist. What about the effect of, say, swimming?
4
The bottom line is, as numerous other studies have clarified over the years: JUST DO SOMETHING! Whether it is yard work, bicycling, walking, weights, treadmill. It all counts. The problem many older people have is they retire and then just sit around, lamenting that they are getting older or lay on the couch waiting to die. Exercise and diet are the two main agents to battling age. Yes, good genes help, but with proper nutrition and a sound exercise regimen, bad genes can be overcome. Life, as with most things; you get out of it what you put into it.
3
I'm a simpleton. Are they saying that the fact of 400 genes changing exoression is good and that one should do interval training? Need exec summary here...
3
Yes to both of your questions.
3
"...almost 400 genes were working differently now ... Many of these affected genes, especially in the cells of the interval trainers, are believed to influence the ability of mitochondria to produce energy for muscle cells."
So yes, interval training had the biggest effect. it's good that these 400 genes were acting differently because it seems to increase our muscles' ability to produce energy.
So yes, interval training had the biggest effect. it's good that these 400 genes were acting differently because it seems to increase our muscles' ability to produce energy.
4
Interval training is known to be helpful for a lot of reasons. That it changes transcription in 400 genes is about the lamest of those reasons. Different genes have different effects, and sheer number of genes with transcriptional changes is pretty much meaningless. It probably just has to do with the complexity of building more mitochondria, as compared to building more myofibrils in existing muscle cells (from weight training). In other words, more is not better, or worse, just different. I think the author does a real disservice in acting like those numbers are something to be maximized.
More useful are the conclusions about mitochondrial number and oxidative metabolism, if that's what you're after in your training. But remember, drop-offs in strength in older folks are much more dramatic than dropoffs in aerobic capacity, so it would be unwise to just focus on interval training and neglect strength and flexibility work.
More useful are the conclusions about mitochondrial number and oxidative metabolism, if that's what you're after in your training. But remember, drop-offs in strength in older folks are much more dramatic than dropoffs in aerobic capacity, so it would be unwise to just focus on interval training and neglect strength and flexibility work.
1
Sooooo the best exercise for aging muscles is----
exercise?
This is what you call a ground breaking study. One that will have a profound impact on the elderly in America.
Or not.
exercise?
This is what you call a ground breaking study. One that will have a profound impact on the elderly in America.
Or not.
4
Well, interval training. Not weight lifting or moderate exercise. I think that was the point of the article.
2
You miss a few key points in your "summary."
Three kinds of exercise were evaluated. They had different effects. Interval training gave, by far, the biggest boost to cells' ability to produce energy — especially in order people.
Three kinds of exercise were evaluated. They had different effects. Interval training gave, by far, the biggest boost to cells' ability to produce energy — especially in order people.
12
I am 69 and have been a cyclist for 30 years. I exercise twice a week. My routine starts with gentle stretching. Spin class is fun. We ride to music.
I ride within my limits but I go for it. I can hit around 200 rpm. I try to match the beat of the music. My maximum heart rate is about 160. You know your working hard when you sweat through your shirt. Interval bursts of 30 seconds are good. Your heart rate should recover quickly, in less than a minute. Any exercise that maximizes your heart rate and gets you sweating will do.
Be careful not to injure yourself. Even mild stretching can strain your back. Work up gradually to higher heart rates until your aerobic fitness improves. Intense aerobic exercise is what causes the cellular energy improvements.
I ride within my limits but I go for it. I can hit around 200 rpm. I try to match the beat of the music. My maximum heart rate is about 160. You know your working hard when you sweat through your shirt. Interval bursts of 30 seconds are good. Your heart rate should recover quickly, in less than a minute. Any exercise that maximizes your heart rate and gets you sweating will do.
Be careful not to injure yourself. Even mild stretching can strain your back. Work up gradually to higher heart rates until your aerobic fitness improves. Intense aerobic exercise is what causes the cellular energy improvements.
9
These articles have one primary purpose: to encourage people to keep their "engines" in tune. Anyone thinking that these articles are the best science or always THE answer to living a high quality existence should instead be reading something like a physiology journal. Quit yapping about sample size, methodology and other yada yada. Americans are overwhelmingly obese and inert and this writer is consistently trying to motivate us. She's a gem at the NYT!
25
How about walking up and down the stair steps many times a day in my 3-story town home? Are those things considered exercise?
I ask these questions is because the oldest living healthy female are Japanese women who eat lots of fishes but little food and not much exercise to sustain longevity.
Which is more important: food or exercise? Should be both, right? Maybe we should talk about the combined effort instead of just one.
I ask these questions is because the oldest living healthy female are Japanese women who eat lots of fishes but little food and not much exercise to sustain longevity.
Which is more important: food or exercise? Should be both, right? Maybe we should talk about the combined effort instead of just one.
6
Like millions of other septuagenarians, I'm sure, I get my exercise via routine activities such as pulling weeds, raking, mowing the lawn with a push mower, shoveling snow, daily half-hour walks with my dog, etc. Twice a week I play a little golf; and twice a week I participate in a senior tai chi class. As a result I'm very healthy and don't think I need to do any interval training, weightlifting, or bike-riding.
I think my active lifestyle is more typical (and actually more healthy) for those over 70 than the more strenuous regimens described in the article. I wish the scientists had included such a group in their study.
I think my active lifestyle is more typical (and actually more healthy) for those over 70 than the more strenuous regimens described in the article. I wish the scientists had included such a group in their study.
10
The methodology and sample size on this study render the results useless.
3
To what specifically about methodology or sample size do you object?
That the sample size is small does not necessarily correlate with usefulness of a study's results. Years ago, researchers did not take pains to seek racial and socio-cultural diversity; in the diet and past medical history in study participants. That's changed. Smaller sample size is often offset by meticulous attention to genetics and participation of subjects.
The devil in details, as usual.
That the sample size is small does not necessarily correlate with usefulness of a study's results. Years ago, researchers did not take pains to seek racial and socio-cultural diversity; in the diet and past medical history in study participants. That's changed. Smaller sample size is often offset by meticulous attention to genetics and participation of subjects.
The devil in details, as usual.
3
4 minutes of hard pedaling? resting for 3 minutes? That is the strangest interval schedule I have ever seen. I've read about 20 to 30 seconds as hard as one can, then rest for 1 to 1.5 minutes and repeat for 10 to 15".
My understanding is that to get the benefits of the "burst" intervals, one needs to go all out and only an elite athlete could go "all out" for 4 minutes.
My understanding is that to get the benefits of the "burst" intervals, one needs to go all out and only an elite athlete could go "all out" for 4 minutes.
7
Yes. WAAY too much for me.
1
The high intensity interval training group went 4 minutes >90% of peak oxygen consumption followed by 3 minutes of pedaling at no load, X4. Pretty impressive.
1
Yeah, my understanding and practice as well.
This is the kind of story that leaves many questions unanswered. How about a clearer understanding of the throw away line at the end "intense" interval training"? What would that consist of for older adults? How do bicycles compare with elliptical (non impact) machines versus treadmills (there was another story last week that talked about the benefits of running--how does that compare to stair machines?) versus dance and exercise classes? How about yoga, where does that fit into this mitochondrial improvement story? Others have mentioned swimming too...I'd like to see a more comprehensive, and more far ranging discussion of this issue. For instance next to this story on the Well page is one about 9 minute workouts. Really?
How are we supposed to make sense of all of this.
How are we supposed to make sense of all of this.
14
A MAJOR Amen to that! A lot of these stories raise more questions than are answered. I figure it's newspaper's version of the old-time serial reel, "Tune in next week for the exciting conclusion!" You know, a way to keep readers coming back for more. Wasn't that the whole point of shows like, "The X-Files" and "Lost" trying to keep viewers coming back for more? I figure Trump is nothing more than a conspiracy hatched by media moguls to ratchet up ratings and subscription rates. "Tune in next time to see how much the President has made the rest of us look like nitwits in front of the rest of the world for having an electoral system that picks a president whom more people voted against than for."
6
Mitochondria health and persistence of effect diminishes with age. Exercise is one answer. Now there seems to be another, nicotinamide riboside. Whether your science journal of choice is Fast Company or Science Magazine, you can find a growing body of credible info about "NAD+," which NR stimulates and which does wonders for mitochondria and its intra-cellular communication with the DNA in the cell nucleous. Benefit? How about improved health in longevity. Sounds like an exercise benefit in a pill.
http://seniorjunior.blogspot.com/search?q=longevity
http://seniorjunior.blogspot.com/search?q=longevity
1
I spend more time per year recovering from injury than actual exercising. Such articles get me very discouraged because I want to exercise and I sure could use the benefits. However, it doesn't do any good to build muscle if the rest of your body infrastructure (e.g. cartilage, bone, ligaments, ...) cannot support them.
9
Another example of science journalism accepting conclusions uncritically. Please explain to us the correlation between changes in gene expression at two points of time and ANY valid clinical endpoint. Explain how gene expression changes may have nothing to do with ultimate biochemical pathways due to post translational modification. Explain that these changes could just as easily be harmful to the cells. Expalin that even if one gene is known to have a dominant effect when it is upregulated, that the effect of other gene changes could negate it at the cellular level. I realize that everyone wants to look at this hodgepodge of data and see a Rorschach test that supports their personal biases about what exercise is good, but that doesn't make data more than the speculation it really is.
1
What you say is true, but biochemistry is immensely complex. Some degree of guesswork and handwaving will almost always be necessary, especially for new things.
The trouble with the interval training mentioned-brief bursts of energy- is that old knees and hips don't take well to it. It caused a 6 month flare up in my knee arthritis. Perhaps doing it with low weights (alternating speed of reps) would get similar results. Any thoughts?
6
I hear you! I solved that problem by buying a rebounder (small trampoline) that stows beneath my bed. You can alternate gentle bouncing with running in place (as fast as you like) and not a bit of knee or hip pain, even after 2 years of doing this almost every day for about 30 mins total. I began with 10 mins and worked up slowly.
The other thing that helps tremendously with joint flexibility is sesame oil. Any organic sesame will do. (Warm about a tablespoon by placing in a plastic bowl then float the bowl for 20 seconds in hot water.) Massage into the joints and leave overnight, it soaks in pretty well. Otherwise do it in the morning about an hour before you shower, whatever works for your schedule.
The other thing that helps tremendously with joint flexibility is sesame oil. Any organic sesame will do. (Warm about a tablespoon by placing in a plastic bowl then float the bowl for 20 seconds in hot water.) Massage into the joints and leave overnight, it soaks in pretty well. Otherwise do it in the morning about an hour before you shower, whatever works for your schedule.
Try swimming using intervals appropriate to your ability
4
The best exercise routine is the one you will keep doing. If this article causes you to think that you should do interval training or nothing, but you hate interval training, then you will do nothing--not a good outcome. If you like swimming (walking, weight training, cycling, etc.) well enough to keep doing it, then that is the best exercise for you.
44
No mention of swimming at all?! Always thought that was the best all around exercise there was. Am 83. Swim in the South China Sea every morning. Pretty good shape except for arthritis which limits most of the other methods mentioned.
13
Yes, but you need to know how to swim properly. There are plenty of opportunities for adults to learn in most places, but for those who don't like to swim or don't want to learn: find something that you like and do that!
7
I looked forward to reading this article thinking that it had something to offer. It turns out it was one-size fits all generic advice type of nonsense - true for some , but useless for most. I am 68, male and have been active and fit all my life. After doing some light weight lifting in my early to mid sixties for a couple of years my elbows screamed in pain so I stopped. I continue to swim, ride a bike (a real one), and look forward with mixed feelings to some back-country skiing. But my knees are starting to hurt and my back aches most of the time. Even my half hour swim has to be done more slowly and certain strokes had to eliminated. Only the crawl done right still works for me. I continue my decades long practice of yoga but that has to be done in a limited way. No killer 2 hour classes for me. My doctor looked at my x-rays and told me I had arthritis in my spine. I may look better than most men my age but I'm feeling my age more and more. What I have learned is that nature will not be denied.
39
Two words: physical therapy. Don't give up; find a PT to help you correct your moves.
2
Try Feldenkrais technique. If you don't have a practitioner near you, there are a ton of YouTube videos, some very good. There's virtually no risk of injury as the movements are all very slow and gentle and deliberately avoid strain. The results can be remarkable for people suffering pain.
3
Maybe because I'm almost the same age and gender of this commenter, I identify with his thoughts and pronouncements as if I had written them myself. Thanks to him.
4
Weight training. This type of exercise keeps you strong, fit, and capable to live your life the way you would like.
3
Amen. I am 65 and started at the age of 56. I combine weights with moderate treadmill work and works for me. Still have to struggle with lower back pain and other minor pains. But I feel stronger than before and in good health. Good genes also help. But hoping this routine can last.
3
In my mid-60's, I go to the gym when I can, but right now there are many other things that need to be done. I still work 40-50 hours a week, yet have to get the yard mowed, buy and cook groceries, do laundry, plant garden, cut firewood, etc., etc. Luckily I still have the ability to do all these things.
Formal "interval training", weight lifting, and other "exercise" exercise are not for everyone. I, for one, am fortunate enough to belong to a local gym run by the park board, but there are many chores in the spring and summer that take precedence.
We must remember that the chores we do also count as exercise. We can't all be exercise snobs; some of us have to take our exercise as we can get it.
Formal "interval training", weight lifting, and other "exercise" exercise are not for everyone. I, for one, am fortunate enough to belong to a local gym run by the park board, but there are many chores in the spring and summer that take precedence.
We must remember that the chores we do also count as exercise. We can't all be exercise snobs; some of us have to take our exercise as we can get it.
24
Exercise snobs? Way to show your hate for healthy lifestyles. Best thing you can do for yourself is get an hour of exercise a day whether its walking, swimming, lifting weights, running, dance, etc etc. You need to get the heart rate up and daily chores do not do that.
2
What kind of "action" was detected in genes? How was the health of the mitochondria measured?
9
Unfortunately we are protected by a paywall from reading the article, even though our taxpayer dollars funded this research. Also, this was a small study that found an interesting effect. I take it as more of an idea of where to do a larger study than a mandate to go out and do the exercise.
I think (and this is the second article I have read on this study) that the mitochondria became more receptive to insulin, thus decreasing the effect of insulin resistance that is found in so much of the U.S. population. That is speaking with a lot of negatives, but the benefit is that the body uses sugar better (as it should) for energy.
I think (and this is the second article I have read on this study) that the mitochondria became more receptive to insulin, thus decreasing the effect of insulin resistance that is found in so much of the U.S. population. That is speaking with a lot of negatives, but the benefit is that the body uses sugar better (as it should) for energy.
1
Quoting from the article, they "performed RNA sequencing on baseline and post-exercise training skeletal muscle biopsies to assess whether transcript levels account for aging or training phenotypes of mitochondria, muscle hypertrophy, and insulin sensitivity." Related genes are down-regulated associated with age; the various groups saw varying levels of increased gene expression related to those factors.
Good article, excellent comments!
As an 80 (next month) year old, I add one caution: Be careful with new primary care MDs, especially those geriatric care physicans who see large numbers of patients and order many tests.
They may look at you and first see an old person who must be deteriorating somewhere. Then, they may clutter up your chart with misleading "diagnoses" in order to get you (medicare) "eligible" for certain tests. Later, since they don't even really remember you, they work from the hypothesis that you are suffering worse from something despite the test results, because there was that notation they made in order to get you the test in the first place.
I went through this a few years ago. Luckily, when I fell (while running) and hurt my arm, I went to a sports doctor and for the last two years have been fairly successfully recovering from my geriatric MD's treatments.
BTW, Does running to catch the bus or train several times a week count as "interval training"?
As an 80 (next month) year old, I add one caution: Be careful with new primary care MDs, especially those geriatric care physicans who see large numbers of patients and order many tests.
They may look at you and first see an old person who must be deteriorating somewhere. Then, they may clutter up your chart with misleading "diagnoses" in order to get you (medicare) "eligible" for certain tests. Later, since they don't even really remember you, they work from the hypothesis that you are suffering worse from something despite the test results, because there was that notation they made in order to get you the test in the first place.
I went through this a few years ago. Luckily, when I fell (while running) and hurt my arm, I went to a sports doctor and for the last two years have been fairly successfully recovering from my geriatric MD's treatments.
BTW, Does running to catch the bus or train several times a week count as "interval training"?
28
please confirm or deny so I can understand this result. Is this writer saying that
interval training ie (pedaling hard for four minutes, resting for three and then repeating that sequence three more times) was the cause of the 400 genes working differently among the older group. I'm not clear and would appreciate knowing.
interval training ie (pedaling hard for four minutes, resting for three and then repeating that sequence three more times) was the cause of the 400 genes working differently among the older group. I'm not clear and would appreciate knowing.
9
I agree, this article is not clear on many fronts.
6
i don't buy into it at all.
My mother, 90 next month, her older sister now 93, and her younger sister now 88 have never ONCE in their lives done any of the exercise routines mentioned in the article.
What they have done their whole lives is move about. They walk everywhere, they still wear high heels and almost run when they walk. They put me to shame.
They are not sedentary, but they have never, ever taken a class "to get moving".
My mother, 90 next month, her older sister now 93, and her younger sister now 88 have never ONCE in their lives done any of the exercise routines mentioned in the article.
What they have done their whole lives is move about. They walk everywhere, they still wear high heels and almost run when they walk. They put me to shame.
They are not sedentary, but they have never, ever taken a class "to get moving".
20
Really, a 93 year old woman speed walking in high heels? Sounds like a recipe for a hip fracture for sure.
11
The most important factor in aging well is choosing your parents wisely. Good genes are priceless. It sounds as if your mother and aunts have them.
14
Would recommend Pilates mat work for anyone ... many exercises use
the weight of your own body for resistance -- and done carefully, with a good
teacher, you can noticeably build muscle strength - the Pilates Reformer even better: Pulling and pushing your muscles against springs, you gently build muscle and stretch out your spine -- you'll feel taller and lighter and walking is more pleasurable. (And, if you mix the above with some free weights and cardio, you'll do even better.) Now, to go take my own advice!
the weight of your own body for resistance -- and done carefully, with a good
teacher, you can noticeably build muscle strength - the Pilates Reformer even better: Pulling and pushing your muscles against springs, you gently build muscle and stretch out your spine -- you'll feel taller and lighter and walking is more pleasurable. (And, if you mix the above with some free weights and cardio, you'll do even better.) Now, to go take my own advice!
10
I have been doing Pilates for years, but find with newer teachers they are introducing adaptations of their own - and while it is always about "core" it is not always true Pilates. I always knew what I was heading for when I went to a traditional (i.e. Stott) mat class. I now favour a teacher who knows my age, understands I have arthritis, and knows that I will modify and never try to keep up with the class.
3
I am 68. With 2 other senior ladies (the 3rd one broke her ankle by falling off a ladder when trying to save her figs from the birds - at 85!), we drive to the deep water pool across town. We strap on our aquabelts and do an hour varied exercise - weights, cardio, stretching. We keep moving for the whole hour. 2 of us have trouble walking on land but we get such a buzz from our workout. Then we go and have lunch at the local Returned Services Club, visit a friend and go home well satisfied with our efforts.
22
I don't know about my mitochondria. But I started doing 'gentle yoga' '(old people's yoga'??) recently and I have found the twisting and stretches are good for loosening up those parts of my body (such as my neck) that have started to stiffen up.
9
I am a 66 yo male and have done high intensity interval training on bikes, treadmills and stair master nearly daily for over 20 years. I am 100 % convinced that such a program along with some strength training is the only fountain of youth you will ever find. My only quibble with this article is the length of the high exertion interval. Four minutes is too long to sustain maximal output for most perople and will discourage them....it's simply too uncomfortable and painful. My maximal exertion intervals are only 45-60 seconds with 2-3 minutes low intensity in between and the results are excellent.
55
How does one know what their maximal exertion is?
do you do the same number of repetitions as in the article (i.e. 4)?
1
When you absolutely can't breathe any longer. Yes, you can push yourself to that. I started developing exercise asthma and would be gasping during "stage four" in the olden days spinning.
Sorry, no time to write a long comment - gotta get back on the stationary bike...
6
You need to breath, you need to eat, you need to sleep, and you need to exercise. Miss any one of these musts, and you shorten your life.
7
Please more articles like this with specifics about exercise for seniors. I wish this article had more information.
27
First, I would like to say, it is great to read comments where everyone is nice and encouraging to one another!
Second, I have been working out in a swim exercise class for the past 12 years faithfully for 4 to 5 days a week. I consider it my CIVIC DUTY to work out, so it takes less medicine and doctor's visit! I am 74 years old and feel great. Our class is very social and we have planned luncheons at least once a month. We encourage each other during difficult times! This class has changed many peoples lives! The women still wear beautiful suits! Get in the water to walk if you have a hard time with mobility... you will see the difference. I have "muscles that pop" just from working out in the water.
Second, I have been working out in a swim exercise class for the past 12 years faithfully for 4 to 5 days a week. I consider it my CIVIC DUTY to work out, so it takes less medicine and doctor's visit! I am 74 years old and feel great. Our class is very social and we have planned luncheons at least once a month. We encourage each other during difficult times! This class has changed many peoples lives! The women still wear beautiful suits! Get in the water to walk if you have a hard time with mobility... you will see the difference. I have "muscles that pop" just from working out in the water.
33
Read "Younger Next Year" by Crowley and Lodge. It basically says that exercising 6 days a week will change your life for the better.
11
The only elevator in my building broke down recently for several days and I had no choice but to take my dog down five flights for his first morning walk after which I made other arrangements for him. My thighs were so painful that it was hard to walk for several days. I wondered afterwards whether it was possible to revive 78 year old muscles and you have just answered that question for me. Thank you!
12
The best exercise is the exercise you will do.
61
So true!!
3
l am a 82 years old man, l do 5 miles bike in 30 minutes, and than l lift 6o pounds for 2 dozen times, l do this 4 or 5 times a week, l have cancer, a bat ticker , high blood pre. and many more things, but l do get up every morning and try to live a full life, by my choice living all by self, and l do some swimming too,more than age you have to not what and how much you can do, l am not out there to impress some body or myself but i do it to finish my life with dignity
130
beautifully stated!
19
Akin, well done, exercise-wise. Live alone? Hope you are also getting a healthy dollop of sociability somewhere every day.
Were the genes activated by weight training seniors different than the 400 activated by interval training seniors? (In which case I intend to do both!)
3
This is gobbledegook....genes, cells, mitochondria, muscle mass, strength.
The question is (and it hasn't been answered): What is the best kind of exercise for each decade of your life, assuming you have no illness or disability?
The question is (and it hasn't been answered): What is the best kind of exercise for each decade of your life, assuming you have no illness or disability?
11
The best exercise, at any age, is the one you will do regularly, and that you will enjoy for its own sake rather than rewarding yourself with extra calories afterwards.
10
Sex!
4
walk
walk
walk
walk
walk
:)
walk
walk
walk
walk
:)
4
Good for you. I rarely find information about exercise for the elderly. Usually they never bother to even mention age as if one size fits all. Please find more of these and also specify what ages are included. I know we are all different and age in various way but give it a try.
24
I am still exercising, (which I sincerely love), but at a much slower pace due to knee problems (apparently due to bone loading exercises) and arthritis in my back, neck and knees. Where did I go wrong? I sincerely thought the exercises I was doing were good for me. I was in great, good shape until about two years ago when my problems started. Trying to get the information from doctors as to what I should do or not do is like pulling teeth. But , after perseverance with several orthopedic doctors, I think I finally have a plan. But seriously, it is scary.
20
I am 68 yr old male. When I was 60, I left my white collar career job. I took a nurse assistant job at an Alzheimers unit. You get a list of residents that you clean, dress, groom, ambulate, feed, toilet, etc..
I do this 3 days a week, leaving 4 for other things.
Trust me. It is a workout. I'm forced to keep moving. If I tried to self discipline myself into exercise, I would fail. So, this is my exercise routine. Keep moving or let your coworkers strongly recommend you keep moving.
I do this 3 days a week, leaving 4 for other things.
Trust me. It is a workout. I'm forced to keep moving. If I tried to self discipline myself into exercise, I would fail. So, this is my exercise routine. Keep moving or let your coworkers strongly recommend you keep moving.
39
Been an aerobic exerciser x40 years,now 69.Went from 100% strenuous stationary bike 40 min/3-4x/wk to interval 5 yrs ago:1 min intense-2 min recovery x50 min every other day. Chest strap for pulse.Max HR to 160's-2 min cool off to 130's.Resting HR55/BP105/55. Both I attribute to long term exercise. 5'8/wt160. Diabetic diet simply because it's healthy x20 yrs. Avoid, red meat, sugary food, starches, sat fat, etc. I eat fish, nuts, berries, steel cut oats every day. I have survived bladder cancer (2008) and a life-threatening spinal infection (2009) that cost 2 cervical vertebrae and left me with metal neck, tolerable but disabling problems with R, dominant hand(RSD, etc).Two years ago:pericarditis with a fib that resolved after 3 months of treatment.Last summer:laparoscopic surgery for small bowel obstruction as sequelae of life-saving cancer surgery(cystoprostatectomy, now urostomy and no sex life).I am practically deaf:Ménière's Disease but vertigo (sometimes daily for months)ended 20 yrs ago. Hearing aids (best possible) so-so when discrimination shot(e.g."Goldrush"can equal"toothbrush"-or just aural mush).My balance is shot.I have severe scoliosis,degen lumbar disc disease,spondylolithesis,stenosis,chronic low back pain...forward flexion lets me do bike.Laminotomy 15 years ago: less sciatica but still need narcotics. Last visit to PCP:"You are pre-diabetic."Huh?!?!?! I am retired MD. My mitochondria:outstanding. Endurance is the fury of a patient man. Good sense of humor.
37
One comment refers to the journal as low-status. That's nonsense. It's a prestigious journal with one of the higher impact factors (which means more cited by other authors) of any science journal. I'm a librarian not affiliated in any way with the publication.
That said, it *is* a substantive critique to ask that journalists focus more on review articles that summarize recent research on a topic than on newly published individual studies. Unless those studies have very big sample sizes (this one did not) and/or are long-term longitudinal studies (not this one), results need to be reproduced by other scientists before we start basing major lifestyle changes on them. It might also be worth mentioning, Ms. Reynolds, that Nair has been studying mitochondria in muscle tissue for over 20 years (google scholar turned that up in 1 minute), and that this research harmonizes with several recent review articles (that's where calling a librarian helps - I have access to databases & would be happy to spend 5 minutes searching to improve the accuracy of journalism). Just call the reference desk at NYPL. I'm sure they'd be happy to help you find review articles.
That said, it *is* a substantive critique to ask that journalists focus more on review articles that summarize recent research on a topic than on newly published individual studies. Unless those studies have very big sample sizes (this one did not) and/or are long-term longitudinal studies (not this one), results need to be reproduced by other scientists before we start basing major lifestyle changes on them. It might also be worth mentioning, Ms. Reynolds, that Nair has been studying mitochondria in muscle tissue for over 20 years (google scholar turned that up in 1 minute), and that this research harmonizes with several recent review articles (that's where calling a librarian helps - I have access to databases & would be happy to spend 5 minutes searching to improve the accuracy of journalism). Just call the reference desk at NYPL. I'm sure they'd be happy to help you find review articles.
13
What was the original activity level in the genes of youg people compared to the older people? Perhaps, if the activity level is higher in the younger group there may be less room for an increase in activity. One may not be able to compare the changes.
2
check out Dr. Wayne Wescott, PHD:, years of study with adults into their ninety years, and found there is no age limit to bring back muscle loss.
11
I'm 75 and I do a reasonably intense weight lifting routine every other day. I used a personal trainer to teach me the routines, and now I vary them. The results have been remarkable. I've lost weight, reduced my waist by 3 inches and actually have muscles! My posture has improved! That alone has uplifted me quite a bit and makes me feel like a much younger guy. Do it! Nothing like it.
24
And here I always thought walking 30 or 40 minutes a day was the best thing for us geezers.
14
Norbel, a favorite cartoon is where an elderly woman in a smart outfit with a hat, a bit on the stout side, has a wave of nostalgia in addressing a jogger in his middle years. The man reminds her of her late husband, the strongest of the two, who always enjoyed his daily running and was so fit, but she had to look after her delicate heart. All to say, keep on trucking and maybe I'll join you for a daily walk.
9
I'm 74 and 20 years into a daily exercise regimen that includes yoga asanas, chanting, meditation and walking. This has worked great for me and I love it. Missing a day of this regimen would be akin to failing to brush my teeth.
But, it's not just my liking of it that I can rely upon. Research into the effects of yoga and meditation on older muscle cells reveals significantly reduced rate of cellular aging in apparently healthy older populations. See at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5278216/
Retirement allows us time to focus on our health. But, I'm so grateful that I overcame the daily time commitment, the first hurdle to daily practice, at age 54. Appropriate exercise is the foundation for a lifetime of health.
But, it's not just my liking of it that I can rely upon. Research into the effects of yoga and meditation on older muscle cells reveals significantly reduced rate of cellular aging in apparently healthy older populations. See at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5278216/
Retirement allows us time to focus on our health. But, I'm so grateful that I overcame the daily time commitment, the first hurdle to daily practice, at age 54. Appropriate exercise is the foundation for a lifetime of health.
17
Reverses 400 odd gene things, OK, but still won't put the hair back on top of my head.
20
Play squash. It is a lot of fun, easy to learn, takes little time, is a great workout and those few who beat you are usually nice people.
8
Uh-Oh, I was hoping for an easy way out here where this difficult business of living does not involve exercising one's physical muscles. True, I inherited from the parents on both sides strong roots. Roots from the working-class two generations ago and an ode to the Irish and French ancestors.
Everyone I know exercises. You get to hear about it at the end of the day the quiet satisfaction of voices of aches and pains, the long walks, the yoga classes, bicycling, the pulled muscles, the guilt if one hasn't joined the light brigade. Amazing. The truth of the matter is that I let the NYT know if I have so much as stubbed a toe. The slightest feeling of physical discomfort does me in.
Naturally I am a weakling and waif-like, frail, except that I am pain-free and way past 60 can manage the Lotus Position. Of course, I am going to end up paying big time for having chosen to turn the page of a book, my idea of 'manual labor', instead of doing push-ups. But still, I want to thank Ms. Reynolds and the commentators for their advice and guidance because I have to go on some country errands.
Ran out of excuses to walk on foot today, the sun is out, and the young cat is climbing the trees looking for squirrels. Aging muscles? Well, I believe mine have disappeared but apparently it is not too late to rectify the above.
Everything in moderation, we are all different in our 'constitutional' needs. How about 'the enthusiasm' of some of the athletes in this column? Oak trees.
Everyone I know exercises. You get to hear about it at the end of the day the quiet satisfaction of voices of aches and pains, the long walks, the yoga classes, bicycling, the pulled muscles, the guilt if one hasn't joined the light brigade. Amazing. The truth of the matter is that I let the NYT know if I have so much as stubbed a toe. The slightest feeling of physical discomfort does me in.
Naturally I am a weakling and waif-like, frail, except that I am pain-free and way past 60 can manage the Lotus Position. Of course, I am going to end up paying big time for having chosen to turn the page of a book, my idea of 'manual labor', instead of doing push-ups. But still, I want to thank Ms. Reynolds and the commentators for their advice and guidance because I have to go on some country errands.
Ran out of excuses to walk on foot today, the sun is out, and the young cat is climbing the trees looking for squirrels. Aging muscles? Well, I believe mine have disappeared but apparently it is not too late to rectify the above.
Everything in moderation, we are all different in our 'constitutional' needs. How about 'the enthusiasm' of some of the athletes in this column? Oak trees.
16
This article couldn't come at a better time for this old pot of mitochondria. The over whelming differential in gene activity due to interval training is stunning - assuming that more activity is a positive - and, alluring. The question is, can the body produce the output necessary to gain significant results from intervalling?
As others have commented, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. It is the boss. If one is patient and follows it's dictates, one can slowly elevate a bag of bones to an effective level of activity.
As others have commented, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. It is the boss. If one is patient and follows it's dictates, one can slowly elevate a bag of bones to an effective level of activity.
6
Robert makes the point "All things in Moderation " and don't be reckless and hurt yourself. That makes sense The irony is that to do interval training is "to stress oneself" . I think it is quiet simple to for example to stress one's self moderately , in my case a one minute set with 2 minutes of recovery allowed or until i recover to my heart beat recovers nicely . Intervals work with strength training for the sake of moderate stress also , I like Turkish get ups or becoming strong at 'standing up" in a moderately stressful fashion . Roberts point to not create injury or to listen to your body can not be over emphasized , moderate stress :)
4
what is a Turkish get ups?
Looking back from the age of 79 on a lifetime of wildly varying levels of enthusiasm for and participation in athletic activity, and having spent most of that life in neurology, my experience tells me there are good reasons for keeping as physically fit as your life allows. At various times I've played serious tennis, been an ok skier, a jogger, and a cycler. I swam in college and still swim when I can and feel like it. When I'm stuck at home working on a writing project (as was the case the past couple of weeks) I take time out and climb the stairs in our condo (18 steps x 25 = 450 steps). The only reason I still go to the gym is get on the eliptical bike and listen to language tapes. Which brings up the other thing: I really, really believe in doing stuff that makes your BRAIN struggle, but for me it has to have a payoff at the end. Online and audiotape language learning at this age is a delight, even if vocabulary retention is never going to be what it was. After taking a 3-year Persian language course at Portland State I went to Iran with a group of retired professionals and it was one of the most exhilarating and rewarding travel experiences of my life. I have grandkids who are crazy competitive swimmers so we're talking about Japan in 2020 and Japanese has replaced Persian on the bike at the gym. Like that. But do stuff that means something to you, that gives you something you want and something you can look forward to.
66
Exercise can also have a significant effect on the brain and different exercises affect the brain in different ways. Considering our bodies and minds together, there doesn't seem to be any sort of exercise that isn't good for something and many types of exercise seem to be worth doing.
My understanding of these topics has been shaped in large part by the following NY Times articles:
Walk, Stretch or Dance? Dancing May Be Best for the Brain
By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS MARCH 29, 2017
Finding the Right Balance
By ALEX HUTCHINSON JUNE 6, 2015
Which Type of Exercise Is Best for the Brain? FEB. 17, 2016
Walk, Jog or Dance: It’s All Good for the Aging Brain APRIL 7, 2016
Jogging the Brain NOV. 22, 2016
My understanding of these topics has been shaped in large part by the following NY Times articles:
Walk, Stretch or Dance? Dancing May Be Best for the Brain
By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS MARCH 29, 2017
Finding the Right Balance
By ALEX HUTCHINSON JUNE 6, 2015
Which Type of Exercise Is Best for the Brain? FEB. 17, 2016
Walk, Jog or Dance: It’s All Good for the Aging Brain APRIL 7, 2016
Jogging the Brain NOV. 22, 2016
8
Thank you for re-posting these!
2
So...... The FEB 17, 2016 article states,
"There were far fewer new neurons in the brains of the animals that had completed high-intensity interval training. They showed somewhat higher amounts than in the sedentary animals but far less than in the distance runners."
So which is it? Mitochondria if you do high-intensity, but brain cells if you go for distance? It's conflicting and confusing..maybe there is no "Best." Maybe we need to just leave it at "Stay as active as you can, and enjoy your life." Nobody gets out of here alive anyway.
"There were far fewer new neurons in the brains of the animals that had completed high-intensity interval training. They showed somewhat higher amounts than in the sedentary animals but far less than in the distance runners."
So which is it? Mitochondria if you do high-intensity, but brain cells if you go for distance? It's conflicting and confusing..maybe there is no "Best." Maybe we need to just leave it at "Stay as active as you can, and enjoy your life." Nobody gets out of here alive anyway.
7
And don't forget the recent article that suggested walking 4 miles a day at 4 mph. I thought that was pretty funny--and unrealistic.
All things in moderation. Because if you try too hard, you will hurt yourself and that will interrupt your moderate and healthy exercise for months if not years.
33
Moderation, according to this article, came in second place to interval training, with it's more intense demands.
3
The best is crossfit. Why you might ask, because it is totally made up of natural safe functional movements that can be scaled for anyone. It makes changes in 10 desired fitness domains that all contribute to a healthy aging mind and body. Power, strength, speed, flexibility, coordination, balance, stamina, cardio/respiratory endurance, agility, accuracy. I have done my own experiment doing crossfit for 2 years. I will be 73 in November. None weight bearing? Between 30 and 80 expect to lose 10% to 15% of muscle mass. Only if you use it?
CrossFit is over-hyped to seniors: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ken-reed/crossfit_b_4666040.html . Be careful. For most, it is not the best way to start, no matter your individual testimonial. That does not mean it has no place.
4
Crossfit is a high impact injury-prone regimen. It is a terrible path for nearly everyone, but it's especially irresponsible to recommend it to people new to exercise or seniors.
I have seen this, more than once - person gets roped into crossfit, sometimes by an unqualified crossfit instructor, gets injured, stops exercising completely. The worst of all possible outcomes.
I have seen this, more than once - person gets roped into crossfit, sometimes by an unqualified crossfit instructor, gets injured, stops exercising completely. The worst of all possible outcomes.
7
I'm having trouble following this:
"Some of them did vigorous weight training several times a week; some did brief interval training three times a week on stationary bicycles (pedaling hard for four minutes, resting for three and then repeating that sequence three more times); some rode stationary bikes at a moderate pace for 30 minutes a few times a week and lifted weights lightly on other days. A fourth group, the control, did not exercise."
Is the interval training only the "brief interval training" or all of the things the first 3 groups did? And, when you say the older cohort, which of the 3 types of training did they do?
"Some of them did vigorous weight training several times a week; some did brief interval training three times a week on stationary bicycles (pedaling hard for four minutes, resting for three and then repeating that sequence three more times); some rode stationary bikes at a moderate pace for 30 minutes a few times a week and lifted weights lightly on other days. A fourth group, the control, did not exercise."
Is the interval training only the "brief interval training" or all of the things the first 3 groups did? And, when you say the older cohort, which of the 3 types of training did they do?
The interval training is the "brief interval training" group. They had the best outcomes. I think it said they did 3-4 minutes high intensity and then 3-4 minutes of rest, repeated four times, but I need to re-read the article.
Another good takeaway -- anything was still better than nothing!
Another good takeaway -- anything was still better than nothing!
2
Cycling is great exercise but its important to run as well. An over-reliance on cycling can result in soft bones. Running being an impact activity counters that nicely.
2
Last week, the NYTimes reported that vigorous exercise was best. This week the best level is reported here to be moderate. I think I will wait till next week.
19
Actually, the article states that intense exercise works best, not moderate exercise.
5
I began a weight lifting program about a a year and a half ago. I decided a few things at the start ~heavy weights and low reps, stick to a routine and only change the weight when my body tells me I can, two/three times a week on the same time slot and take a post work out supplement as soon as I finish. The supplement both feeds the body required nutrients that the older body doesn't produce as much of and helps with the aches and pains. I'm 68 and I've had others in my age bracket ask me how long I'd been training and can't believe it's only been a year. Youth or a semblance there of is there for the taking, believe me! Ha, ha..couldn't resist..
Got an idea for you. My trainer urges slow exercising, i.e. not rapidly lifting or moving. Perform the exercises slowly especially going down. Pause at the moment of muscle contraction (you can feel that ) and go down slowly. Use less weight and slow down. I'm 75. You'd never guess!!!
3
Great article and interesting comments. So bicycling is a best possible exercise for aging population. Well here in Islamabad there are not too many hills but traffic and road conditions are awful not to mention the fact that there is high likelihood of getting run over.
Ten minutes later: My son said well avoiding uncovered manholes will give me upper-body interval exercise and outpacing a car trying to run me over will give me the interval training ....problem solved thanks to my son and New York Times. God Bless America.
Ten minutes later: My son said well avoiding uncovered manholes will give me upper-body interval exercise and outpacing a car trying to run me over will give me the interval training ....problem solved thanks to my son and New York Times. God Bless America.
11
Based on what we've already known, the study is perhaps no surprise. I do not have full text access, and was trying to find out more about their "healthy" volunteers. I would, however, be careful assuming that cellular health is "corrected" with exercise--maybe "improved" would be a more modest and applicable statement.
Most people over 64 years old in the USA appear to be on chronic medications, often multiple:are https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus15.pdf#079 AND https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/americas-other-dr... . The amount of medication use is staggering (and these studies were mostly based on prescription drugs, not venturing into the morass of "nutraceuticals")
It would also be expected that plateaus would be reached, and that common illnesses and their medications would impact muscle performances. There is a lot yet to be discovered (a good thing)--so for older folks, just be careful. Muscle metabolism is one thing, risk of injury and pre-existing physical impairments (metabolic or mechanical) are others. Still, as mentioned above, this study does fit within what might be expected based on existing general knowledge of exercise benefits with age.
Most people over 64 years old in the USA appear to be on chronic medications, often multiple:are https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus15.pdf#079 AND https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/americas-other-dr... . The amount of medication use is staggering (and these studies were mostly based on prescription drugs, not venturing into the morass of "nutraceuticals")
It would also be expected that plateaus would be reached, and that common illnesses and their medications would impact muscle performances. There is a lot yet to be discovered (a good thing)--so for older folks, just be careful. Muscle metabolism is one thing, risk of injury and pre-existing physical impairments (metabolic or mechanical) are others. Still, as mentioned above, this study does fit within what might be expected based on existing general knowledge of exercise benefits with age.
4
I swear by gentle stretching exercises and keeping at your fighting weight.
These things are ten times better than any drug, cario or other heavy exercise.
Stretching has worked wonders for any muscle in my body that has given me senior problems from back, neck, toe, foot, glutes etc. etc.
These things are ten times better than any drug, cario or other heavy exercise.
Stretching has worked wonders for any muscle in my body that has given me senior problems from back, neck, toe, foot, glutes etc. etc.
6
Stretching is great, no question. But muscles also need a bit of resistance, i.e. reasonable weight training. Your heart muscles will love that.
4
OK, so the conclusion is that people should not sit on their butts and get some exercise.
10
I suppose I operate by old-fashioned principles, like "use it or lose it." Thoroughly disliking most mechanical enhancements to exercise (except lawn mowers and tillers), I stick with my routine of taking care of one acre of gardens that include growing food for the table and developing habitat for native pollinators. Pushing 80, I shovel snow, paint inside and out and cast glances to the heavens in thankfulness for my good fortune. Am not a slave to "my numbers."
Gave up on statins early as they produced negative effects on my physiology.
Gave up on statins early as they produced negative effects on my physiology.
10
Does interval training on a stationary bike only benefit cells in the leg muscles? What other muscles were affected?
5
Your heart muscles! Ride that sucker until you have good, deep breathing and sustain that for 20 minutes. Do it every other day. On alternate days, work out the upper body.
1
Swimming was not included in the study. Many friends, myself included, who swim daily in the fresh water of a spring-fed swimming pool in Austin, and who are older than 70 years, take no medicines and have no health issues at all. And frequently, when they reach their eighties and nineties, they are still taking no medicines, and appear and feel 20 years younger.
19
I love your Austin pool (s) and I guess your intuition is correct ( that there is something to it ) . My guess is that the stress from interval training may not be unlike the stress from a cold water swim with the added kick of the lovely water. I was in Austin from March 4 to the 10th or so and Barton was closed for cleaning , but the one by the river was open .
4
Maybe your group is healthy because you're swimming, but maybe you're swimming because you're healthy and able to.
7
Barton Springs and arthritis are not compatible. As a former early morning swimmer (off to gym at 5 am), the cool water aggravated my arthritis (autoimmune genetic disorder) starting in my forties. I spend thirty minutes first thing in the morning (with my iPad and NYTimes) to facilitate movement.
1
What about hopping in place? As if one were jumping rope (but without the rope)? Is that as effective as a stationary bike?
3
Hopping and jumping rope will stimulate bone growth and increase your agility, which a stationery bike will not.
7
Any comments on the effects of Stain drugs/exercise/and age.
I know as an active cyclist and being on Statins for 20+ years, I certainly have noted the atrophy and extreme tiredness in my leg muscles...aerobic isn't bad for my age but duration and hills now exhaust me... any suggestions??
I know as an active cyclist and being on Statins for 20+ years, I certainly have noted the atrophy and extreme tiredness in my leg muscles...aerobic isn't bad for my age but duration and hills now exhaust me... any suggestions??
3
I quickly abandoned statins once I discovered a diminishment in strength. I changed my diet to very low cholesterol, less than 200 units a day, and I take a daily 500 unit vitamin C pill, an omega 3 pill, a 1000 unit B12 pill, and a turmeric pill (to control swelling in a bad knee). This regimen I have followed for over 10 years now, my cholesterol is below 200, and I have all my original strength because I exercise every day.
1
At age 60 or so statins certainly had a negative effect on my muscles and ability to get stronger. There is little evidence that they have any positive effect preventing vascular issues in people who do not already have them. I, and several friends I know, quit taking them and are now able to get stronger again.
1
My husband is a bike racer also on statins for 20 years (age 64). He doesn't take his dose the day before the race, and takes the race-day dose at night, after competition. Has some national medals on the wall, so this has helped him!
2
I love to be active but hate being inside and doing things repetitively. I find that road cycling, mountain biking and snowshoeing allow for natural interval training. There are these things called hills...
12
Just keep up the road running. The weight of the foot strike will do wonders for your knees and/or hips over the years but the good news is your neighborhood orthopedic surgeon will love you for it! More good news...multiple surgeries using arthroscopic techniques is far less painful than open incision surgeries. I enjoyed my arthroscopic knee surgery intensely. Can't wait for my next one!
Seriously, exercise for sure but get into non weight bearing modes. That's different from lifting moderate weights
Seriously, exercise for sure but get into non weight bearing modes. That's different from lifting moderate weights
10
And weight bearing exercises are good to prevent/reverse osteopenia.
I'm 69 and have been active all of my life, running, mountain climbing, skiing, tennis, bicycling, weights, stairs (I live in a 5 story walkup) and do not notice much difference in my physical ability over the years. There are, however, a few activities I avoid. A couple of years ago I had a herniated disc and instead of surgery I lightened up on activities - bending, jogging, etc. I still have minor back pain from time to time but avoid activities that aggravate it - especially jogging, lifting heavy weights and sitting for long periods(especially long distance driving). I think years of running, coming down on my heels, caused wear on tear on my lower spine. At present I'm dealing with moderate shoulder pain which I blame on tennis. Here again I have lightened up and do regular light lifting exercises to strengthen my rotator cuff. Maybe I'm deceiving myself, but physically I don't feel that much different than when I was much younger.
Sounds like I should order a Peleton ? anyone have any experience with one of them ?
1
I understand from friends that they are great. Alternatively, you can buy a road bike and ride outside. Join a cycling club if you prefer to ride with others. You can put the road bike on a trainer (a stand) if you don't want to ride outside in the cold. Then you can use Zwift if you want a social experience while training. Best of both worlds, indoor and out.
3
As a road cyclist for over 4 decades who shifted last decade (after cyclist road death/injuries in our semi-rural cyclist-favored community) into riding an exercycle that mimics road cycle position, I will observe that all the wonderful "streaming without commercials" television viewing options have made this transition indoors less painful. I am a caregiver (sort of - don't remind him) and my staying injury-free (even as my reflexes are noticeably slowed and balance mildly impaired) is critical to our partnership of "aging well" and not imposing on the children. We now have a wonderful River Trail for safe cycling but five miles doesn't satisfy me. So hours inside cycling (with little resistance to minimize arthritis aggravation) - after hours of treadmill walking in a more social environment - has kept me physically healthier (and wearing clothes better!) than my female related elders at my age. I still have several good road bikes but riding them on indoor setups is not as convenient as my exercycle in my bedroom. The elliptical occupies the living room space. And statins fogged my brain after a month of usage. So I eat healthfully and my labs are pretty good - exercise, diet, and reasonable extra nutrients (thank you, Jane Brody).
3
Resistance training is my fountain of youth.
From 2007:
"We conclude that healthy older adults show evidence of mitochondrial impairment and muscle weakness, but that this can be partially reversed at the phenotypic level, and substantially reversed at the transcriptome level, following six months of resistance exercise training."
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0000465
From 2007:
"We conclude that healthy older adults show evidence of mitochondrial impairment and muscle weakness, but that this can be partially reversed at the phenotypic level, and substantially reversed at the transcriptome level, following six months of resistance exercise training."
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0000465
Would really help some of us to have the source piece referenced in your review. It is:
Enhanced Protein Translation Underlies Improved Metabolic and Physical Adaptations to Different Exercise Training Modes in Young and Old Humans
Robinson, Matthew M. et al.
Cell Metabolism , Volume 25 , Issue 3 , 581 - 592
Enhanced Protein Translation Underlies Improved Metabolic and Physical Adaptations to Different Exercise Training Modes in Young and Old Humans
Robinson, Matthew M. et al.
Cell Metabolism , Volume 25 , Issue 3 , 581 - 592
14
This matches what I've read about triathlon training - that it "turns back the hands of time". Apparently most people here have no idea what interval training actually is. Get a triathlon coach and ask them to making you a cycling, swimming, and/or running plan. Or just go to spin classes when the instructor says it's interval day. The regimen includes the repetition of specifically-timed sets of really intense work. It sounds tough but you set the upper limit of effort, and it's actually fun and you feel great afterwards.
6
Interesting, but running the tests on sedentary people is bound to yield skewed results, no? Do intervals even mean the same thing for sedentary individuals as they do for reasonably fit ones? What about for people who are rather well fit, but aging? My guess is the results would be quite different for the latter.
9
The quality of the research, played down by some comments, requires further description.
-The measured outcome is end stage (muscle biopsy for mitochondrial function), not intermediates or correlates such as cholesterol, insulin,blood pressure.
-Though there are only 9 subjects per cell (intervention), the measured outcomes are so hugely different that the results are extremely significant. This is called "statistical power".
-We would never again expect either approval for a research protocol or willing volunteeers to be subjects providing two muscle biopsies each (baseline and after intervention) for a "larger study" to confirm these findings.
In the end, this is a high quality study published in respected journal. Take heed, "intervals" are signficant exerceise especially for older persons who are unable to make new muscle, but apparently able to hypertrophy muscles in more than one way.
-The measured outcome is end stage (muscle biopsy for mitochondrial function), not intermediates or correlates such as cholesterol, insulin,blood pressure.
-Though there are only 9 subjects per cell (intervention), the measured outcomes are so hugely different that the results are extremely significant. This is called "statistical power".
-We would never again expect either approval for a research protocol or willing volunteeers to be subjects providing two muscle biopsies each (baseline and after intervention) for a "larger study" to confirm these findings.
In the end, this is a high quality study published in respected journal. Take heed, "intervals" are signficant exerceise especially for older persons who are unable to make new muscle, but apparently able to hypertrophy muscles in more than one way.
12
Yikes! Great article, my wife walks 3miles a day and Zumba class 3times a week. She's a great reader and loves to plan our meals with me cooking. Some nights we both share in making the meal.
Yup on Mondays it 1martini and during the week a few glasses of wine.
Oh and I work teaching 30 third graders the skills of the future from coding,
Planting gardens, writing a respectable paragraph with a topic sentence!
Teach them skills needed in basketball, soccer, thowing and catching, to how work a yo-yo, jump rope and do geometric figures on graph paper and to color them in the colors of their choice.
Yup on Mondays it 1martini and during the week a few glasses of wine.
Oh and I work teaching 30 third graders the skills of the future from coding,
Planting gardens, writing a respectable paragraph with a topic sentence!
Teach them skills needed in basketball, soccer, thowing and catching, to how work a yo-yo, jump rope and do geometric figures on graph paper and to color them in the colors of their choice.
6
I'm not sure what any of that has to do with the interval training that this article is talking about.
32
Sounds like a bicycle ride in the great outdoors where the terrain and the circumstances vary, is the best exercise. Good for the body, and great for the disposition. Find a rail trail near you.
12
Hills, hills, hills. The old adage "no pain, no gain" applies along with rest between intervals evidenced by a significantly reduced heart rate. Heart rate monitors are your friend.
Absolutely. Here in Central MA road bicycling cannot help but be internal training. There are more and more nice safe rail trails as well. Go for it!
1
If one wanted to mimic this study, what exactly is "pedaling hard" for four minutes? And what is "resting for three minutes"? Does that mean completely stopping for 3 minutes or just pedaling more moderately? I am 57 and I like to ride a stationary bike; I appreciate the info. it just seems incomplete.
26
NTNU [the Norwegian University of Science and Technology] published results from a 2013 study regarding scheme and benefit of High Intensity Interval Training [HIIT]. The 02 links below will get you to the proper section of their site.
https://www.ntnu.edu/cerg/advice
https://www.ntnu.edu/news/2013-news/fit-in-twelve-minutes
https://www.ntnu.edu/cerg/advice
https://www.ntnu.edu/news/2013-news/fit-in-twelve-minutes
5
*It sounds familiar to "cardio bursts"; in which you are doing a cardio type workout (biking, walking, running), maintaining a certain comfortable rate in your THR zone, then do a burst of accelerated speed sustained for 1 full minute, then drop back to your original pace. Repeat every 5th minute. This also helps to burn fat more quickly, increase fitness faster.
2
...at the beginning you might need to come to a complete rest for the short rest, gradually your body will adopt and you will only pedal slightly in order to get "reset" your heart rate......
"Moderation in everything, including moderation"
Exercise routine: stretching, aerobics, modest weights and or weight machines and rubber bands, close with stretching. Dumps lactic acid. Avoids stiffness. 1 hour 30. Anderson stretching book is good.
Three times a week is fine.
Diet important.
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics. A good slow read.
Covers it all. Emotional and intellectual diet.
Ten books written for his son.
Lots of fresh deep well water sans chemicals. No chlorine.
Red wine now and then in moderation, red cabbage, darkest organic chocolate.
No sugar, no added salt.
8 hours a night.
Animal fats are good. Butter, raw milk, best cheese.
Statins are not good.
Organic GrassFed livestock - animals born where you can see them, never fed tetracycline or other antibiotic in TMR mix or water, slaughtered calmly by the humane.
Hint: GrassFed beef has colored fat, never white.
White fat indicates tetracycline for growth, reduced feed need; use of any grain produces white fat in animal, an obese consumer.
Obesity epidemic so caused. Harms the micro-biome. See Missing Microbes, Martin J. Blaser MD, microbiologist NYU.
Avoid GrassFed so-called grain finished. Know where and how the livestock is raised.
Four stomachs, the ruminant lives best on organic grass.
Exercise routine: stretching, aerobics, modest weights and or weight machines and rubber bands, close with stretching. Dumps lactic acid. Avoids stiffness. 1 hour 30. Anderson stretching book is good.
Three times a week is fine.
Diet important.
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics. A good slow read.
Covers it all. Emotional and intellectual diet.
Ten books written for his son.
Lots of fresh deep well water sans chemicals. No chlorine.
Red wine now and then in moderation, red cabbage, darkest organic chocolate.
No sugar, no added salt.
8 hours a night.
Animal fats are good. Butter, raw milk, best cheese.
Statins are not good.
Organic GrassFed livestock - animals born where you can see them, never fed tetracycline or other antibiotic in TMR mix or water, slaughtered calmly by the humane.
Hint: GrassFed beef has colored fat, never white.
White fat indicates tetracycline for growth, reduced feed need; use of any grain produces white fat in animal, an obese consumer.
Obesity epidemic so caused. Harms the micro-biome. See Missing Microbes, Martin J. Blaser MD, microbiologist NYU.
Avoid GrassFed so-called grain finished. Know where and how the livestock is raised.
Four stomachs, the ruminant lives best on organic grass.
48
I believe maybe 1-3% of the U.S. population has the means to do even half of what you describe. How about a contribution that real people could use?
3
50 push-ups. 150 sit ups. Run some errands, go to a movie, walk 2 miles. Finish up the with two martinis. Sleep well. Get up and repeat.
42
Finish up with a slice of pizza and a cold beer.
18
Situps?!? Congrats if they work for you, but they crushed my lower back years ago. Crunches or planks, please. And a pull-up bar if you can arrange one.
https://www.issaonline.edu/blog/index.cfm/2016/are-sit-ups-bad-for-you-t...
https://www.issaonline.edu/blog/index.cfm/2016/are-sit-ups-bad-for-you-t...
1
A very simple and cheap interval training can done with jumping jacks. No expensive bike or gym membership needed. Try jumping jacks for 4 minutes. Believe me, you will feel it.
14
Too hard on the feet for some of us oldsters.
6
Too hard on the bladder!!!
8
The study results sound far fetched
8
Why do you say that. Makes sense to me. I'm 64, thin, and work out 3x a week with cardio, was, and lots of stretching. I also do Pilates once a week. My body feels totally different than it did before I went back to the gym.
7
oh, don't worry. if you up your training regimen, you'll strain something and be laid up for a month. For March, I traded the treadmill for yoga until the plantar fasciitis wanes. Fall down seven times, get up eight.
23
My trainer suggested raising the incline on the treadmill up to 10 and set the speed at 3, which allows you do get your heart rate up while not pounding your feet.
8
I have a specially treadmill and I set it to 11.
3
This study, the full text of which sits behind a paywall, was not designed to determine the "best" exercise at all. It was designed to elucidate the molecular transducers of exercise, another words what molecular activities like gene expression or methylation are translating the various exercises into the various health benefits we want. It is a bit of a stretch to use it to support this article about "best" exercise. I mean increased gene expression and mitochondrial capacity occurs in growing cancers too, but that doesn't mean it is a good thing.
29
Renaud Vigourt is seriously the best working illustrator, and this piece is fantastic. Bravo to him and the AD!
9
Oh geez here we go with another study....Coach Minardi Advice....GET OUTSIDE AND PLAY
8
Also good ol' sex is a great workout. For best results try not to exercise alone.
10
Yes, yes, yes! This article is totally accurate. It has been my experience that as I have gotten older in years I've had periods when I did not do anything and I started deteriorating and suffering from joint pain. Then I would start working out with intensity, weights and aerobics, and I would get younger than before. Aging is a consequence of lack of mobility. Aging is the result of laziness not a slower metabolism.
24
same here
7
Aging is the result of time.
22
Exercise is hard. Where can I get a mitochondria transplant?
31
Yoga! Tai Chi. Stretching done properly. Walking. Bodyweight exercises like squats and calf lifts. Isometrics like plank, side plank. This is yet another useless and I'll reported health article by The NYT. A 72-person sampling is way too small to warrant any meaning. You did not specify the ethnic breakdown of the sample subjects nor their detailed diets, nor their family histories nor where they live. There are a thousand factors nor taken into account. HIIT can pose an injury risk to ligaments and tendons especially if damaged previously playing sports or in accidents. Nothing beats yoga, Tai Chi, bodyweight and isometrics as they require no equipment and use the body's natural biomechanics to strengthen and heal itself. Very disappointing to see (yet again) that I know more about health than The NYT writers.
5
The "disease" is INACTIVITY. The symptoms are obesity, diabetes, CVD, depression. Why some of us voluntarily exercise on life time bases and others not is subject of research. Evidence in animals and humans point to genetic mutations in genes regulating metabolism of striated muscle that facilitates physical activity.
Stay tuned.
Stay tuned.
10
I have found that VANITY is a powerful motivator.
23
Mitochondria are probably the most important organelle in the cell. They produce the energy that all reactions need. low energy production and a dysfunction of the cell. Its important to note that all cancer cells have NO mitochondria energy function they use a much less efficient way called glycolisis. Loss of the important cell membrane occurs with low mito function. Many neuro diseases including Alzheimer's have dysfunctional mito.
The exercise using intervals, a 2 day a week fast are two things shown to help the mito. Every one need to include these in their life style.
To understand how our mitochondria actually work and to se why these things help see letswakeupfolks.blogspot.com-our energy source
The exercise using intervals, a 2 day a week fast are two things shown to help the mito. Every one need to include these in their life style.
To understand how our mitochondria actually work and to se why these things help see letswakeupfolks.blogspot.com-our energy source
8
Not all cancers have zero mitochondrial function. Some tumors have mitochondrial function that is actually up-regulated. http://www.cell.com/molecular-cell/pdf/S1097-2765(16)00095-2.pdf
3
Thanks for this information. I imagine vigorous swimming workouts should help too!
3
A nice avalanche of comments, covering a multitude of questions and answers. Thanks to Gretchen Reynolds for finding the subjects that activate our buttons.
13
Ah! But you completely disregarded the effects of genetic make up on all this. I've seen 300 pounders who smoked and whose only exercise was chalking up a pool cue live into their 80s (Minnesota Fats.) And then there was the great running guru and author of running books Jim Fix who died at 52 while running. His father died younger than he did.
"It's all in the genes" may not be 100% true but it certain cannot be dismissed out of hand!!
"It's all in the genes" may not be 100% true but it certain cannot be dismissed out of hand!!
23
Then there's Keith Richards who will outlive all those interval trainers and slide into the grave with a whiskey and joint.
28
KEEF !!
doing what he loves !
doing what he loves !
you are writing about anecdotal cases..not facts and studies. as in my grandma lived to 150 and drank a gallon of whiskey day and smoked 2 cartons of cigs..
1
Is it really a good idea for sedentary people in their sixties to jump into an exercise program like this? The New York Times isn't a medical journal. People read this column to find things they might like to try. It would a very good idea to have some exercise-friendly physician address the question, "How do you get into this gradually so you don't have, at best, sore muscles, or something worse?" And with which conditions should people not do this at all?
37
Comments like this show why articles like this need to be written. The NYT did not "do" the study. They are reporting a study. Its stated title is not "How Can Sedentary People in their Sixties Get IInto Exercise," but rather a comparison of which type of training perhaps has some anti-aging effects. Not against people in their sixties starting a program, but there are plenty of us who have been doing this for 30-40+ years and would like to know which is going to help keep us around a bit longer. So, good luck finding an exercise friendly physician, I'll be out riding.
9
I teach exercise and have exercised for so many years and this article applies to me. I teach interval training to a range from 20 year olds to 68 year old in same class. Everyone is different and everyone can do some of it in their own way. If you have a good instructor or trainer they can modify a program for you. The only way any of this works is if you stick with it and eat as healthy as you can (knowing we are not perfect). Y0u cannot be a "once a week" exerciser. You have to commit. If you write down day and time you will be more likely to stick to a routine. You don't want to retire and not be able to walk on a vacation or not keep up with grandkids. Once you get over the first six months of "suffering" it is all uphill and I seriously teach all ages and one can start at any time and work gradually - don't "jump in." Commit to!
3
I have been exercising (running long distance) since my high school days. Then in 1990 I had to undergo angioplasty and cardiac bypass (two vessels), and subsequent stenting a couple of times. Since then for the past 26 years I have been going to Cardiac Rehab at least three times a week exercising about 90 minutes each time. Weather permitting, I walk about 2.5 miles on other days with rest on one day a week. I retired from a teaching job after working FT for over 50 years. I do not know why I am still relatively healthy at 84.......... Dr. Dixit
2
Here's the bottom line: Nobody gets out alive. If interval training works for you, mazeltov to you and your little mitochondria. If not, remember that people can have heart attacks while exercising and have a doughnut.
21
love it!
3
It's simple if you don't take care of your body where are you going to live.
I have heard this rationalization for not exercising.Yes you can exercise and have a heart attack. However, hospitals aren't filled with people who exercise and eat well. They are filled with sedentary people who usually don't take very good care of their health and usually rationalize about this.
I have heard this rationalization for not exercising.Yes you can exercise and have a heart attack. However, hospitals aren't filled with people who exercise and eat well. They are filled with sedentary people who usually don't take very good care of their health and usually rationalize about this.
11
I would suggest that only looking at people in hospitals is insufficient and possibly studying the wrong population. For a more complete population picture, you need also to look at all those sedentary people not in hospitals. Since "All you folks who aren't here" doesn't work so well, you look only where the available data takes you.
Tai Chi is good for flexibility and building strength. there is slow Tai chi, fast Tai chi, and martial arts Tai chi. As a walking meditation on top of exercise it is good for mind body and soul. Millions of Chinese and centuries of practice can't be wrong
38
The numbers derived from this study convey information, but misinform.
Without explaining what gene activity levels and mitochondrial capacity are, its unwise to convey conclusions from this study. There were only 60 participants; 34 young people and 26 old people. 14 YP did the HIIT and 9 OP did the HIIT. HIIT increased gene activity levels and mitochondrial capacity a lot more than weight lifting and combination training.
I presume higher gene activity levels and mitochondrial capacity are good, but I do not know. Steaks and ice cream are also good, but HIIT is much better for you, I guess.
Without explaining what gene activity levels and mitochondrial capacity are, its unwise to convey conclusions from this study. There were only 60 participants; 34 young people and 26 old people. 14 YP did the HIIT and 9 OP did the HIIT. HIIT increased gene activity levels and mitochondrial capacity a lot more than weight lifting and combination training.
I presume higher gene activity levels and mitochondrial capacity are good, but I do not know. Steaks and ice cream are also good, but HIIT is much better for you, I guess.
19
I think deep water aerobics is great for older folks. It has made a big difference in my mobility and strength. The sauna is full of "seniors!" A good way to spend three days a week.
11
Unfortunately it is not weight-bearing so it will not protect against bone loss.
My 79 year-old partner (as of this week) spends six hours in the pool and hot tub - surviving stage 4 cancer and a titanium hip - and a feeding tube! His body fitness would be envied by a much younger male. Lifelong fitness increased likelihood of survival of the rigors of cancer therapy but necessitated a hip replacement.
3
Did I say 6 hours daily in water? In my family, it is assumed exercise profile is a daily description.
1
I go to the gym. I do interval training on the treadmills. I do weight training. I have been doing this consistently since January (not necessarily a 'New Year's resolution) and what I can say is my muscle mass has improved, my mental status has improved and my sex drive has improved. I'm not trying to live longer, just better for the duration of my life. I have always been fit, my PMD treats me "like a 50 year old" and not the 72 year old I am. It's all good. My advice: get up get moving.
121
Couldn't agree more!
8
Congrats! There are a lot of negative comments to this article. Those people just don't have the drive to get up off the sofa like you.
2
I am curious as to how I can get a gig doing medical research on the effects of exercise and aging. Seems like millions in grant moneys spent each year. You would have had to be living in a cave somewhere not to know that any exercise that makes you breathe hard and any diet that has mostly vegetables and fruits is going to make you healthier. I mean, how many studies and articles can be done on this subject????? Duh. I have one. Perhaps I could get a grant. I compare two communities. Community A everyone has a sofa in their home and three furniture stores in town selling sofas. Community B has no sofas in their homes and no furniture stores selling sofas. The outcome may surprise you. That's why I should get the grant money for this study.
16
Sir, let me add some info that I've wanted to share that's amazing and important. I am 61 year of age. A touring cyclist the last 30 yrs. My trips average 300 to 600 miles each. I take about 2 trips a year. Until the last trip my diet was also like you describe, fruit, vegetables, low calorie, a mix of things. I did well. WELL my last trip my diet consisted of 80% meat. Amazingly, heavy large muscles appeared in my calves, literally before my eyes. This trip nearly the same distance and difficulty as the other trips, yet those trips my body always ended up looking the same. At age 61 I marveled at the huge new muscles! Why didn't I know this? Eating meat, lots of it, during cycling had a profound effect on my health. Get the word out. I'd done this 20 years ago if I knew.
38
My father had a cycling profile similar to yours - at his funeral at age 65 years (death in 3 months from glioblastoma), it was observed that he was a superb athlete. I was pregnant with his second grandchild and have grieved his loss everyday for the past three plus decades. But I did learn his devotion to exercise - if I die prematurely, I'd rather be fit like him.
4
Talk about a small sample size (1). Anecdotally, this is interesting, but will the diet apply to everyone who exercises into advancing age? Not necessarily.
1
You say that "everyone improved." I'm assuming the control group did not and that the improvements were in those who exercised compared with controls. Is that correct?
20
Am I the only person on Earth dumbfounded by comments referring to feeling energized by stretching or exhilarated by vigorous exercise? Throughout my life engaging in any exercise like weightlifting, jogging, recreational sports, use of treadmills, ellipticals or bike machines ellicits an overwhelming organic swelling of rage such that i have become very efficient in my use of energy, rivaling the sloth in my quest to keep those feelings at bay. This doesn't appear to impact my ability to draw needed energy if i find myself rushing to catch a train or plane, where i can count on sedentary (mental) relief.
Other than a little exaggeration (the sloth is far more efficient) I'm not kidding: exercising makes me feel irrationally angry and hateful in a way that feels chemically induced as it's otherwise unprovoked.
Anyone else out there missing the "endorphin" gene?
Other than a little exaggeration (the sloth is far more efficient) I'm not kidding: exercising makes me feel irrationally angry and hateful in a way that feels chemically induced as it's otherwise unprovoked.
Anyone else out there missing the "endorphin" gene?
18
I play squash intensely 2x week (sometimes reaching 180 hr.) Then I do weights. The squash does not give me an endorphin rush but the weight lifting does. I can literally feel the endorphins flooding my brain. That is my experience.
1
I must be missing it as well. I've never felt that "runner's high." My biggest fear is that I will die of boredom while on the treadmill. All I can think of after exercise is "there's an hour of my life I'll never get back." People who love to exercise are incomprehensible to me.
3
I'm with you, Ruth. I hate gyms and feel angry when I waste time in them. There are no endorphins associated with the routines of personal punishment that I have foolishly endured in the past. Stand up and walk around!
1
The ayurvedic text known as Charak Sanhita suggests that one who doesn't exercise daily, and one who doesn't not take food as per his prakriti or natural physical needs, he is the best enemy of self.
Further Charak suggests that regular exercise must be half of capacity, otherwise prolonged effects will be harmful.
The concept of health is recommended at three levels, mind, body and soul. Physical exercise is for body, for mind music, chanting, pranayam and Shavasana type yogic exercises will be needed and for soul the pure spiritual exercise like meditation are required.
Health is not merely smooth behaviour of body and organ functioning. Health means to stay healthy at three levels body, mind and soul.
Further Charak suggests that regular exercise must be half of capacity, otherwise prolonged effects will be harmful.
The concept of health is recommended at three levels, mind, body and soul. Physical exercise is for body, for mind music, chanting, pranayam and Shavasana type yogic exercises will be needed and for soul the pure spiritual exercise like meditation are required.
Health is not merely smooth behaviour of body and organ functioning. Health means to stay healthy at three levels body, mind and soul.
25
Following gene activity is a terrific marker for assessing impact of exercise on metabolism.
Great job calling attention to this work.
Great job calling attention to this work.
10
What constitutes "pedaling hard"? After reading in the NYT about the experiment in which participants pedaled hard for 20 *seconds* and recovered for 2 minutes, I have been doing that. There is no way I could sustain that all-out effort for more than 20 seconds, so I wonder how hard these people are pedaling for four minutes in the experiment reported on in this article.
13
You may be confusing a sprint with a 440-meter run.
I'm not a professional trainer, but my understanding on interval training is to establish a heart rate goal, say 80% of maximum, and then hold it there for the period of the interval.
I'm not a professional trainer, but my understanding on interval training is to establish a heart rate goal, say 80% of maximum, and then hold it there for the period of the interval.
you can do whatever works for you. You can do it at what feels hard for a certain period. Wait until you catch your breath while going slowly then go hard again then slow. I don't think for us old farts it really matters as long as we are giving an effort in this manner.
14
Good point. Although my response is tempered by my age (70) I typically do 45 second intervals at 90% max and then rest for about 1 1/4 minutes. Four minutes of "all out" exertion seems beyond far fetched!!
9
As someone who does medical research involving gene expression profiling, I think the results of this study are basically uninterpretable. I suspect that is why they were published in a low-impact journal. For them to be highlighted on the main web page of the NYT is worse than a waste of valuable space; it gives the wrong impression of the value of scientific research. Moreover, this is a trend with this reporter. Rather than highlighting the results of a minor recently published study, it would be much more valuable to do in- depth surveys of the totality of the scientific literature with respect to important topics.
728
But that's too much work for someone that makes a living pumping out as many articles per second as possible.
2
But if it gets a lot of folks off the couch - and believing in exercise again - it's not perfectly scientific but it gets the job done!
27
Low impact journal??? It was published in Cell Metabolism, a journal with a very high impact factor (>17). And the reason it got into that journal is because it is a carefully designed study with very good biological measures. The small sample makes the results all the more remarkable. People knocking the study on quality are misinformed.
17
Apparently medical advices are centered on dedicating much time to exercises. For example the 10.000 steps rule is now emendated counseling 15,000 steps i.e. at least 3 hours of walking. Muscles are clearly improved but what happens to our brain? In my opinion slowing brain aging is more important than slowing muscle aging. This means dedicating 3 hours to reading is more effective than 3 hours walking in order to fight aging problems
11
Incorrect. All the latest Brain research shows that the best preventive for Alzheimer's and brain degeneration is cardio exercise. Your brain is an organ and it is plaque build up and diminished blood flow that are causing problems. Exercise even beats out learning another language which is also good for brains. So get an audio version of your book and listen to it while you walk or run. It's the sitting that's the problem.
11
Well stated! Physical exercise is good for brain function. This statement is supported by many studies.
3
Not exactly true. Your brain also works during walking or running, or whatever.
With iPods you can listen to music, books, podcasts. Many famous aging thinkers or creative people did a lot of their thinking while walking. Mozart said in many letters of his that some of his best musical ideas came when he was in movement, traveling, pacing in his rooms, playing billiard, even playing with his hands handling a napkin on a table. He had to move to be able to compose.
And that's just one example that comes immediately to mind. I am convinced that brain activity is intimately related to physical activity. The Ancient Greeks and Romans knew all about it: "Mens sana in corpore sano".
With iPods you can listen to music, books, podcasts. Many famous aging thinkers or creative people did a lot of their thinking while walking. Mozart said in many letters of his that some of his best musical ideas came when he was in movement, traveling, pacing in his rooms, playing billiard, even playing with his hands handling a napkin on a table. He had to move to be able to compose.
And that's just one example that comes immediately to mind. I am convinced that brain activity is intimately related to physical activity. The Ancient Greeks and Romans knew all about it: "Mens sana in corpore sano".
2
"that it is never too late to benefit from exercise." Unless you're on statins then it becomes debateable as to just how beneficial it is.
7
Why on earth should someone not benefit from exercise if they are taking a statin? I don't know of any science behind this, and as a 62yo marathon runner taking a statin my personal experience is that I benefit from both!
7
You become cold all the time.
1
I belonged to the gym, a Black Belt, veggie, and did a whole lot more, but slowed down when I was always cold and had difficulty getting up in the morning. The bad symptoms stopped when I couldn't refill my statins.
2
I follow your exercise articles routinely and I remember just a few weeks ago that HIIT was just the thing for my telomeres. Now I learn that long cardio workouts are the best thing.
Since I already am doing both - plus weight training, kayaking, bicycling and running, I do feel that I am covered in all respects.
I will say, however, that each new article tends to supersede the last one and often the "next new thing" seems to be at odds with the one before?
As they say, "It's all good". - maybe?
A young 70 year old.
Since I already am doing both - plus weight training, kayaking, bicycling and running, I do feel that I am covered in all respects.
I will say, however, that each new article tends to supersede the last one and often the "next new thing" seems to be at odds with the one before?
As they say, "It's all good". - maybe?
A young 70 year old.
18
Good for the running shoe industry, exercise clubs, equipment makers, diet industry, health article writers, oh and maybe doctors too,
5
Why would these articles be good for doctors? I rather think that articles about any kind of exercise benefit the reader, if action is inspired by reading them.
4
Why would these articles be good for doctors?
Doctors need exercise too! Also exercisers suffer muscle tears, strains, pulled ligaments. And a heart attack or two from over exertion ring a bell?
Doctors need exercise too! Also exercisers suffer muscle tears, strains, pulled ligaments. And a heart attack or two from over exertion ring a bell?
Please include substitutes for cycles, stationary or otherwise. Instant UTI for many women or any age. It is the seats. And no the jell ones do not help.
14
I like my 60s style made in Minnesota wood Nordic Track. It has no seat and is easy on the knees. It has a flywheel that gives it some momentum but still it is easy to get off any time you want. It has an adjustable tension. You can use it with or without the arm movement and you can also use it as a platform for stretching. It isn't as big as a treadmill, it folds up, and it isn't heavy. It doesn't require electricity. I bought mine at a yard sale for $25.
2
Used one of those in the 90's - loved it! Nice to know I might still find one!
2
I do some interval training on an elliptical machine - no sitting. My only issue with it is that I can't read the NYT during the intense periods. As someone who finds exercise totally boring, the only way I can get myself to do it at home is if I can read so it becomes mindless.
8
I began serious weight lifting at age 75 combined with yoga and walking. My only concern is that with this vast improvement on my health and body will my money last as long as I do!
105
Is Trikkerguy a "bot" for the Me Mover?
5
Does anyone have access to the full Cell Metabolism article? I'm interested to know what the researchers mean by Resistance Training. The Times article notes both "vigorous weight training," and "lifted weights lightly" but I don't know what those terms mean either. Any insights would be interesting to know. Thanks!
2
How many will drop dead from following the advice here? Even if only a minority do is it worth their losing their lives?
1
And how many will drop dead if they don't?
Motivational and Informative .... thanks so much.
3
I am very thankful we discover the "Enhanced Fitness" curriculum and grateful for our excellent instructors Dollie Brown and Kathryn McGraw.
1
I'm a middle-aged person working at a NYC Trader Joe's. My mitochondria must be top-notch.
6
The older people definitely need weight training for maintaining strength and balance, two areas that can be hazardous to your health if they are not kept up. Interval training is a very palatable addition to the weight training. Finding the motivation can be difficult because of fatigue. We can resolve that by practicing moderation while maintaining consistency. Regular application is the key to the whole project.
I find the weights easy, the interval training not so much. I am 70 currently.
I find the weights easy, the interval training not so much. I am 70 currently.
9
Anyone finding this article of interest, might want to do a 'google search' of Acetyl Carnitine and Alpha Lipoic Acid.
The 2 agents together are well documented to 'rejuvenate' aging mitochondria. Reportedly, aging mitochondria break down resulting in depletion of energy stores.
The 2 agents together are well documented to 'rejuvenate' aging mitochondria. Reportedly, aging mitochondria break down resulting in depletion of energy stores.
6
At the San Diego Spine Symposium in 2001, chaired by Dr. Vert Mooney, an invited speaker, the professor emeritus from the biochemistry department at UCSD, discussed a study he conducted comparing the cellular function of mitochondria of senior olympic track and field competitors with sedentary and active 20 something year olds. He announced then that the senior athletes who participated in the strength related field events had cellular function similar to the active 20 somethings, while those who ran in the track events, while fit, had mitochondria function similar to the sedentary sample. His advice was that to maintain good cellular function, high intensity strength training was the most effective form of exercise. Since I have not read the study referenced here, I cannot draw a definitive conclusion about the effectiveness of one form of exercise over the other; nevertheless, the key seems to be the intensity of the activity.
5
We shan't live longer - it will just seem longer with all this exercise
- which can add minutes to your life. Statistically, walking three kilometres per day, enables you at 90 years of age, to spend an additional 5 months at the end of your life suffering incontinence, indigestion, indignation, and loss of everything pleasurable.
So - why not just live life to the full - not with the intention of arriving at the end cautiously in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather aiming to arrive skidding sideways - claret in one hand - chocolate in the other - smiling and screaming "Woo-Hoo, what a great ride that was !!”
So abandon your Fit-Bit, chuck in your gym membership, don’t torture your body or your soul - and just enjoy every day. Because yes, it IS later than you think.
- which can add minutes to your life. Statistically, walking three kilometres per day, enables you at 90 years of age, to spend an additional 5 months at the end of your life suffering incontinence, indigestion, indignation, and loss of everything pleasurable.
So - why not just live life to the full - not with the intention of arriving at the end cautiously in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather aiming to arrive skidding sideways - claret in one hand - chocolate in the other - smiling and screaming "Woo-Hoo, what a great ride that was !!”
So abandon your Fit-Bit, chuck in your gym membership, don’t torture your body or your soul - and just enjoy every day. Because yes, it IS later than you think.
202
Exercise can be part of living life to the fullest. When you do it right you feel less stressed and tense, your body feels more alive, you can move and bend and stretch and dance and play with more ease. You sleep better. You can walk further all over town or a forest or meadow. You may need less medication which means less side effects and more money for chocolate or the other things you mentioned. People who don't excercise are more likely to be sick for much longer (even years) before they die. But like I said originally, excercise can (after the first two weeks or so when you're just out of shape) make you feel relaxed and good TODAY.
13
Why assume exercise is torturous?
3
I'm with you all the way! With a glass of wine in one hand and chocolate in the other. But, I play doubles tennis and swim for an hour afterwards, three times a week to keep the wine and chocolate going! Not a bad deal.
5
I lead two Parkinson's support groups and know this intimately. Exercise is the one thing that will keep PD from progressing. So we have Rock Steady Boxing, biking groups, special physical therapy for those with PD. And it works. People end up feeling better, moving better, have better balance, take less medication, have their mood improved. The brain is plastic. It makes new brain cells. Yes, neuro-degenerative diseases are tough but those affected commit to keeping fit and exercising.
19
Your group is super.
2
Interval Training, I knew it. Spin Class is the way to go.
7
The best results will be accomplished by a combination of strength training, HIT, and longer term but less intensive cardio. in other words you need it all in some sort of logical order.
27
The Times could use Peter of Philadelphia as a copy editor.
1
Pilates 3 times a week and walking an hour a day has improved my flexibility and muscle health greatly. I truly appreciate the life this routine has provided for me.
30
Following your fitness regimen in Key West must be nice too! :)
Key West, Wash.Twp NJ; and an appreciative nature doesn't hurt, either.
1
Live in a high rise Condo. Walk up 27 flights of stairs every day, wife does the same. We're 74 and 72. Have been doing this for 10 or more years.
When I mention it to my brother though he says those stairs are going to kill you both. I'm beginning to think he might have a point!
When I mention it to my brother though he says those stairs are going to kill you both. I'm beginning to think he might have a point!
51
I'm going to forward this article to my dad who exercises 2 hours every morning; a straight set of stationary biking and weights. He is also very strict with his diet, adding chia and flax seeds to his oatmeal and plain yogurt and maintains his weight. At 93, he's in pretty amazing shape. As a potentially added benefit, I think he would be interested in the interval training. The body conditioning classes I attend are based on the concept of intervals of cardio, weights, core strengthening combined with short rests. I also attend Pilates and Ballet class; diversity and moderation.
My mother on the other hand has never exercised on a regular basis in her life, loves salt and sugar; smoked for 40 years and loved her gin gimlets. She is also 93, not nearly as mobile as my father but still cares on a robust life.
My mother on the other hand has never exercised on a regular basis in her life, loves salt and sugar; smoked for 40 years and loved her gin gimlets. She is also 93, not nearly as mobile as my father but still cares on a robust life.
233
Yup. DNA and luck are part of the equation. Long may your parents run!
8
Bless them both. May they have happy, healthy years ahead of them.
7
Isn't that interesting? Two very different approaches - yet longevity for each. I am inspired by your Dad's approach, and may on occasion adopt your Mom's (martinis for me.) If we are going to walk the planet, may as well do it in as healthy and enjoyable ways as we can muster - Long life to each of you!
2
I've been doing a high/low aerobics interval DVD by Denise Austin that I stream online to my TV. I have come to think of it as my little 55 minute time machine, because I feel so much younger and more energetic after I finish. It is a different feeling from going to the gym.
I spent last week skiing. I wonder what that does for people. A lot of older people ski. They should look into that more closely.
I spent last week skiing. I wonder what that does for people. A lot of older people ski. They should look into that more closely.
25
I just returned to New York in December after a stressful three-year work assignment during which I gained 25 lbs. Winter would have waylaid me had it not been for a small indoor gym in my condo community here. Reading this article and all the posts, I'm amazed that the treadmill is not mentioned more often, as a catalyst for those of us over 60 who still go to work and like to exercise first thing. I just won't venture out for exercise during dark winter mornings in extreme cold and concomitant icy conditions. The treadmill and my iPad stocked with newspapers and other literature get me throughout an aerobic regimen; reading makes the time fly. That, combined with healthier diet and 2xweek weightlifting, has helped keep me lose 17 pounds in 3 months and rebuild my strength and energy. A ~pound a week loss may not sound like much but I'm thrilled.
264
Vincerà!
Vincerò!
Vincerò!
I find that reading while working out is not at all conducive to an interval or high-intensity workout.It is just too relaxing and you need to concentrate on working yourself harder.
2
Why a graphic of a man with this article? And WHICH muscles are specifically associated with age-associated degeneration?
39
Yes, please explain further, which?
2
There's a program, started in Iowa, called Farrell's Extreme Body Shaping. (FXB) We do bands (strengthening) three days a week and kickboxing three days a week. Good to know that the kickboxing intensity is most beneficial to mitochondria health, as it is my least favorite part, but now I'll pursue it with more vigor.
19
For many years throughout my sixties and most of my seventies I swam on a daily basis, but as my physical energy abated, the regimen became a time consuming drain on the personal intellectual life which began to kick in through writing and visual art.
I rake the yard, cut firewood, engage in property repairs and on occasion miss the pool time, but have accepted the fact that age has reduced my once strong frame and hearty diet to an acceptable and easily maintained levels. At this point I have no regrets and with decent health still at hand accept my aging with the excuse this grace provides.
Whatever gets me through the night is working and I trust will continue until the morning when I don't wake up.
I rake the yard, cut firewood, engage in property repairs and on occasion miss the pool time, but have accepted the fact that age has reduced my once strong frame and hearty diet to an acceptable and easily maintained levels. At this point I have no regrets and with decent health still at hand accept my aging with the excuse this grace provides.
Whatever gets me through the night is working and I trust will continue until the morning when I don't wake up.
426
Ian, marvelous post!
33
Try fast walking.
4
Should you awaken without discomfort, look in the mirror.
If you do not see yourself, go back to bed after you shower.
If you do not see yourself, go back to bed after you shower.
Miranda Esmonde White's, "Classical Stretch", is one of the last T.V. work out programs available by my T.V. provider, but it's at 5:30 A.M. on P.B.S. Just going through the motions provide instant muscle good-feeling and the more the better the feeling. "Total Body Workout", provides Yoga and more, but that's only Saturday morning on the Brigham Young Channel. Gilad was carried by the Jewish Channel, but my provider dropped that. Betty Drake can only be seen on old movies and Sharon Mann's addicting workout disappeared all together. The first 5 minutes of each show included a stretch which gave your muscles an instantaneous good feeling, and one only had to walk through the rest of the work outs for the benefits.
These programs are motivating and without them my work outs aren't regular. This was a source of good health one of the few places health product were presented. I hope this article influences a come back.
These programs are motivating and without them my work outs aren't regular. This was a source of good health one of the few places health product were presented. I hope this article influences a come back.
32
Thanks
2
@walter s., if it were not for severe knee arthritis, I would still be doing the Twenty Minute Workout (actually, 22 minutes, and I added 20 minutes of jogging in the middle). It kept me in great shape and was much less boring and more effective than the elliptical work I do now, though I'm grateful that the elliptical spares my knees. so while you may have been joking, I long for the days I could do the high variety, high impact stuff with Bess and Arline.
2
Why high impact? Although it is adventurous, stimulating, it's the worst thing for our cartilage and joints. Every year thousands of runners are forced to stop their slow deterioration of their bodies because of the repeated pounding.
The elliptical is forced boredom as well as the other stationary machines, all using our legs that were once used to take us places, now we watch TV or readouts of our performance of going nowhere.
There are alternatives for the wounded, spinning on a bicycle, and spinning some more, hours of spinning as I sat on a small saddle as my abs were just along for the ride.
There are still other alternatives, closer to that much-missed high-impact excitement, albeit minus the high, replaced with low. My alternative the Me-Mover.
The traveling stepping machine that produces the same experiences as running and doesn't emaciate my joints.
The last year has proven it's worth, my body is intact, I have stepped for miles without injury or discomfort, I have experienced the high that runners talk about, my 79-year-old body adjusted to the unique propulsion method sooner than anticipated. Remember our legs are supposed to be the first to go, not so, they got a second life in my opinion.
The elliptical is forced boredom as well as the other stationary machines, all using our legs that were once used to take us places, now we watch TV or readouts of our performance of going nowhere.
There are alternatives for the wounded, spinning on a bicycle, and spinning some more, hours of spinning as I sat on a small saddle as my abs were just along for the ride.
There are still other alternatives, closer to that much-missed high-impact excitement, albeit minus the high, replaced with low. My alternative the Me-Mover.
The traveling stepping machine that produces the same experiences as running and doesn't emaciate my joints.
The last year has proven it's worth, my body is intact, I have stepped for miles without injury or discomfort, I have experienced the high that runners talk about, my 79-year-old body adjusted to the unique propulsion method sooner than anticipated. Remember our legs are supposed to be the first to go, not so, they got a second life in my opinion.
16
Why isn't brisk walking on hills mentioned? (Or a treadmill in bad weather). Fresh air like with biking, less stress on knees (okay I guess it depends on where you ache), and your arms are moving. One does need to pay attention to posture and keeping your head held in alignment with the spine, but interaction with those you encounter also has its benefits. I also do yoga which teaches me how to hold my body properly and it calms me. Yoga also builds strength, when you hold a pose for at least 30 seconds or more, regulates breathing, and teaches your body balance (prevents falls) and mindfulness.
13
I agree, fresh air, outside, moving, going places, the physical motion that propels you, energy being used to accomplish your transportation.
Consider, you're probably sitting right mow, you may move later to go to the bathroom, or take a walk to the kitchen to eat something, then sit down again to watch TV, lots of TV sitting. Or you may decide to go somewhere in your car. to sit once more, we really do a lot of sitting, don't we?
Now consider the fact sitting is not good for us, sitting too much is very bad for us, does bad things to our body, proven.
My dog demands I take him out, maybe more than I want, that's good, stops me from sitting. My Me-Mover doesn't look right doing nothing, it's not moving, it's designed to move, like us, we are made to move, the more the better.
Trun the TV off, get up, move if you're able, get outside, go somewhere, stop thinking of you so much, give your body and mind a break, do what it's supposed to do by activating your muscles for as long as it takes for you to enjoy life.
Consider, you're probably sitting right mow, you may move later to go to the bathroom, or take a walk to the kitchen to eat something, then sit down again to watch TV, lots of TV sitting. Or you may decide to go somewhere in your car. to sit once more, we really do a lot of sitting, don't we?
Now consider the fact sitting is not good for us, sitting too much is very bad for us, does bad things to our body, proven.
My dog demands I take him out, maybe more than I want, that's good, stops me from sitting. My Me-Mover doesn't look right doing nothing, it's not moving, it's designed to move, like us, we are made to move, the more the better.
Trun the TV off, get up, move if you're able, get outside, go somewhere, stop thinking of you so much, give your body and mind a break, do what it's supposed to do by activating your muscles for as long as it takes for you to enjoy life.
8
I think it's because it is the high intensity that is the optimal trigger.
Actually high intensity can be achieved through walking on hills. I live in the hills and one of mine is a full mile long -- when walked briskly it is very high intensity. I biked many years ago but it did not give the full body workout of hill walking and the pressure on knees and lower back was too much. We all have different bodies, aches, and pains and must take our limitations in account. There is no one formula so the minute I read a study that is limiting, as this one is, I begin to question its validity. And what were the diets of the participants? Did they control for medical history/injuries? Was the sample large enough to generalize to the general public? Control for ethnicity and gender? So many questions.
This is what Jack LaLanne said for all of his career - that it is never too late to start getting fit and healthy, never too late to build muscle. I appreciate seeing his truth proven scientifically and this is a great reminder to get to work! Although I will not be pulling 10 boats loaded with people while swimming, like Mr. LaLanne did at age 64!
18
True. Jack Lalanne went for strength, and trained 2 hours every morning, and at a high intensity level.
My question is, re Jack Lalanne's aging, what happened to his training in his 70s, 80s, and above all his 90s. How did his training regimen slowly reduce its intensity to be maintainable when he got to be 90, 91, When did he stop training? Was he still training on the day of his death at 96? or even during the week preceding his death, or even the month, and even the whole 96th year? How did the intensity of his exercising decline over time? Das ist die Frage.
My question is, re Jack Lalanne's aging, what happened to his training in his 70s, 80s, and above all his 90s. How did his training regimen slowly reduce its intensity to be maintainable when he got to be 90, 91, When did he stop training? Was he still training on the day of his death at 96? or even during the week preceding his death, or even the month, and even the whole 96th year? How did the intensity of his exercising decline over time? Das ist die Frage.
"Natural selection of mitochondria during somatic lifetime promotes healthy aging."
http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnene.2013.00007/full
An operative term is "mitochondrial biogenesis". The production of new mitochondria involves transcribing and translating instructions that are stored both in the mitochondria's own small set of genetic instructions, and those stored in the cell nucleus. And so it's not a reproductive process that is familiar from behavior of bacteria or from larger cells. Exercise does stimulate mitochondrial biogenesis.
Another operative term is "autophagy" or more specifically, "mitophagy". The cell can mark any of its components for segregation and breakdown, eliminating that component and potentially recycling its molecules.
The mass of mitochondria within a cell also frequently fuse together into larger structures, and then can mix and exchange genetic material. The organelles also fission, or split up again into individuals. This resembles the behavior of bacteria which is indeed the likely origin of these cell components.
A thesis that follows is that we can act through exercise to promote production of mitochondria, then also demand energy production from those organelles, following which our cells may mark the least effective individuals for recycling. So we may observe adaptive natural selection of bacteria in a culture dish, and similiar adaptive natural selection of mitochondria in our cells, over a short time frame.
http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnene.2013.00007/full
An operative term is "mitochondrial biogenesis". The production of new mitochondria involves transcribing and translating instructions that are stored both in the mitochondria's own small set of genetic instructions, and those stored in the cell nucleus. And so it's not a reproductive process that is familiar from behavior of bacteria or from larger cells. Exercise does stimulate mitochondrial biogenesis.
Another operative term is "autophagy" or more specifically, "mitophagy". The cell can mark any of its components for segregation and breakdown, eliminating that component and potentially recycling its molecules.
The mass of mitochondria within a cell also frequently fuse together into larger structures, and then can mix and exchange genetic material. The organelles also fission, or split up again into individuals. This resembles the behavior of bacteria which is indeed the likely origin of these cell components.
A thesis that follows is that we can act through exercise to promote production of mitochondria, then also demand energy production from those organelles, following which our cells may mark the least effective individuals for recycling. So we may observe adaptive natural selection of bacteria in a culture dish, and similiar adaptive natural selection of mitochondria in our cells, over a short time frame.
17
Fasting promotes autophagy.
1
As a nurse of many years, I have seen a number of exercises who have dropped dead on or shortly after riding those stationary bikes. I suggest that MODERATION is the key to any physical activity.
42
Atikin, I'm a Tai Chi ("taiji") teacher and trainer in San Francisco, and I second your call for moderation, particularly for those returning to an "exercise lifestyle". I often see people returning to exercise who are all fired up to really hit it—and two weeks later they're either injured or burned out. Moderation and a slow, steady return over a 6-8 week period is the way to go. Another critical factor for many in re-establishing and maintaining an "exercise lifestyle" is the social aspect: group activities, whether hiking, swimming, tai chi, qigong, or yoga, is a great place to develop the kind of friendships that actually make exercise fun instead of just one more chore.
39
SENIOR COUCH POTATOES Unite! Recharge your batteries. Rebuild your mitochondria. Pedal hard for 4 minutes with 3 minutes of rest in between. Then repeat the same routine 3 more times! Now you now what the fountain of youth is all about. 400 activated genes will be your reward. So now we Boomers, Children of the 60s can truly be forever young.
14
Put on some hard-core rock and roll, then dance, dance, dance! Best exercise for mind, body, and spirit. Rock on!
44
Iyengar Yoga can provide the short intensive activity needed, followed by the resting phase. There will be different intensity levels for different yogis. The pranayama sessions can also give some benefit. Asanas and meditation share the same stage, and have been of great benefit to me for the past 11 years. I am 78 and I am fighting advanced prostate cancer.
11
I tend to spend about 30 minutes a day on my bicycle 4 days a week. A quick 3 mile sprint to work in the morning, and a more leisurely trip home in the evening. Then one day a week I take a group of 10 -20 folks on a 20-25 mile fitness ride (involving around 600-1500 feet of elevation gain) in addition to my commute. As the days get a bit longer and warmer I will likely add a 20-40 mile ride on one of my days off. I feel like this really helps keep my energy level up so long as i remember to keep myself hydrated. I'm 66 and have found that the sense/urgency of thirst declines as you age, so i have to be conscious of it.
2
I am a 72 year old cyclist. Not a biker, a cyclist. What's the difference? In my mind, the difference is that I train on every ride. I got back into riding in 2014 at the behest of my (then) 14 year old grandson. I had cycled seriously in my 40's and 50's but after my heart valve replacement surgery in 2007, though I tried to ride again, my heart said no. I was very surprised that this time my body and my heart responded much better to the load of training. Since 2014, I have rode 11,000 miles. My legs look like the legs of a young rider, except for some loose skin due to age. I frequently race younger riders (category 6) and there are very few that can beat me. The most important thing is that I feel mentally and physically the way I felt when I was a much younger man. I rode 41 miles on my 72nd birthday and I hope to ride 50 miles on my 73rd which is just a couple of months down the line.
26
Does my daily 5-minute full on race from the late arriving NJ Transit train to the Light Rail count as interval training?
6
Ok I'm off the couch and on the treadmill...
4
The author stated that everyone experienced improvements in fitness and an ability to control blood sugar. Including the study group who did no exercise at all???
24
I wondered about that too. Count me in on that last group!
10
thats why I do crossfit and hiit training. my only restraint is I cant lift so heavy esp for high reps that I get injured. avoiding injury (and laying off for a week or two) is more important than going all out. but two things;
1. I'm believing more and more the statin I take affects my energy levels as people like Dr Mark Hyman say. I'm almost to point of reducing my 2-3 days a week max of x-fit and hiit to long distance (<5mi tho') run 1 day a week and
2. I wish they had a 5th group that ran about 15 miles a week in an LSD type program, ie few if any intervals, and also lifted moderate-heavy 1-2d/week. if i werent so into my x-fit b/c its so fun (when its not killing me), I'd do that kind of a program instead. my guess is its as good or almost, as the x-fit/hiit program seemed to be.
1. I'm believing more and more the statin I take affects my energy levels as people like Dr Mark Hyman say. I'm almost to point of reducing my 2-3 days a week max of x-fit and hiit to long distance (<5mi tho') run 1 day a week and
2. I wish they had a 5th group that ran about 15 miles a week in an LSD type program, ie few if any intervals, and also lifted moderate-heavy 1-2d/week. if i werent so into my x-fit b/c its so fun (when its not killing me), I'd do that kind of a program instead. my guess is its as good or almost, as the x-fit/hiit program seemed to be.
7
I exercise regularly, but, in the long run, does it actually prolong life beyond one's genetic clock?
2
It may or may not extend life beyond one's genetic clock, but I personally suspect it contributes to a higher quality of life before the clock runs out.
There is no prolonging your life according to Jesus who said no one can add one day to our life beyond what God has predestined. God ordained the day we are born and He ordains the day we die, however, how we feel during the time we have is greatly dependent on how well we care for the body and soul God has given us
1
God or not , exercise can only improve the days you are here ...
hear ?
hear ?
The title is misleading. So what is the best exercise for aging muscles?
21
Pretty clearly it was interval training...
1
The best exercise is what you believe, doesn't matter what. Maybe it's just walking, then walking fast, or a slow jog, or running at a good pace. We are all opinionated, what we do is the best, the others don't know, the only way to find out is jump in.
Research, go to a health club, watch what others are doing, talk to a physical trainer. Acclimate, condition yourself.
What works for me is I put myself in positions that must be resolved, I lift a weight, then lower it, I have to repeat that procedure at least 10 or 12 times if I want my muscles to improve, or I don't, my choice, muscles remain dormant.
I ride my Me-Mover to a turnaround point, could be 10, 20 miles from my home, I must continue or I will not return, different than using energy on a stationary machine, much more motivation to continue.
Find your motivation, search for it, use energy that will give the best health returns in the future.
Research, go to a health club, watch what others are doing, talk to a physical trainer. Acclimate, condition yourself.
What works for me is I put myself in positions that must be resolved, I lift a weight, then lower it, I have to repeat that procedure at least 10 or 12 times if I want my muscles to improve, or I don't, my choice, muscles remain dormant.
I ride my Me-Mover to a turnaround point, could be 10, 20 miles from my home, I must continue or I will not return, different than using energy on a stationary machine, much more motivation to continue.
Find your motivation, search for it, use energy that will give the best health returns in the future.
3
I'am a lawyer who's supposed to be able to read,comprehend and analyze things and I'm with you. What is the best exercise for aging muscles? HIT or not; HIT plus weights? Bikes? [I'm interested in the 70-75 age population with bad knees.]
My regimen at 65 is as follows: Tuesday yoga from 9 to 10:30. Very intense and very relaxing...Wednesday I have a private pilates class. Just me and the teacher. Thursdays I have a pilates mat class...Friday I spin for one hour and 15 minutes, ( 15 miles...80% of target heart rate), again on Sunday, and again on Monday...
Some times I skip the spinning.....but never the yoga and pilates.
Some times I skip the spinning.....but never the yoga and pilates.
4
It's really interesting (to this 62 year-old, anyway) that more and more studies seem to be showing that high intensity interval training is especially beneficial for the elderly. It contradicts the conventional wisdom, which is that we should slow down, not overtax ourselves, take things easy.
I've always been suspicious of the conventional wisdom. I'm a cyclist, and used to do some racing, and there are some extraordinarily fast old folks out there. My observation has always been that most of us get old because we've slowed down, much more than we slow down because we get old. If you keep doing it, you can keep doing it; it's when you stop that things start going downhill.
And while interval training is hard, it has one big benefit in that it doesn't take a huge amount of time. Get a bike and ride full speed up a short hill a half-dozen times, using the descents to recover. In 30 minutes your workout is done.
I've always been suspicious of the conventional wisdom. I'm a cyclist, and used to do some racing, and there are some extraordinarily fast old folks out there. My observation has always been that most of us get old because we've slowed down, much more than we slow down because we get old. If you keep doing it, you can keep doing it; it's when you stop that things start going downhill.
And while interval training is hard, it has one big benefit in that it doesn't take a huge amount of time. Get a bike and ride full speed up a short hill a half-dozen times, using the descents to recover. In 30 minutes your workout is done.
20
Doing HIIT workouts on my bicycle is energizing, when I do the same on my Me-Mover, my heart rate increases in a faster rate of time since I'm using about 20% more energy to propel the Me-Mover.
The same applies to lactic acid discomfort, quicker on the Me-Mover, however, the more I do interval training on the machine, the less discomfort. I'm using more energy in a shorter time period, everything is increased, the workout intensity has increased my endurance, I would have to do some heavy spinning longer to match the Me-Mover workout. I also weight train for anaerobic conditioning.
I talk to other cyclists on the trail, they're inquisitive, but most are not into cross training. I also like my Cannondale, but not married to a single method of exercise. Sometimes we abandon our bodies needs for partisan reasons.
The same applies to lactic acid discomfort, quicker on the Me-Mover, however, the more I do interval training on the machine, the less discomfort. I'm using more energy in a shorter time period, everything is increased, the workout intensity has increased my endurance, I would have to do some heavy spinning longer to match the Me-Mover workout. I also weight train for anaerobic conditioning.
I talk to other cyclists on the trail, they're inquisitive, but most are not into cross training. I also like my Cannondale, but not married to a single method of exercise. Sometimes we abandon our bodies needs for partisan reasons.
3
"Get a bike and ride full speed up a short hill a half-dozen times, using the descents to recover. In 30 minutes your workout is done."
Correct, but the question is, are you going to be able to do the same in your 70s? 80s? 90s? What's going to give?
Correct, but the question is, are you going to be able to do the same in your 70s? 80s? 90s? What's going to give?
Gretchen Reynolds again reporting on studies involving a handful of people.. Let me suggest something more useful: look at the proportion of older people with joint problems - I'm guessing it's huge- and find which exercises *they* can safely do. For pensioners getting out of a sedentary working life, more types of exercise are eliminated than not, and not all of us enjoy chlorine.
26
Try walking, biking, or the rower! All low impact and chlorine free. I think whatever you do, baby steps are key. If you've been sedentary for 20 years, not the time to start biking 20 miles a day. Start with a 15 minute walk in the morning, or bike, or whatever. Next week, add a few minutes. Keep adding a few minutes a week. -Gives the heart, muscles, and joints a chance to shape up. (I'm young, and even I have to jump back into exercise with progressions like this, or I end up injuring myself.) Better to start slow, and keep at it for years, then go hard and burn out in three weeks.
1
Elle, walking is not as low impact as you think. My orthopedic surgeon specifically advised me to choose a different form of exercise--and I do feel significant pain if I can't avoid walking long distances. Biking is also painful for some people's joints, especially on inclines.
4
I have an old nonelectric Nordic Track. You slide back and forth with no knee impact at all. You can do different versions of kick and glide. It's also good for just stretching. It's easy to get on and off, doesn't take up much room, and it not intimidating.
I also like cross country skiing outside on snow. I really like to boast about cross country skiing.
I also like cross country skiing outside on snow. I really like to boast about cross country skiing.
At 76, severe osteoarthritis, recent TIA, now wearing inserted heart speed monitor, wish tests/article included exercises I could do.
8
Ask your doctor to refer you to a place or person that can help you develop an exercise plan that works for you.
Lucky for me for being vain, that's the reason I started weight training about 50 + years ago which morphed into additional exercise routines as the years progressed.
While it's true I wasn't always committed, but I never let my body get out of control that I could help. I did have to deal with prostate cancer in 2005, the doctor said it was aggressive, but I kept positive and worked out the best I could. Maybe the exercise helped, it kept me occupied, controlled depression.
I still weight train at 79 years old, some of my routines are easier than other's such as preacher curls, incline flys, but my shoulders bother me so I use the Smith machine in lieu of free weights. The thing is, I always feel great after a workout. Just being at the gym motivates me to go heavier, maybe sometimes too much, but ironically I can still increase the weights in many of the routines, such as seated shoulder presses on a machine along with lat work. Bottom line. I've found that muscles grow, even at my age, my shirts feel tighter when I do strict routines.
I also cross train with a Me-Mover for aerobics, did 30 miles last week into a strong wind on the return, about 20% more energy required to propel than a bicycle, great for HIIT workouts.
The vanity is still there, feels good to walk fast, exercising increases your confidence level, just makes you want to do more of everything.
While it's true I wasn't always committed, but I never let my body get out of control that I could help. I did have to deal with prostate cancer in 2005, the doctor said it was aggressive, but I kept positive and worked out the best I could. Maybe the exercise helped, it kept me occupied, controlled depression.
I still weight train at 79 years old, some of my routines are easier than other's such as preacher curls, incline flys, but my shoulders bother me so I use the Smith machine in lieu of free weights. The thing is, I always feel great after a workout. Just being at the gym motivates me to go heavier, maybe sometimes too much, but ironically I can still increase the weights in many of the routines, such as seated shoulder presses on a machine along with lat work. Bottom line. I've found that muscles grow, even at my age, my shirts feel tighter when I do strict routines.
I also cross train with a Me-Mover for aerobics, did 30 miles last week into a strong wind on the return, about 20% more energy required to propel than a bicycle, great for HIIT workouts.
The vanity is still there, feels good to walk fast, exercising increases your confidence level, just makes you want to do more of everything.
2
Read the article again. ALL forms of exercise are good and beneficial to different degrees. Interval training is definitely NOT for everyone. I workout 4 days a week and there is no way I`d be able to do that consistently without eventually burning out or causing injury to myself. consistency is so much more important. So find what works for you and stick with it!
12
At my age, I used to feel that way about burning out, weary about pushing myself. Sometimes when I'm weight training I go more than I think I should, thinking about my age, but I found that, as when I was younger, I do increase my strength levels, I do grow stronger.
Same with the Me-Mover, I had to acclimate myself, it was a new form of exercise, again I considered my age, last year, 78 years old. But after using the Me-Mover for a while, I felt myself improving, I went further, faster, my endurance increased.
Maybe this age thing we think about, burning out is our own mind barrier, like anxiety, mind bluffing our bodies. Let our body tell us what is the actual maximum, if I listened to others, I'd be protecting myself from the rush of endorphins I get when I'm sprinting on the Me-Mover, without heavy breathing. Hard to explain that feeling, you have to experience it, to build to that level.
Let the self-inflicted age barriers control your life, you will miss experiences that increase the meaning of living to our potential.
Same with the Me-Mover, I had to acclimate myself, it was a new form of exercise, again I considered my age, last year, 78 years old. But after using the Me-Mover for a while, I felt myself improving, I went further, faster, my endurance increased.
Maybe this age thing we think about, burning out is our own mind barrier, like anxiety, mind bluffing our bodies. Let our body tell us what is the actual maximum, if I listened to others, I'd be protecting myself from the rush of endorphins I get when I'm sprinting on the Me-Mover, without heavy breathing. Hard to explain that feeling, you have to experience it, to build to that level.
Let the self-inflicted age barriers control your life, you will miss experiences that increase the meaning of living to our potential.
6
"So find what works for you". Yes, and the finding can be successful if done with the assistance and supervision of an experienced, knowledgeable, and intelligent physical trainer.
I just hate exercise...need to find some desire. not overweight, and healthy eater - but just am tired of exercise.
Hap, 1 time a month - onion rings are good for you...just 5 or 6 of them with good batter best found in small towns
:)
Hap, 1 time a month - onion rings are good for you...just 5 or 6 of them with good batter best found in small towns
:)
1
T, try tennis singles , or doubles if running is painful. Lots of fun if you get with a good group of players.
I've been a jogger/moderate runner all my adult life, and now in my 60s have changed to a run/walk routine, because I can't seem to sustain the running more than maybe 20 minutes anymore... and generally when I feel I am nearing the quitting point of each run segment I try to go as all-out as I can. I wonder if that qualifies as interval training? I'd much rather be outdoors than on an exercise bike or treadmill.
124
It certainly is interval training. However, try to do that several times during your workout. Start with twice or 3 times, an all-out effort for one minute, for example.
2
Yes, particularly if your walking stays at a good clip.
1
Good for you ! I, too, ran for decades; but now in my 70s w/ a fussy back, I've been told to settle for walking. My thought for you: If you enjoy running, just go out and run -- it doesn't always have to be ALL out, just out ! Kenneth
ps Do a couple of laps for me, too, while you're at it.
ps Do a couple of laps for me, too, while you're at it.
5
any reports about rowing machines?
this would also improve upper body strength..
this would also improve upper body strength..
61
I've been considering getting a rowing machine-- because they use ALL the major muscle groups -- and do it without pounding on the joints. Data about mitochondria might be lacking, but a rowing workout can easily be at your maximum intensity, and I am sure it would be as effective as running.
11
The issue isn't the type of exercise, it's the intensity. Rowing machines are great and so are bikes and so is running, but the point being made is that it is going flat-out for short periods, then repeating, that seems to have much greater benefits than just slogging along at moderate pace for a long time.
3
My son got a rowing machine and loves it. Since I live with him, I started using it too and I'm noticing a great increase in strength and energy. I say get one!!
From the eminent Sage and Pitcher, Satchel Paige:
"Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter."
"I don't generally like running. I believe in training by rising gently up and down from the bench."
"Don't eat fried food, it angries up the blood."
As another eminent Sage said, "All else is detail."
"Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter."
"I don't generally like running. I believe in training by rising gently up and down from the bench."
"Don't eat fried food, it angries up the blood."
As another eminent Sage said, "All else is detail."
78
amen to fried foods...a killer
1
The great man also said, "Avoid running at all times." At 68, I honor that homily by trying to be riding my bike at all times.
1
And, "Don't look back. Something may be gaining on you."
1
I think these findings are consistent with what Dutch fitness guru Win Hof has been finding for years. A good book about him and his methods has just come out. It is called What Doesn't Kill Us by Scott Carney. Those interested in this phenomenon might want to take a look at that...Intense brief training with hyperventilation led to these same sort of changes....
19
Indeed, for most of us, just getting out and about would be a good start.
4
Interval training it is!
Thank you!
Thank you!
50
I think an article like this should include a caution to consult with a doctor before engaging in a new exercise program, particularly if you are older and the planned exercise is intense. Older folks can have conditions that would make such a program inadvisable, or at least would make it wise to ease in rather than immediately begin interval or strenuous weight training.
166
Ron - Pa.
They did ("consult with a physician").
You're not anxious or trying to discourage, are you ?
They did ("consult with a physician").
You're not anxious or trying to discourage, are you ?
36
Beatrice - How insulting to Ron who makes a good point. He isn't speaking of those in the article, but those elderly, as I am, reading it. Don't jump into it is all he is saying. Good advice. And I'm 76, use a weight machine and elliptical - can't run anymore. And neither anxious nor discouraged.
10
I agree that such a warning is necessary. Just like peanut butter usually has a warning that it contains peanuts. Of course, only in America...
2
I noticed how my mom benefited from stationery cycling at an exercise center at the hospital. She was 95.
79
Paper cycling! Who knew? ;)
5
You're thinking of REcycling. How many bikes will you and I be riding at 95?
2
As a 60+ swimmer I have been doing interval training for most of my life, and about two years ago I began on High Intensity Interval Training. A couple of thoughts: my performance definitely improves with HIIT compared to regular interval training. However, when I do a weight-lifting session weekly my joints are able to withstand the pressure of of HIIT better and my times dropped quite noticeably. So for me I know I need the weights, especially as they are good for osteoporosis too, which swimming and cycling do not address.
310
Our bodies are designed for physical activity—to move and breathe and circulate our vital life energy. More than 5,000 years ago, the master Ayurvedic physician Charaka wrote, “From physical exercise, one gets lightness, a capacity for work, firmness, tolerance of difficulties, elimination of impurities, and stimulation of digestion.”
In fact, getting regular exercise is one of the most powerful things you can do to stay healthy, relieve stress, and reverse the aging process. Exercise alone improves muscle mass, bone density, strength, aerobic capacity, and many other key biomarkers of aging.
To keep your body in peak condition for as long as possible, you need to exercise it regularly.but not force muscles into shape. In the Ayurvedic view, exercise is meant to leave you feeling invigorated, happy, and ready for the day’s activities—not exhausted or in need of painkillers.
The secret is finding some physical activities that you most enjoy and that are suited to your mind-body type or dosha, so that it won’t be a chore to exercise regularly.
In fact, getting regular exercise is one of the most powerful things you can do to stay healthy, relieve stress, and reverse the aging process. Exercise alone improves muscle mass, bone density, strength, aerobic capacity, and many other key biomarkers of aging.
To keep your body in peak condition for as long as possible, you need to exercise it regularly.but not force muscles into shape. In the Ayurvedic view, exercise is meant to leave you feeling invigorated, happy, and ready for the day’s activities—not exhausted or in need of painkillers.
The secret is finding some physical activities that you most enjoy and that are suited to your mind-body type or dosha, so that it won’t be a chore to exercise regularly.
614
Activities you enjoy is key to any healthy behavior: food or physical exertion. I take people out in the park in WINTER on inclines and small trails -- especially if it's covered in snow and show the you can play frisbee! I'm by far the oldest: 73
3
Also adding yoga to your exercise regimen, helps preserve all the benefits of other aerobic exercises. Besides toning and stretching muscles, yoga also helps with stability and flexibility as one ages. My almost 90 year old physician mother does gentle form of yoga. Touch wood, she does not need any cane or device to support her while she moves about her daily chores.
4
Maimonides, the great medieval Rabbi, philosopher, and personal physician to the Royal Egyptian family, observed much illness and spoke about the importance of exercise and eating moderately for physical health. He also said that when choosing an exercise, one should do whatever one finds enjoyable. Sage and timeless advice.
3
Has inspired me to pump iron in intervals!
35
Yes! Kettlebells!
1
The creation of new mitochondria is the “training effect” – the longer the workout – the more mitochondria are created. More mitochondria means better use of oxygen. It works fast – when you inhale you can literally feel the energy in your muscles – the mitochondria are using the oxygen to create energy. The effort level does not have to be super high, it’s the duration that really counts. This is the way things are supposed to work.
Please note that statins degrade this process. For those on statins the creation of new mitochondria is greatly reduced. There have been studies, reported in this newspaper, showing a 90% decrease in mitochondria production for individuals on statins.
Please note that statins degrade this process. For those on statins the creation of new mitochondria is greatly reduced. There have been studies, reported in this newspaper, showing a 90% decrease in mitochondria production for individuals on statins.
Repeat this study using a statin drug vs. placebo, in a double blinded manner. Bet those taking statin drugs will have major impairment of training benefit.
80
What do you mean, exactly, by your statement? Is this an indictment of statins? Please elaborate.
13
Could you elaborate on what you know about exercise and statins? Thank you.
Thank you Dr Handler - my opinion is that Statins are a national scandal.
2
I notice a big difference between daily short walks and 90 minute walks on the weekend.
27
Would you mind telling us what the difference was?
2
Is measuring the number of upregulated genes really meaningful? It seems more important to consider what the genes do.
11
Biochemistry can't be reduced to an engineering view of physics where zero displacement equals zero work. The answer then is in the opening proposition explored : declining cell function. Even in the unlikely proposition that in the aggregate ALL groups of genes are acting at cross purposes it's still higher cell function compared to baseline.
But is that still a good thing? Perhaps you're hinting unregulated cell function (leading to cancer) is a risk? Maybe, but so is a cell that is dead, or as good as, particularly in the aggregate. Although the attendant consequences of declining cell function aren't fully developed it's assumed you'd understand the biggest one is organ system failure and death.
But is that still a good thing? Perhaps you're hinting unregulated cell function (leading to cancer) is a risk? Maybe, but so is a cell that is dead, or as good as, particularly in the aggregate. Although the attendant consequences of declining cell function aren't fully developed it's assumed you'd understand the biggest one is organ system failure and death.
1
Any older adult engaging in age-appropriate but vigorous exercises knows that anti-inflammatory drugs used only as needed can facilitate exercising by decreasing the inevitable aches and pains. It is amazing what one 200 mg ibuprofen tablet can do to lessen the urge to quit because of a sore joint or overworked muscles.
Ms. Reynolds should write a followup article about the use of anti-inflammatory diets, supplements and careful use of OTC medications to maximize exercise among older adults, especially those who are just starting a program that progresses to intense, interval training.
Pain from exercise is a lot more common at 60 than at 30.
Ms. Reynolds should write a followup article about the use of anti-inflammatory diets, supplements and careful use of OTC medications to maximize exercise among older adults, especially those who are just starting a program that progresses to intense, interval training.
Pain from exercise is a lot more common at 60 than at 30.
45
After a Me-Mover ride 2 hours or more I expect some discomfort, but no pain, legs a little tired, but the aerobic workout is worth it. As far as weight training, If I don't get some discomfort, i.e. some pain, I know I didn't get a good workout. It's true, no pain, no gain.
This age thing is for the aged minds, forget it. Of course, you would need doctors ok for strenuous exercise. it's really about acclimation, start slow, give your body time to adjust, you will feel the improvement whatever you do, get professional help if you need to, or buy something that motivates you to get out and move, new walking shoes, new running shoes, a new self-powered vehicle, a trikke, a Me-Mover, my choice, a bicycle.
Walk into a gym with free weights and machines, watch the people workout, feel the motivation as they fight gravity that you could be doing too.
Think old, you will act old, our muscles also grow at 79 years old, mine does, maybe not as fast as when I was 25 years old, but they improve.
Go ahead and prove it to yourself, like the say, just do it.
This age thing is for the aged minds, forget it. Of course, you would need doctors ok for strenuous exercise. it's really about acclimation, start slow, give your body time to adjust, you will feel the improvement whatever you do, get professional help if you need to, or buy something that motivates you to get out and move, new walking shoes, new running shoes, a new self-powered vehicle, a trikke, a Me-Mover, my choice, a bicycle.
Walk into a gym with free weights and machines, watch the people workout, feel the motivation as they fight gravity that you could be doing too.
Think old, you will act old, our muscles also grow at 79 years old, mine does, maybe not as fast as when I was 25 years old, but they improve.
Go ahead and prove it to yourself, like the say, just do it.
1
i am not sure how valuable it is, but Tom Brady thinks that an anti-inflammatory diet with no night shades.
He certainly seems to benefit from this diet though it sounds strange to me.
He certainly seems to benefit from this diet though it sounds strange to me.
Re: diets & anti-inflammatory meds, see Jane Brody's article on the overuse of Nexium and similar PPI, and their deleterious effects on joints. The Nexium makes joints more vulnerable to inflammation, and ibuprofen and other NSAIDS can aggravate delicate G.I. Tracts. Brody's article highlights non-med remedies.
For that generation of Americans whose work, when they were younger, many times involved physical labor or activity, the suggestion of exercising when their work was done may have seemed not only redundant but actually may have been looked at as suggesting they ignore their household duties and obligations to their family or community. And possibly for many of these older Americans our modern evolving culture of fitness and obsession with youth and health may not only be foreign, but seem somehow narcissistic.
My suggestion to concerned friends, family or professionals who maybe attempting to help an ill or fragile elderly person find a better level of health, would be for them to find out first what the individual was interested in as a younger person and then attempt to incorporate that knowledge into helping them develop a schedule of physical activities that the individual will commit to. Be it walking, light weights, swimming, dancing, easy yoga, tai chi climbing stairs, biking around the neighborhood or a combination of all of them.
Finally trying to introduce that person into a group of like minded elderly may also be invaluable and help facilitate that person's commitment to participating in any particular activity. And please remember that the best exercise for an elderly or fragile individual may simply be the exercises that that person will do on a consistent basis. Cheers!
My suggestion to concerned friends, family or professionals who maybe attempting to help an ill or fragile elderly person find a better level of health, would be for them to find out first what the individual was interested in as a younger person and then attempt to incorporate that knowledge into helping them develop a schedule of physical activities that the individual will commit to. Be it walking, light weights, swimming, dancing, easy yoga, tai chi climbing stairs, biking around the neighborhood or a combination of all of them.
Finally trying to introduce that person into a group of like minded elderly may also be invaluable and help facilitate that person's commitment to participating in any particular activity. And please remember that the best exercise for an elderly or fragile individual may simply be the exercises that that person will do on a consistent basis. Cheers!
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The creation of new mitochondria is the “training effect” – the longer the workout – the more mitochondria are created. More mitochondria means better use of oxygen. It works fast – when you inhale you can literally feel the energy in your muscles – the mitochondria are using the oxygen to create energy. The effort level does not have to be super high, it’s the duration that really counts. This is the way things are supposed to work.
Please note that statins degrade this process. For those on statins the creation of new mitochondria is greatly reduced. There have been studies, reported in this newspaper, showing a 90% decrease in mitochondria production for individuals on statins.
Please note that statins degrade this process. For those on statins the creation of new mitochondria is greatly reduced. There have been studies, reported in this newspaper, showing a 90% decrease in mitochondria production for individuals on statins.
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>The effort level does not have to be super high, it’s the duration that really counts.
Your opinion contradicts what many recent studies of interval training have shown. The intensity achieved in interval training make a huge difference.
Your opinion contradicts what many recent studies of interval training have shown. The intensity achieved in interval training make a huge difference.
20
Good reason to take coenzyme Q10 with your statins, not stop taking statins.
"The effort level does not have to be super high, it’s the duration that really counts." Excellent point. But here we're speaking of an exercise style maintained for the long term, over a whole life span. In the short term, the immediate effects of intensity training are measurable and usually impressive, which is Gretchen Reynold's point. But can this style be continued through one's 70s, one's 80s, even one's 90s?
Jack Lalanne did his 2 hours every morning and died at 96 years of age. But what kind of intensity did he sustain in his 70s, 80s, and 90s? What happened in his late years? Since we are speaking of aging, right?
It would be vastly instructive to read Gretchen Reynold's reply to this comment
Jack Lalanne did his 2 hours every morning and died at 96 years of age. But what kind of intensity did he sustain in his 70s, 80s, and 90s? What happened in his late years? Since we are speaking of aging, right?
It would be vastly instructive to read Gretchen Reynold's reply to this comment
seventy-two people were recruited, so approximately 36 who were 30 or younger and 36 over 64. Divided into 4 groups each. That's about 9 people per group. That's enough to say this is worth looking at, and more data is needed. It's not enough to draw any conclusions.
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I have a neighbor that is not into exercise much when I tell him what I do (not bragging), he shakes his head. Want proof, do something, all of these studies are interesting to read, hopefully, they will motivate, that's the reason they're written.
Hard to have motivation after years of conditioning, takes a kick in the butt, like my friend who had a stroke, now he moves, not like before, but he's instructed to move, physical motion.
If we do not move, we get weak, our muscles deteriorate, that's a fact. It's one of the major reasons people go into nursing homes, they can't take care of themselves, loss of muscles among other age-related problems.
I talk to people on the bicycle trail when I'm on my Me-Mover, people of all ages, young and old, they made a choice to use their bodies before their bodies lost the capacity to move.
Draw this conclusion, keep sitting, and the body will only want to sit some more, keep active and the body will only want some more, no matter the age.
Hard to have motivation after years of conditioning, takes a kick in the butt, like my friend who had a stroke, now he moves, not like before, but he's instructed to move, physical motion.
If we do not move, we get weak, our muscles deteriorate, that's a fact. It's one of the major reasons people go into nursing homes, they can't take care of themselves, loss of muscles among other age-related problems.
I talk to people on the bicycle trail when I'm on my Me-Mover, people of all ages, young and old, they made a choice to use their bodies before their bodies lost the capacity to move.
Draw this conclusion, keep sitting, and the body will only want to sit some more, keep active and the body will only want some more, no matter the age.
5
The result was 400 for one group, 33 for the second, and 19 for the third. You don't need large numbers when the differences are so great.
4
If our society had more people who don't just perceive information but actually think about it - even daring to do arithmetic - we would be a lot better off. Thanks for your comment.
I would like to read more about the role of ATP in elder fitness. I have chronic Lyme disease and Post-Exertionsl Malaise (PEM). As I understand it, ATP is needed to release the energy in the mitrochrondia. Each person's body has a limited supply that is constantly recycled. With Lyme, my quantity of ATP is more limited, and it doesn't recycle very efficiently. Thus after a lazy week, I can push myself on an aggressive hike, or do some interval training -- but I won't recover for days. It's very difficult (and frustrating and depressing) to try to improve my condition.
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PNmm - Palo Alto
Most people with CFS, fibromyalgia, B. burgdorferi, ATP, PEM, vulvodynia, lactose intolerance, gluten intolerance, IBS, & Munchausen's would prob'ly not benefit from exercise.
Most people with CFS, fibromyalgia, B. burgdorferi, ATP, PEM, vulvodynia, lactose intolerance, gluten intolerance, IBS, & Munchausen's would prob'ly not benefit from exercise.
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Are you on statins? Mitochondria produce ATP through the Krebs Citric Acid Cycle. Fewer mitochondria mean less ATP, means less energy. Statins mean less mitochondria.
you should seek another opinion; i am not sure of the existence of chronic lyme's disease.
Go to SU or UCSF and get a second opinion,
you probably have chronic fatigue syndrome.
Go to SU or UCSF and get a second opinion,
you probably have chronic fatigue syndrome.
This is very valuable information for me and for my patients. Of course it is always best to consult with your healthcare provider before starting a new or more strenuous exercise program, especially if you are at risk for heart disease, are diabetic, or have been relatively inactive for a while. Thank you, NYT!
Lucky for me for being vain, that's the reason I started weight training about 50 + years ago which morphed into additional exercise routines as the years progressed.
While it's true I wasn't always committed, but I never let my body get out of control that I could help. I did have to deal with prostate cancer in 2005, the doctor said it was aggressive, but I kept positive and worked out the best I could. Maybe the exercise helped, it kept me occupied, controlled depression.
I still weight train at 79 years old, some of my routines are easier than other's such as preacher curls, incline flys, but my shoulders bother me so I use the Smith machine in lieu of free weights. The thing is, I always feel great after a workout. Just being at the gym motivates me to go heavier, maybe sometimes too much, but ironically I can still increase the weights in many of the routines, such as seated shoulder presses on a machine along with lat work. Bottom line. I've found that muscles grow, even at my age, my shirts feel tighter when I do strict routines.
I also cross train with a Me-Mover for aerobics, did 30 miles last week into a strong wind on the return, about 20% more energy required to propel than a bicycle, great for HIIT workouts.
The vanity is still there, feels good to walk fast, exercising increases your confidence level, just makes you want to do more of everything.
While it's true I wasn't always committed, but I never let my body get out of control that I could help. I did have to deal with prostate cancer in 2005, the doctor said it was aggressive, but I kept positive and worked out the best I could. Maybe the exercise helped, it kept me occupied, controlled depression.
I still weight train at 79 years old, some of my routines are easier than other's such as preacher curls, incline flys, but my shoulders bother me so I use the Smith machine in lieu of free weights. The thing is, I always feel great after a workout. Just being at the gym motivates me to go heavier, maybe sometimes too much, but ironically I can still increase the weights in many of the routines, such as seated shoulder presses on a machine along with lat work. Bottom line. I've found that muscles grow, even at my age, my shirts feel tighter when I do strict routines.
I also cross train with a Me-Mover for aerobics, did 30 miles last week into a strong wind on the return, about 20% more energy required to propel than a bicycle, great for HIIT workouts.
The vanity is still there, feels good to walk fast, exercising increases your confidence level, just makes you want to do more of everything.
1
I am curious about how a 50 minute, singles tennis lesson fits into the interval training idea. We do drills for about 10- 15 minutes, rest and drink water , then repeat. It feels like interval training to me. I am a 60 year old women.
22
The key is intense exercise. If you aren't huffing and puffing it doesn't maximize the training effect. But is probably still really good for you what you are doing.
5
Oh, I huff and puff. Run right, left, forward and back a lot.
It is indeed interval training.
I'm 66, and was just told by two specialists that, due to arthritic knees. I should stop running. I've been running since age 28, so this is BAD news. Five years, ago I gave up the road for the treadmill; now, I get off the treadmill limping. Will spinning/biking be a good substitute for running? The MDs said that the elliptical might be hard on my knees. I am major-league bummed out!
28
Alternate spinning, swimming, and weight training for a while to build up the muscles that support the knees, which need some respite. You just might be able to use the treadmill again. Find a good trainer who can help you do the weight training exercises properly as to not put pressure on your knees. Try an anti-inflammatory diet (Limit sugar and white carbs) and one Advil before exercise. Listen to your MD but don't give up on what you enjoy doing because he/she thinks that is what is best for you. It is just not that black or white.
32
i'm 68. last summer i had some minor knee surgery on a knee that had acl repair fifteen years ago. the doc said bicycling was the best exercise for rehab. i started cycling and ended up riding 750 miles total in the four months of good weather left in our region. my advice: take up cycling. it's great for the knees and the attitude.
82
I wonder what they would think of running in a pool? We do that. It gets the muscles and heart going, but takes the strain off the knees and joints.
81
Good to know. Thank you.
9
Great reporting job! It provided the essential information to understand the study and its conclusions. I would only ask for the mean ages of the younger and older study subjects and if analyses included Body Mass Index. The statement on improved regulation of blood sugar has tremendous significance for understanding diabetes, the epidemic of our current ways of life.
I'm thinking the term "correcting" cellular health is quite apt for the concept that sedentary lifestyles are associated with a degradation of cell health (to be further defined as research continues). After all, our post industrial lifestyles are surely an aberration of the hundreds of thousands of years of supremely active lifestyles we must have led as we passed from being the hunted to being the hunter (and gatherer) and then to farming the land. Looking at photos of indigenous peoples, who are so muscular and sinewy, I think that is what we were meant to be.
I'm thinking the term "correcting" cellular health is quite apt for the concept that sedentary lifestyles are associated with a degradation of cell health (to be further defined as research continues). After all, our post industrial lifestyles are surely an aberration of the hundreds of thousands of years of supremely active lifestyles we must have led as we passed from being the hunted to being the hunter (and gatherer) and then to farming the land. Looking at photos of indigenous peoples, who are so muscular and sinewy, I think that is what we were meant to be.
24
This report is what I needed to get me out today: I'm on my was to the local track to run intervals.
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(1) "Health" is a subjectively and vaguely defined term generally applied to a whole organism.
In this article, you go further by talking about mitochondrial and cellular "health".
This does not reflect well on the article's writer. (Consider using the term "fitness" instead, if the authors of the study did not provide an appropriate term.)
(2) I exercise several times a week in a gym. In addition to a very little weight lifting, I use either a stationary bicycle or an elliptical machine for 25-35 minutes at a steady level generally getting my heart rate up into the 150s.
Since I am 74 years and 11 mos, this represents a "supramaximal" heart rate by the standard maximal heart rate estimator (212 - age), and presumably should be considered more than moderate intensity.
I wonder how this would compare to the interval training regimen in terms of effects on cellular (and whole organism) fitness
In this article, you go further by talking about mitochondrial and cellular "health".
This does not reflect well on the article's writer. (Consider using the term "fitness" instead, if the authors of the study did not provide an appropriate term.)
(2) I exercise several times a week in a gym. In addition to a very little weight lifting, I use either a stationary bicycle or an elliptical machine for 25-35 minutes at a steady level generally getting my heart rate up into the 150s.
Since I am 74 years and 11 mos, this represents a "supramaximal" heart rate by the standard maximal heart rate estimator (212 - age), and presumably should be considered more than moderate intensity.
I wonder how this would compare to the interval training regimen in terms of effects on cellular (and whole organism) fitness
10
I'm not sure the old 212-age holds for many people. Although your routine is commendable, my experience, as an athlete and coach for over 50+ years is that interval training In General provides more general benefit than 'moderate training'.
Also, the notion of mitochondrial and cellular health in terms of providing energy, vigor and number seems appropriate. This is not about human total body health but an aspect of health (cells) including aerobic health but also gene activity and mitochondrial health.
So keep exercising!! Eat well and up the intensity !
Also, the notion of mitochondrial and cellular health in terms of providing energy, vigor and number seems appropriate. This is not about human total body health but an aspect of health (cells) including aerobic health but also gene activity and mitochondrial health.
So keep exercising!! Eat well and up the intensity !
32
I think that should be 220-,your age
3
I too go to the gym, throw some weights around, today I did 3 sets on the seated leg press machine, 3 sets of calf work on the same machine, then some sets of leg curls. Then a ride home on a Me-Mover, like the elliptical machine but I'm moving, letting my energy do some good by transporting myself.
Weight training, we use our energy to fight gravity, increase our musculature, an important exercise, anaerobic. Another important activity is aerobics, IMO best to do it by accomplishing an actual movement of my body.
Last Saturday I had an exceptional workout as I was on the Me-Mover fighting winds and climbing grades. I was compelled to continue or I wouldn't get home, I used, according to Endomondo over 4,000 calories, spent close to 4 hours stepping, best motivation, getting home.
Weight training, we use our energy to fight gravity, increase our musculature, an important exercise, anaerobic. Another important activity is aerobics, IMO best to do it by accomplishing an actual movement of my body.
Last Saturday I had an exceptional workout as I was on the Me-Mover fighting winds and climbing grades. I was compelled to continue or I wouldn't get home, I used, according to Endomondo over 4,000 calories, spent close to 4 hours stepping, best motivation, getting home.
2
Thank you. This type of reporting is greatly appreciated. Please keep pumping that iron and have a nice day!
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It's never too late to never give up!
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Amen!
6
I misread that as "It's never too late to give up" and thought you very clever.
1
a great B-I-G laugh! Thank you!
7
After reading this article I ached all over and was out of breath.
(Age 81)
(Age 81)
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Probably from laughing; which is good too!
7
(Age 80) Getting redundant, I am, but check out nicotinamide riboside. There is a fairly hearty flow of research on this supplement, including a long research article in last week's Science Magazine about NAD+ (which powers up aging mitochondria - just like exercise) that is stimulated by NR. I've used it for a few months, and I'm definitely feeling generally better. Could be the placebo effect, but I'll take that!
I've written about it here http://seniorjunior.blogspot.com (15 posts down).
I've written about it here http://seniorjunior.blogspot.com (15 posts down).
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These results are corroborated by other studies. Interval training has been shown to increase adrenaline and epinephrine levels up to 12 times baseline, and these hormones have been demonstrated to have strong effects on gene expression in muscle (J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004 May;89(5):2000-14.)
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