What is the good thigh measurement for an exercising 70 year old man?
It is never too late
The frequency and tenor of these articles about the "elixir of youth" - diet, exercise, cognitive games - suggests an overriding fear of normal ageing. It is good to remain "fit for your age" but why are suggestions such as "being like a 25 year old again" wheeled out as not only attainable but also highly desirable? Time for some research on the psychological concomitants of not being able to accept one's age and the ageing process.
Some cultures lay great worth on age despite the inevitable physical decline, in greater or lesser measure, which accompanies it.
4
@JJ I accept my age (73) and the aging process. I have been exercising since I was 12, weigh 150 lbs. I run, bike, swim, and take 20 year-olds to the hoop daily. It's not an abnormal fear of aging. I just want to stay as young and healthy as possible, for as long as possible. Life is more fun that way. I assume everyone else wants the same thing. Some just don’t want it bad enough.
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@JJ I think it is just the click-bait headline - the actual article and even the URL doesn't contain a reference to "being 25 ". But yes, it doesn't help the aging-adverse society we live in.
Having been very active most of my life, I have, for the past three or four years, had to basically almost stop most of my exercising because of inflammatory pain, thus exacerbating my physical decline. My inflammation has not been caused by the decline in exercising.
2
@Sam Anti-inflammatory diet (Dr. Andrew Weil) and Concept 2 rower and walking. Drink a lot of filtered water. I have had a very reliable Multipure solid carbon block countertop filter for 35+ years. No soda, pop whatever you call it. Don't watch too much news.
Our granddaughter talked us into buying fitbits some years ago, most relentless exercise tool ever invented. Has us climbing 15 to 25 flights stairs at our condo everyday, 7,000 to 10,000 steps also, or more when we head outside. We're in our high 70's, and in very good health.
Thank God for granddaughter's.
4
It all depends... My brother-in-law passed last week. Avid exerciser; ran and ran and ran in all weather throughout the years. Exercise bike in the house. He was 6 foot 7 inches tall and weighed maybe 170. Four months ago was diagnosed for lung cancer, stage IV. Never smoked. He had been treated for thyroid issues. Saw doctors and PCP regularly. 75 years young!
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@ALUSNA Sorry to hear it. Your tale is illustrative of our plight as humans. Stage IV lung cancer and not a smoker jumps out, of course. It all depends on what?
A rolling stone gathers no moss.
4
Or it could be, that having inflammation and feeling bad also may lead you to be sedentary.
2
And in related news scientists have determined that well maintained automobiles are less likely to break down than poorly maintained ones.
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Reading about tennis and, here, running as lifelong exercise. How about badminton? This also fits the bill, and it's fun. And it's easy to set up in school gyms, and the courts, built inside because of wind, would take up little space in public parks. The sport is also easy to learn just by playing.
Badminton should be part of our school PE programs as training for lifetime exercise and enjoyment.
1
I never was very active physically until I turned 50. I decided it was then or never. I joined a gym, hired a trainer and began a habit that has remained with me for nearly 30 years. I turn 80 next year. The trainer was essential for me. I knew that if I did it on my own, I would find excuses for not doing my workouts. People are often surprised at my age. They say I look to be in my 60s. Some call my biceps "big guns." Maybe they're just being diplomatic, but I don't turn down their compliments. I am convinced that if I hadn't begun exercising, I'd already be dead. Mind you, I'm still overweight. I can't have everything.
10
I'm 72, a lifelong runner, who quit for 3 years because of various injuries sustained while running on hard surfaces. When I started running on grass all the problems went away. Even if you don't have pains and injuries, get off the concrete, asphalt, cement. Well maintained soccer fields are the best, I don't there is any better running surface.
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@Mike Mike, you have given runners very good advice. I only wish I had access to a clay tennis court. Same idea.
I took up cycling at the age of 55, 10 years ago. Today I feel better than I was when I was 40. Pain from severe degenerative arthritis (L5) is gone.
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Google Robert Marchand French cyclist.
Jim Waldo
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@Jim Waldo 'Marchand put his remarkable fitness and longevity down to a diet consisting of: lots of fruit and vegetables, a little meat, not too much coffee – and an hour a day on the cycling home-trainer.'
3
You don’t need to visit a gym to stay in shape.. You can bike, swim or run and do exercises at home and regular yoga practice will be even better for your health than any gym. Flexibility for aging is as important as muscles, indeed too much muscle can get in your way of that.
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@heinrichz And Youtube will give you all the free classes that you will ever need!!!
1
I've been riding my bicycle daily for 30 years, but I'll never be sure all this exercise will ever fully offset the debauchery of my teens and early 20s. Hey, it was worth it.
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Clearly the ideal is to develop good habits early and keep them going for the rest of your life. But, life tends to get in the way. The next is to keep doing something and recognize that it is rarely too late to start, although it is harder to start later.
3
In this engaging podcast, a leading geriatrician discusses the value of exercise, especially as a person gets older. The doctor, an expert contributor to the online medical reference MerckManuals.com, provides tips on healthy aging and dispels common myths associated with the subject.
To listen, click on this link:
https://castbox.fm/episode/Dispelling-Common-Aging-Myths-id2100469-id160007152?country=us
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Exercise and nutrition is the key to a healthy, well rounded long life.
I’ve been an active kickboxer for the last 9 years.
At 64, thank God, I’m in the best shape of my life, take no medicine and stay active all day.
Nice encouraging article to read and heed.
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Well done, Gretchen, on a well written story about the value of exercise for all people, regardless of age. PHIT America is on a similar crusade, as we provide funding for more physical activity opportunities for students, with a focus on elementary schools.
3
For runners who can't run anymore due to painful joints, try spinning - it's bike riding on steroids. You control the amount of effort, but I find I maintain a heart rate of 125-135 for a good part of an hour class. My hour-long "rides" are the equivalent of 17 miles, all uphill. Enjoy the sweat!!
8
Muscle memory is the key. Use it or lose it, not anymore the muscle is amazing in comeback mode.
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I'm 58 and run, workout with a trainer and walk at an extremely fast clip. No issues, not even with all the running I've done over the years. I'm in better shape now with my trainer than I was at 30 when I used another trainer. Diet, exercise, goals are all important.
4
@Marky 58? At 58 you better still be doing well!
Despite having had a demanding career for 30 years and long, long commutes, I was able to continue to work out and run through most of my life, something I'm most proud of. Today, in middle age, I take no prescription drugs and maintain the muscle mass I had in my 30s (though, it's far tougher to maintain this fitness as I get older). I was shocked recently, during my annual physical, to find I have a significant case of osteoarthritis in my hip. Xrays are showing very little cartilage left in the pelvic socket. This has pushed me to curtail my distance running, which is fairly painful, in favor of cycling and swimming, which both require far more time for the same level of cardio stimulation.
14
I'm 58 and am taking up running. I can't lift weights since the Spontaneous Renal Artery Dissection injury I sustained. But I enjoy running anyway and am looking forward to losing weight and feeling better.
2
My doctors' never talked about inflammation with me, I only found out about it when I did my own research when I was told I was pre-diabetic: This article lets me know I am on the right track in fighting Inflammation
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I've exercised all my adult life. Are you now telling me that I have the life expectancy of a 25-year old?
5
Thanks . . . I needed that . . .
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So good to read in the #MeToo era:
So, they gathered 21 of the elderly athletic men
***(results from a separate study of women will be published soon, Dr. Trappe says)**
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Once again, where is the research on women? Just because men's bodies work a certain way, we have no way of knowing if these results apply to women as well.
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@Rosanna I think it's safe to apply this research to all humanoid forms of life. Seriously, despite changing hormonal profiles, I think exercise will maintain muscle mass and minimize inflammation markers in both genders.
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@Bo Baconator So they should have done the study on women, and extrapolated it to the men? The fact is that most doctors are still male, and they unconsciously think that men are the only humans.
The more varied the exercises you do, the better it is. I try and get a 90 min swim, a 3hr bike ride, 4 to 6 hrs of tennis and 2 to 3 hrs of gym work every week. It is tough to keep doing this as you get older, but I still feel great in my 50s
2
@Vik No climb of Everest each week? Your regimen would present issues for any 30 year old.
How about swimming? I'm too arthritic to run or job, but swim daily with fins and do leg lifts with weights in the water. Is that ok? A lifelong athlete, now trying to keep it all together after hip and knee degeneration.
SG Age 86
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@Sol Gittleman So nice to see a comment from one of the greatest professors in Tufts history. YidLit was formative and to this day a constant reminder that Life is With People. Thank You Sir!
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@Sol Gittleman Swimming is the very best, as it woks all your muscles evenly, is great cardio and also promotes flexibility and peace of mind.
4
@heinrichz Swimming doesn't help with osteoporosis, though, because it isn't weight-bearing and won't help build bone.
I'm mildly irritated by the article's banner. I'm sorry, but advocating "25 Again?" to elderly men, is simply false advertising. Period.
Can we all just accept for a minute that getting older is a natural process? Why are we so obsessed to be forever 20-something, which is impossible for mere mortals unless you're perhaps a vampire?
Doing exercises is great, regardless of your age. Aging gracefully is awesome. Staying healthy is a must for everyone. Can we just just accept that, as a fact? Let's accept it as fact too, that it's freaky to be like Trump, forever obsessed with his comb-over and tanning routine and size of his hands (and manhood). That is just so not-cool.
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Hello Ms Gretchen Reynolds & Others,
I found quite a trove of good data in this article as I had often wondered why runners could recuperate joints that flared up while others would wind up with debilitating fractures. I also looked at the fact that I could absorb falls that really stung me but in a day or 2 at most, I had receuperated. It seems to me that it gets written in our basic fabric what our body will need to prepare for and it stores that for ready use.
Along that same line, I just read last night about the Washoe County NV man who got a bone marrow transplant that also carried the DNA of the donor over to the man - https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/07/us/dna-bone-marrow-transplant-crime-lab.html. That really fired through to my brain that our basic genes will select internally that which is better if we give it the choice. This has many implications, lots of really good ones and a few truly bad ones.
Since collecting spinal fluids from a donor & giving it to a leukemia patient, the full semen of the recipient is now that of the fluid donor. What all else might get triggered? I have no idea.
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"Exercise is probably the single most important thing older adults can do for their health," according to expert geriatrician Dr. Michael Wasserman. He adds: "I often tell people that if I can get them to exercise regularly, I can discontinue at least one prescription drug."
For more about exercise and aging, listen to this podcast:
https://castbox.fm/episode/Dispelling-Common-Aging-Myths-id2100469-id160007152?country=us
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Inflammation can & does occur in almost anyone, because there are so many different pathways for cell damage. This article is helpful, by drawing attention to the subject, but much more needs to be said. What causes a sedentary lifestyle? For most people who sit at a desk, being overworked. Not getting enough sleep makes the weight gain worse, if for no other reason that a person struggling to stay awake boosts their depleted self with sugar, extra food, more caffeine (sometimes followed by alcohol -- a sugar -- to "unwind"). A chronically under-slept person will be less likely to exercise regularly & more likely to injure themselves during exercise.
If you want to age well & stay healthy, you must budget time in to sleep. If your job is demanding, sleep is that much more important. Something has to give. Anyone inspired to take up exercise (or resume activities they used to enjoy as students) needs to start with a health check-up. It must include a thyroid screening. These are not expensive; they should be routine for everyone, of all ages. It's a dirty little secret that our atomic age has pumped a lot of radiation into the atmosphere, soil & water... That has impacts on the thyroid & guess what? Thyroid inflammation has pervasive cascading effects on all your body. At 62, I always had a healthy thyroid: 2 of my 3 kids & sole grandchild do not. My last blood test showed I, too, am now slightly hypothyroid... If I don't correct it, I will need daily medication. Be aware!
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@Maria Ashot, your comments and emphasis on having enough sleep reminds me of a tidbit of wisdom from a chinese herbal doctor I once visited. Apart from other diagnosis and precribing different herbs to me, he told me this:
"Get enough sleep. It's the cheapest (free) medicine that everyone can/should do. It's the best therapy one could treat oneself. Humans are naturally NOT nocturnal. Sleep before midnight. The herbs I give you will help, but if you don't change your habit (of sleeping late and sleeping too little), nothing can help you."
And, he's right.
8
I am 74 year old male who started running now a walker/jogger starting from my early 40's. I recently had a bunionectomy i.e. 7wks ago. My podiatrist, at my last checkup, told me I can return to normal activity. The successful recovery from this surgery I believe is in part due to my activity level that lead up to the surgery. It seems to me, as you get older, anything you can do to reduce your bodies inflammatory response the better. Inflammation must effect your bodies healing abilities .
1
I'm the perfect person to comment on this article. I'm a senior who has worked out steadily since I was 42 yrs old. I too thought it would keep many ailments at bay however because we do NOT have a real health care system.
In the last 3 yrs I had to have 3 spinal fusion surgeries ALL of which I hired a trainer to train for surgery. Training for surgery helps with everything, less time for recovery, less pain meds, better balance and strength etc.. Yet I have yet to meet one of our quacks who doesn't roll his or her eyes when I mention this then they make it point of always to lie lie lie about "recovery" time. They also cannot be bothered to tell their patients how much better off they would be if they got in some kind of shape before major surgery.
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@joe Hall ...i agree wholeheartedly that being strong, no matter our age, is key to addressing life's ongoing and inevitable challenges...but i'm confused as to why you had to hire a trainer to prep you for surgery when, as you say, you have worked out consistently since you were 42?...what did your trainer add to your routine?...why did you not then incorporate these elements into your regular workouts on an ongoing basis after your initial surgery?...
@Suzy - I just met a student at Pilates who looked to be in good shape, fit and trim, in her 60s. When asked how long she'd been practicing Pilates she told us that she'd begun in the last few weeks. Her surgeon advised her to get in shape for a hip replacement! She's been a jogger, practices yoga, and has worked out for decades; but she was advised to build core strength and add muscle tone before her February surgery.
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I was left with the impression that this study could have used more time and recipients. It's hardly newsworthy when you consider there was only one examination of these subjects throughout this entire experiment with no followup. I hope there's more on this important topic to come.
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Bottom line is, you don't use it - you lose it...... but those that do 'use it' know this..
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According to expert geriatrician, Dr. Michael Wasserman, it's critical that older adults stay mentally and physically active. In his podcast, he provides tips on healthy aging and dispels some common myths on the topic. For more, listen here:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dispelling-common-aging-myths/id1460407685?i=1000440244905
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There were studies some years ago [Pittsburgh? Reported here I think?] which showed that loss of muscle mass with age [even to near 80?] was near NIL for people who keep exercising, with sustained loading, ie running / cycling.
Another myth busted.
All variations on “Use it or lose it”.
It has to be sustained, day in and out, and it has to hurt some.
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So what about those of us whom in our 20s and early 30s did 8 hours a day of manual labor? I returned home then too tired to think of lifting weights or jogging in the park. As I moved to a more sedentary job in my 40s I began working out vigorously 6 day’s a week. Are those early years discounted from the total? At 68 now I seem to tire easily in afternoon and need a nap every day. Is this the norm for others my age. My wife is 44 years old so I need to keep up!
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@Joseph Luchenta personally, i don't believe that being tired in the afternoon has anything to do with age, but with lifestyle choices...granted those choices need to be tweaked as we age in recognition of the aging process...our ability to metabolize protein lessens so we need to eat more...if we lose muscle mass, then any activity takes more out of us than it did when we were younger...we can't do less than we did when we were younger and expect to have a much vitality...we can't even do the same amount as we did when we were younger....we need to do more than we ever did, especially strength-wise, in order for our cells to generate optimal energy...
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@Joseph Luchenta
Good for you !
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In addition to walking places fast, I've been doing body-weight exercise for my upper body since I was 24. Not super rigorous, maybe twice, sometimes only once, a week, just in our bedroom. The odd thing is that, even though I'm approaching 68, I can still do about the same number of pull-ups, chin-ups and push-ups as I could 44 years ago. It was a decent amount for a 24 year old; apparently exceptional for someone my age. And I feel great.
But I really did nothing exceptional (except make sure I didn't go much beyond a week before doing the next set). So I have to believe that, with a little luck and reasonably favorable genetics, a good level of muscular fitness is within most people's capability, without becoming an inveterate gym rat or devoting one's waking life to exercise.
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I am middle aged and overweight and started to exercise last summer. I went bicycling around central park 3 times a day. I substituted lentils for rice and eggs for beef. I lost 40 pounds in 4 months. This study is good because if we can measure anti inflammatory responses, then we can modify the experiment to show what can accelerate it, e.g. certain foods taken before or after a workout? Massage or sauna after the workout? How does drinking water play into this? Etc
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@W.N We are all different. If I lose 40 lb, I end up in the emergency rooom.
Does this matter? In 12 years we will all be dead because of climate change.
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@D Better to live well in that time and climb the mountains and bathe in the forests while we can.
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@NJB Good observation. Even with the best climate, we'll all be dead in less than a 100 years.
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@D That glass is half empty, huh D? Peggy Lee....is that all there is to Mother Earth?
Run 15km a day,
Every day.
Always some hills.
Always some pain.
The only way.
All joints fine.
Love half maras.
Lucky I am.
7
My muscles and stamina do benefit from exercise but my knees and feet hurt like crazy. They're wearing out.
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@MIKEinNYC Have you tried going to physical therapy for your feet? I was forced to a year ago and it worked wonders - I do the exercises at home now once a week to keep the pain away. Don't know about the knees.
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@Jerie Green i'm a big believer in minimalist footwear....the shoes/boots we've traditionally worn since we first stood upright have trained our feet to work inefficiently...look at a baby's feet - how nimble and widespread the toes are...that fluidity of movement is lost when our feet are encased in rigid structures...all the years we've spent compensating start to catch up with us and things start to hurt...but we can train our feet to regain proper movement if we take it slowly and surely by letting our feet act like babies..
@MIKEinNYC You should try to swim instead!
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Did anyone out there not know this?
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As a psychiatrist specializing in the psychological care of medical patients, I discuss every day the impact that lifestyle choices have on one's overall physical & mental health.
Of all the discretionary decisions people make, few are more consequential than the decision to exercise regularly. It's great that something which costs so little & has such a low incidence of side effects can have such profound benefits.
It is important to individualize one's exercise regimen. Exercise need not be strenuous to help keep one healthy. A brisk walk for 40-45 minutes 3 or 4 times a week will make a big difference for most people. In some communities, this cam be integrated into the performance of one's daily errands- e.g., make it a habit to walk to the store rather than always driving. Each person should experiment with different types of exercise until they find what works best for themselves.
While no 2 people are the same, I can vouch for the fact that, at age 66, I am routinely taken for 15-20 years younger than my chronological age. I am on no medication. My BP is 110/70. My resting pulse is 60. My cholesterol is 170. I bounce but of bed at 4 AM every day, full of energy, & do my morning walk outdoors, no matter how cold it may be. None of my joints creak. None of my muscles ache. My mind is every bit as sharp & quick as it was when I graduated from medical school at age 24. Good genetics helps, but exercise surely also deserves lot of credit.
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@Doctor B Same story here. I am 71, and most people take me for a 70-year old. I can't remember in the afternoon what I did in the morning, but the reason is that I have such an enormous amount of knowledge and wisdom stored in my brain that it becomes difficult for me to retrieve just one individual piece.
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@Person Funny thing is, people tell me I look like I'm 70, but I act 9.
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Anecdotal perhaps, but this reader has been doing a modified version of the RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force) calisthenics routine fifteen minutes or so six mornings a week since retirement about ten years ago. It's very boring, but well worth it to avoid what used to be recurring lower back trouble and to remain flexible enough to get out of the way, now and then, of an impatient driver. Daily exercise, for a relatively minor investment, pays hefty dividends.
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An interesting if limited study.
Why not also look at recovery rates after different activities?
Example: capacity for endurance *increases* in middle age. The average age of runners who enter ultramarathons is 43, and trending higher (ultramarathons are races longer than marathon-length, which is 26.2 miles; ultras are usually 50K, 50 miles, 100K, or 100 miles).
Inflammation and overall post-activity recovery is mitigated by high cardiovascular fitness, which presents in low resting heart rate, rate of heart rate recovery (time to go from activity to resting rate), and HR in same activity at same wattage (power/output) 24 hrs later.
Why not compare a population of 65 year old ultra runners to 65 year old gym users/lifters? Compare to 25 yo’s in same activity and control against sedentary types at same ages?
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I am a firm believer in excessive exercise - when it comes to me - and absolute bare minimum recovery when I have overdone it. If I experience something terrible as a consequence, I may sing a different tune but this is the tune I am singing today. I have no opinions on what others should do.
Oh yes, one more thing - I do have an opinion on the usual methodological critiques that invariably accompany most of what Gretchen Reynolds reports, since she rarely reports randomized controlled trials - because in her particular area of reporting, there are few RCT's. So if a study suggests that exercise may be beneficial, but people have not been randomly assigned to sedentary X 25 years vs active X 25 year groups - does this mean I should sit around and watch TV until well-controlled studies are done. Or does it mean I should sustain a high level of activity until well controlled studies shows that they are harmful?? I'll go with the latter, and if I am still alive I will hopefully ignore the studies.
Also while I am at it - this study is not trying to show that exercise is beneficial. It is trying to highlight some of the mechanisms whereby those benefits are realized. And it also speaks to issues related to "when" (in the life course) as well as "what". So I would be the first to criticize a study for telling us what is obvious or something we already know, but I don't think this study is quite so trivial.
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I’m 72 and ran and played tennis from 26 to 60. I still play tennis but use an elliptical machine instead of running. The last twenty years I weight train every other day. My drink is bourbon and Irish whiskey, and I smoke the occasional cigar. The only down side to cardio exercise and hitting the iron (that I’ve encountered) is injury. I tell everyone to do your body and mind a solid and workout regularly.
5
I started surfing in my 40’s. Was very active until college, sedentary up until 35 before picking up tennis again and going to the gym.
I genuinely regret those sedentary years. But doing exercise is always good. Never stop and if you stopped start again.
Do something you enjoy. My kids started surfing, so I started with. Granted, if you wanna start surfing at an old age it helps with time and money. But now I do it almost on a weekly basis, even in the winter
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Mid 40s and have been back at the gym a few days a week for almost a year. The gym is easy; a good diet is much hard.
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I'm 63 and have exercised all my life (variety of cardio and always 2x per week weight lifting in a gym.) It would be nice to think that that my system mirrors that of a 25-year-old.
That may be partially true. My max lung capacity exceeds that of a 20-year old by 40%. Resting HR was in the low 50's until a few years back. Inflammatory load is spooky low. (All this is actually a problem because many doctors don't really understand active exercisers. I'm constantly being misdiagnosed because I don't look like, or react like, the typical patient, 70% of whom are overweight or obese, and who hate exercise.)
At any rate, I find this research very strange. For example, the following statement:
"...sedentary living seems to set up muscles to overreact to strain and remain inflamed, potentially leading to fewer muscular gains when someone does exercise."
This flies in the face of what happens when sedentary people start serious weight lifting. Namely, gains in strength are rapid because they start at such a low level compared to someone who is well trained and has to work hard to make gains.
The notion that "inflammation" limits muscles is just silly. Activation of muscle is what drives things, including fat metabolism, release of glucose/glycogen from the liver, etc. Muscle activity (and weight control) is what determines inflammatory load (i.e. drives it down.)
Whatever the message of this research, it should not discourage people from starting exercise.
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Exercise certainly helps but nothing stops the ravages of time. There's a lot of genetic baggage that you inherit that all the exercise in the world won't help.
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You should look into the work of Dr. David A. Sinclair. He’s a longevity scientist at Harvard.
Your genes do not define your life expectancy, and they can be manipulated. Do not just give into the misconception that there’s nothing you can do to prevent aging.
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@Halsy the genetic baggage can be overcome with regular exercise, especially resistance training. It sounds as though you've given up!
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@Halsy...very few genes impact longevity, but they do offer great insight into your weak links...the best motivator for me to examine and adapt my lifestyle choices is this phrase - Do as your parents did, get what your parents got.
Something seems missing from this study. They only looked at three groups, leaving out sedentary young people. So it doesn’t reveal whether the added inflammation observed in sedentary elderly people is because of being sedentary, or elderly. And it’s not able to say whether the difference between sedentary and non-sedentary is the same or grows with age.
13
Another study about men’s health. Where are the women again?
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If you the read the article it specifically says the results of the women studied will be published separately a little later.
8
@Allison I’ve read so many studies that indicate ‘the women studied will be published later’. I never see those studies. Also, why are they last?
7
@Ildiko Duckor they addressed that in the article midway through
1
Advice from a former Olympic coach (not me, someone who's training I adapted many years ago) - paraphrasing:
"If you say to yourself 'whew! I'm glad that's over!', when you finish a workout *instead of* 'that was a good, vigorous workout and I can't wait to do it again' you will eitehr quit from psychological exhaustion in the near-long-term, or you will injure yourself, or both"
Go steady, go easy up to your measured limit (you know what "good" feels like - listen to your body). Stay healthy. We're all headed in the same direction. I call it "managing the decline".
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I have exercised all my life 62 now, I have a sauna after a strenuous group class ,no aching muscles,the next day,
2
I'm glad to see a picture of runners using a footpath for a change and out of the way of vehicular traffic.
7
@Ron A That's your takeaway? Sounds like you need to get out for a run.
2
It's never too late to start exercising. One of the best ways as you get older is take long walks. It's great for body and spirit. Unless it's raining, I walk a mile to mile and a half every morning and thoroughly enjoy it.
Beyond just exercise, a healthy diet and keeping your mind active are essential if you want to maintain your quality of life.
15
I'd love to exercise more, if only I were not short of breath for as-yet-unknown reasons. My muscles are begging for the exercise.
5
“Sedentary older people” surely applies to me. I’m 63 and haven’t done any serious exercise in years. Used to play tennis, take long walks, etc. My problem is a neurological condition that gets worse with age and leaves me exhausted. Too many medications too. But this story shows the importance of pounding away on those tired, flabby muscles before it’s too late.
6
I have RSD and I walk and lift weights everyday. I started in the pool which is something you could maybe consider. exercise without trauma
4
The second paragraph is kind of an issue, because people looking for an excuse not to exercise won't read to the end, throw up their hands and say "It's too late so I might as well sit and eat that burger"
Better to note that there will be some pain at first, but that the muscles will change and eventually resemble those of 25 year olds.
8
I wish something would help ease my inflammation-wracked body. I do rigorous pool exercises 2-3 times/week, walk (with a cane) and do a good bit of yard work in season. Yet as my 75th birthday looms, I am never without pain, which generally ranges between 6 and 8 or 9 on a 10-point pain scale.
I just ache all the time, and nothing seems to help.
7
@PaulB67
I'm sorry for your pain.
Is it possible that you may be overextending yourself? Perhaps lightening up a bit would give your body a chance to recover.
Have you looked into an anti-inflammatory diet (mostly plant-based, but not necessarily vegan)?
Have you asked your doc to do a C-Reactive Protein test to measure your inflammation; it's a simple, chap blood test?
Are you taking statins? If so, you may want to look into CoQ10 (use Ubiqinol; it's more absorbent 0 I use the "Qunol" brand, but most Ubiquinol is the same because most comes from the same pharma company.)
13
@PaulB67
Watch the documentary Game Changer, on Netflix.
Well worth the watch and might help you as it did me.
@PaulB67 I am sorry you are in pain. I appreciate your sharing about it.
1
The second paragraph should be rewritten to agree with the main conclusions of the essay.
7
Old saying - "You don't quit playing when you get old, you get old when you quit playing."
34
Chronic pain slows you down.
7
I'm sorry NYT you just have to stop publishing news about studies with so few participants per group. Just because something is peer-reviewed and published doesn't mean it's entitled to news coverage.
If it's 10 genetically identical mice per group, then fine, but humans are SO DIFFERENT from one another you really cannot make reliable claims about significant differences between groups with so few people.
14
causes for this decline remain unknown??? the condition is called sarcopenia and affects everyone, it is caused by the protein, ATF4, is a transcription factor that alters gene expression in skeletal muscle, reducing muscle protein synthesis, strength, and mass.
3
No surprise here. Keep your body healthy by making it work. Those of us who grew up in an age where we played outside daily and burned off all kinds of energy riding bikes, sports, etc. are in a better position in life. I'm one of those kids. Just as important is the proper amount of rest. Just last weekend, I spent the morning doing an outdoor activity for three hours, then came home and raked leaves in the yard (with a rake) for another two hours. Needless to say, by 7 o'clock I was very tired but it was a good tired - a combination of fresh air and activity. Sleep was much welcomed!
10
@Ed C
I remember the summers of 1985 and 1986 (I was 16 and 17) playing pick-up basketball for 5 hrs a day. I'd walk home (a half mile or so) in the fading light glazed with dirty sweat and feeling totally spent. That was just normal.
I recall biking 20 miles roundtrip to get Check Your Head the day it arrived in Tower Records.
9
@Anti-Marx
I also remember the summers of 1985 and `1986. I watched tv for 5 hours a day.
4
The best hour if my day is spent in my JAZZERCISE CLASS!!!
I've been taking classes for over 30 years. 4 times a week I get to have fun while working out.
We are women and men of all ages, shapes and sizes.
I'm turning 60 in a few weeks and will be doing JAZZERCISE FOREVER!!!
12
Stop thinking about aging. Embrace aging and leave space for the next generation.
8
Anyone interested in the fascinating science behind aging should read "The Telomere Effect"
by Elissa Epel and Elizabeth Blackburn.
4
@Left Coast i agree!...telomeres are fascinating and, as i just learned, we can now test our telomere length....https://www.spectracell.com/clinicians/products/telomere-testing/
Wow!
So exercise is good for you?! This is groundbreaking news!
12
Walked the dog a few miles this morning, but now I'm headed outside to do 30 pushups!
4
I am in my 60s and look younger than I am (or so I am told)
Aside from a modest routine of exercise (yoga, swimming, walking) , I give the lions share of credit for vibrancy to three things:
good mattress
good genes
good wine
16
@r mackinnon I'm in my 70's. The wine part is leaving me. Since my 30's I avoid overindulging so that isn't the problem. Lately, I am afflicted with a dry mouth if I partake of wine at night. Experiment shows that without wine , I don't have a dry mouth. I am stubborn and sometimes I pour a glass at night even though I know the consequences.
3
@Brent J
I went through intermittent dry mouth, panicked at yet another age-related indignity, and then found over the counter night spray for it
Two spritzed -boom -works like a charm
(I also now drink 🍷 less wine -but spend much more on it 🤗)
1
Only today can old fashioned common sense make headlines in The Times!!
7
I believe there is a careful balance of exercise and predicable resulting injury. I do not believe I or many of those who have exercised most of their life find that balance.
I am in my mid 60s and have enjoyed exercising for 50 years. Completive swimming, running, biking and rowing has kept my heart rate in the high 40s. However I have had about 4 exercise related surgeries and countless injuries This is probably due to intensity. I do not regret it. This is something I enjoy doing.
Perhaps my health will benefit and an occasional surgery will occur. It does not influence my desire to continue to exercise or the level I do so.
8
Another study on - men.
I'll stick with my mantra -"just keep moving around" which I manage to do. So far it has worked for me.
I'm 70 and - move - better than many younger women on the nearby university campus. Had a good role model in Mom, who was shoveling snow into her 80's
Knowing what and how to eat helps too...
14
Diet & genes more important than exercise. Women live 5-6 years longer than men. Why? it is NOT due to exercise.
2
I have been weight lifting and a gym junkie since high school
But often with two to five year brakes over the course of my life due to life style and work related changes
I have always been fairly heavy drinker ,and gave up cigarettes twenty years ago.
At seventy years of age I was diagnosed with type two diabetes that prompted me to change my life style .
So back to the gym ,high protein diet ,and believe it or not pumping iron the same as I was at thirty years of age,and are called Opah Kwai “ strong grandad “ at the gym
At seventy five , I am now diabetics free, sporting eighteen inch biceps fifty two inch chest ,weigh one hundred kilos at five foot eleven. I am amazed at my progress,and will continue to pump iron and live a healthy life style for as long as I live
I still enjoy a beer or three
19
Exercise is a meaningless word.
If you are interested in muscle mass, you need to do progressive resistance weight training.
Inexplicably, in this article on muscle mass the accompanying photo show two men jogging.
Jogging decreases muscle mass
6
@Michael
You sure about that? I've seen some runners with some pretty impressive quads.
1
@Michael
Incorrect. Running builds muscle strength and mass, primarily because it is rooted in resistance, as almost all forms of exercise are.
2
Another study of only men. Sigh.
“results from a separate study of women will be published soon, Dr. Trappe says”
8
I’m not sure I understand your gripe...the quote specifically says that women were studied - results pending.
3
Exercise is good for you? Who knew?
6
Change the title of this article to How Exercise Affects Aging in Men. Women have very different bodies and we have arrived at a time in our culture in which women should no longer extrapolate studies on men to apply to themselves. I understand there will be a similar experiment on women. When that occurs you can title that article “How Exercise Affects Aging in Women.”
16
I have been running since I was 24, (jogging). Most People take me for 20 years younger. One year ago, upon my initial visit to my new Primary Care Physician, upon placeing the stethoscope on my chest he exclaimed, "You have the heart of an athlete, or You had a heart attack!" Taken aghast, I enquired, "Don't You know?"... PS Based upon my EKG, it is the former! Taking My Father's Advice, I "Keep Moving!"
20
@Dick Grayson, no insult to you meant here at all, but if your primary care physician could not tell if you had the "heart of an athlete" or a heart attack, it seems to me that American healthcare, for what it is worth, has not progressed as far as studies and self-judgments would have us believe.
And, why was this study only done on men? What a lop-sided research study. Women, too have issues with inflammation, muscle weakness, loss of balance, etc in the aging process. Just like heart issues, most of the research has been done on men.
29
@Susan. Massachusetts "(results from a separate study of women will be published soon, Dr. Trappe says)"
12
Unfortunately, our culture prioritizes inactivity. We get in our cars for even short trips rather than walking. We have drive-up windows at many businesses allowing us to avoid parking and walking inside. We prefer a parking spot close to the front door, rather than walking a few more steps. Obesity is a growing concern and it also limits our physical activity. We have a pharmaceutical industry encouraging us to take a pill or other medication rather than live a healthy lifestyle. The evidence clearly shows the behaviors that lead to a healthy lifestyle.
7
@George Stoddard - Another benefit of not going through a drive up window is that parking the car reduces the emissions of waiting in a running car. More steps and lower emissions. It's a win-win!
7
@George Stoddard Also the design of our communities often prioritizes car travel. Construction, snow removal, lack of sidewalks, etc. make a walk/run/bike ride out the front door feel downright dangerous. I have long thought that urban planners should be forced to walk, bike, or even bus to work at least one day a week.
1
I’m about to turn 52. I’ve been into exercise all through my 40’s, and I’ve been very active outdoors: biking, hiking, cross country skiing, snowshoeing...you name it, I’ll try it.
When I hit 50, I developed epilepsy, temporal lobe, partial complex with loss of consciousness. We don’t know why.
I was working nights, so I switched to days, got on medication that stopped the seizures. I thought everything would be ok. But it wasn’t.
Two months after starting this medication, I felt extremely tired. My legs felt weak, and one of them was starting to hurt, primarily in my hip. My reflexes were out of whack, so I had another round of tests for ALS, Lupus, etc.
As far as we can figure, the medication caused weakness in my muscles to the point where my whole body got out of alignment, causing piriformis and psoas syndromes, causing hip flexor tendonitis to the point where I could barely sit or walk. Add to that, a cervical misalignment that revealed a minor fracture in my C5 from a head injury five years ago. This has caused a great pain. Add menopause to the mix....it has taken over a year to get back to some semblance of normal. I have lost a great deal of muscle and strength, but it is coming back. Each workout is better. I’m determined to get it back. I’m not giving up.
The sad part is, not one medical doctor I’ve been to has been helpful with this. “Alternative” health practitioners have saved me, and insurance does not cover them.
Keep yourself healthy. Please.
11
@Rhonda best of luck to you for a continued recovery.
7
@Rhonda DO NOT GIVE UP. EVER.
From a 71 years old who does 1.5 hours in the treadmill every week at 2.4 miles an hour and 15% inclination, plus four sessions of serious yoga and three sessions of moderate weight lifting and balancing exercises every week.I did strenuous hiking and snowshoeing also, once a week, until this last September, but my dog is ill and I want to be with her as much as I can. As for conventional medicine, five years ago I decided to finally have the wall between the nostrils strenghten out, because the obstruction was impeding my breathing and, as a consequence, it was making my leg muscles abnormally sore. The doctor who did the surgery was surprised to hear of the effect of insufficient oxygen in the performance of my legs. I was shocked!
6
Thanks so much
4
I am 77 and have been exercising most of my life. Started weight lifting in my late teens, switched to running in my twenties and after developing painful bone spurs switched to cycling. I always liked hiking and cross country skiing in the winter. Have had high BP since my thirties and now in my late seventies have developed diabetes, heart rhythm problems, arthritis, lost much of my eyesight from a prescription drug reaction, and have had three different types of cancer. In the summer I cycle on my trike (did 3k miles this summer) and now go to the gym most mornings and either ride the stationary bike or use the weight machines. I don't push myself nearly as hard as in the past. I don't know if I have lived longer because of my exercise, but I do know I have lived better. I am reminded of a comment attributed to the comedian Milton Berle, "the only thing I know for sure about joggers is that they will die healthy." Carpe diem.
14
My take away from this article is we should all exercise regularly, including some weight lifting, and that it is never too late to start. And once you do, you can regain the muscle's resiliency. Sounds good to me!
16
@Eddie
The lifelong exercisers in this study did not lift weights. They achieved their youthful resilience to inflammation and their stout thigh muscles exclusively through aerobic exercise.
1
But as another poster wrote, running implies resistance; it is not simply aerobic. Ground/gravity is the resistance.
It's complicated. It's good to exercise but there are other things just as important, like a healthy diet (vegetable and salad daily, meat three times a week, chicken twice) not too many sweets or more than 1 drink of alcohol daily. A good mental attitude holds the health factors together and helps one live up to the routine.
I'm not young and have never suffered a serious illness, and don't discount the influence of beneficial genes.
8
I turn 60 in three weeks, and I've exercised all my life. I buried my mom three weeks ago. She was 87. Twenty years ago her doctor told her to exercise at least 20 minutes a day so that she would maintain muscle tone and balance. She refused, and this last year she was consigned to a wheel chair and a stair lift in her home. While I loved my mom with all my heart, I will not be following her lifestyle.
16
I'm 70 years old and have been always been active: marathoning, century rides, rock climbing, skiing, back packing, weight training, fire fighting etc. Now my body is worn out. There is no treatment for the pain I'm now experiencing. All I have to lock forward to due to a life of clean living and doing the "right things" is a long but increasingly painful life! While I enjoyed doing the the thing that broke me, I'm not sure the price was worth it.
13
I've been a gym rat for close to 40 years, along with cardio like running, spinning and hiking with my dog.
Closing in on 60, I have a few aches and pains but compared to my sedentary siblings, all of whom have serious health issues and mobility problems, I'm remarkably fit.
Working out for an hour every day is more convenient for me than being decrepit 24 hours per day.
14
@Randy I've been one for 2 years and just turned 62. My original goal was to deadlift my weight; 175. Yesterday I lifted 270 (5 reps). I wish I started in the gym much earlier but, the trite phrase is true: It's never too late!
13
I do not enjoy exercise. I’m relatively slim. Does exercising and eating right and avoiding things we enjoy make us live longer or does it just make it feel that way? ;)
I am currently forcing myself to do my PT exercises for my knees and I do walk a lot and rarely sit down because that’s how I am. Always stuff to do.
2
@Marlene S "Movement" is key;sounds like you are doing a lot of that. Keep it up.
2
With all sincere apologies to those healthier and wiser than myself -- but a few of us may choose to linger toward the horizon in quiet walks with (or without) or spouses in the neighborhood. With more books than stationary bikes. More content to write letters to our children than running half-marathons.
Yes, we are not as healthy, we share gripes about our arthritis, swallow too many pills, and likely die earlier. Inflammation may course through our systems -- but we've watched the bluebirds feed and breed, we've mowed the yard as low as our lumbar pain can handle it, we've installed the Christmas lights ourselves until fear of falling did us in, we've washed our own lap blankets, and we've driven our own cars to the dealership until we can't hear the left turn signal anymore.
We admire the joggers, the sweating septuagenarians in the gym, the toned and silver-haired in new Nikes. We know the paunch will punch us out. But we're home with a good book, beautiful music, aware our arteries might be hardening. Yet despite the plethora of news about better health -- which too often can overwhelm our peace of mind -- we're drinking in the joy of peace and relaxation with every sip of our morning coffee, with half-and-half. Thanks for listening.
42
@SGK Why do you think that those who are physically fit don't also enjoy reading, writing letters, birdwatching, listening to music, and drinking coffee with cream and sugar? Exercising enough to improve fitness requires less than an hour a day-- in fact as I get older I find that exercising (rather strenuously) every other day works better for my body. That leaves plenty of time to do all of the things you mention.
58
@SGK
You're using that argument to avoid a simple brisk walk once a day?
You would be surprised what a simple thing like a daily walk [120 bpm svp] can do for brain/mental health, musculoskeletal health and cardio health.
Sheesh - it is the cheapest insurance policy in the world.
16
@SGK Bravo. You are enjoying peace of mind and emotional well-being. All the physical exercise in the world cannot bring this to those who can't locate it for or in themselves.
3
Back in 2001, I attended an International Spine Symposium at the University of Califirnia San Diego Medical School sponsored by Dr. Vert Mooney, MD. One of the guest speakers, whose name escapes me, but whose content left a lasting impression, was the professor emeritus in the biochemistry department. At that time, he was conducting studies of the cellular function of muscle tissue in competitive master athletes, aged 70 and above. He was also comparing their cellular function to fit and sedentary 20 somethings. He divided his master athletes into two cohorts. One consisted the track events, i.e, runners, and one consisted of the field events, i.e. strength athletes. He reported that the mitochondria quantity and function of the strength athletes was very similar to those of fit 20 somethings while the mitochondria quantity and function of the runners was more representative of the sedentary 20 somethings. His take home was that performing strengthening exercises had more of a positive impact on muscular cellular health and function than aerobic activity. Certainly, both are important for overall health, but a person's muscular strength seems more highly correlated with the ability to maintain independence while aging.
15
@tgmonty
And, now, in this study, it is shown that the youthful resilience to inflammation that the elderly exercisers achieved was exclusively through aerobic endeavor. Although the study didn't come right out and say it, there is an implication that the older folks achieved fitness and health without ever lifting weights. Quote from the article:
"The researchers next had the men complete a single session of brief, but strenuous, lower-body weight training, using a knee-extension machine. Since none of the men lifted weights, this exercise was expected to stress their muscles in an unfamiliar way."
The results of this research do not surprise me. I have run 26 marathons and been a runner since the 70's. Currently work out 6 days per week alternating aerobics (MWF) with strengthening(TTHS) and have maintained normal to low BP without meds, HR in the 50's, and an activity level that allows me to do any kind of activity I wish. Exercise on a daily basis works.
As a retired physical therapist, I believe.
14
@Jeffrey Kudsk - I’m similar: started competitive cycling in the late 1960s, still racing at a high (age adjusted) level today. Gym or strength work 3x per week. Resting HR in the upper 40s, very low BP (no meds). Let’s keep up the good work.
6
And what about women? Or do only men count.
16
@Sue Generis Article explicit states that they studied females but the study is not yet published and there are rules in science - study needs to published in a journal first before it can be written about in newspapers, to protect the integrity of a process in whicch scientists have their work rigorously reviewed by other peer scientists.
10
@Sue Generis as per the article "results from a separate study of women will be published soon, Dr. Trappe says."
3
@Sue Generis
From the article:
“ (results from a separate study of women will be published soon, Dr. Trappe says)”
3
I just turned 60 and have exercised all my life. Actually, sports have been my passion all my life. You can tell I’m no kid, but I’m 110 pounds, no cellulite, no arthritis, great muscle tone......obviously worked for me and looking great at 60 was never a “goal”.
10
@Yaker
I’ve exercised all my life. But do have arthritis, just as both my parents did. Nevertheless, I have little joint pain except in my fingers, which are now bending this way and that - more and more as time goes on. (Perhaps typing here is protecting them somewhat?)
3
All this stuff about exercise, and the cheering chorus, has exhausted me. Time for a menthol cigarette, a gin and tonic, followed by a steak, finessed by a chocolate sundae (two scoops please). Now that is living . . .
18
Ah the boomers. Still bent on living forever.
12
@margaret_h No, Margaret. Just not wanting to become a person in need of a walker, or debilitated by broken bones due to osteoporosis. A side benefit to all this exercise, which in my case is only about a half hour 4-5 times a week, is that I look pretty good for my age (69 years old). Been alternating between cardio on a treadmill and weight lifting and for me it works.
41
@margaret_h
Righto, Margaret, most of us don't want to live forever having witnessed the down side of end of life in our forebears. Instead, we want to be healthy and vigorous until we die. Only way to do that is to stay active and when we can't we don't want to go to the hospital or some kind of end of life "home".
20
@margaret_h
Nope - just keepin' independent and not becoming a burden to others...
10
I am a lot more worried about surgery because of knee and hip replacement than I am muscle mass. And since most of the exercise writers at the Times continue to write about their surgeries I will continue to live life without excessive exercising. As long as I can walk to the barn and lift 50# bags of feed I will avoid the surgeon. It has worked for 83 years.
25
@Richard Yes. Stay away from doctors who want to cut. I'm okay with pain in my joints. The pain subsides a bit when I am working. But I fear the surgeon's work may give me short relief of pain but a permanent reduction of ability to work I had and cannot be "fixed."
1
We are all mortal beings that must face our ultimate fate. No amount of exercise, diet, or denial will spare us from the reality of aging and eventual death. No religion will bestow eternal life. Make your life as meaningful as possible by living each day to the fullest.
23
@Smokey, who needs eternal life; just eternal libido would suffice.
2
Dear Gretchen & all readers,
We CAN all improve, each day, I want to try harder.
Allow me to salute Commenter Allan of Rydberg "My advice is to exercise with a 2nd goal of eating real food." Allan, I have a local bakery that fixes whole wheat bread uncut only for me & is the only bread I eat. I also only eat organic brown rice, never fried foods, no pork, little beef, lots of fresh veggies I cook myself & lots of fruit&veggie smoothies.
Gretchen writes about the legs of these athletes, I run daily & do my most strenuous fast running going up long steep ramps. But my emphasis is on my upper body; no falling pecs, No Meds! great 6 pack. I usually do over 75 pullups/chinups ea morning as well as over 100 pushups. I pump heavy iron daily.
I put emphasis on upper torso because that is where the real organs are that give me real life. My V body came after 60. My BP is always, even after a medium workout, around 118/78, I have to really press hard to get it over 130 & I do press hard at least 5 times a week. I have a record of 93 chinups in one set & 120 pushups in one set, both done after 75.
A personal tip, I watched a man dying (literally in his last days) and I saw his wrist area skin tearing like thin paper. I looked at my own & it dawned on me, certain areas get weak from lack of rigor, so I started rough massaging wrist & ankle areas, now my skin is strong again n those areas.
I love & participate with Well, Gretchen, Jane & read each article, thanks to all.
HH 2 All!
10
I'm 71 and was once a ballet dancer. Now I walk my dog and do some strength and balance exercises - always hated running. One big discovery for me was that taking boron completely eliminated the arthritis I was starting to have and so I'm able to continue exercising.
7
@Marilyn Burbank interesting, the Boron. What were the first signs of artritis? thanks, Ilse
@Ilse I do a lot of sewing and had trouble with my thumbs. And playing the piano became more difficult. Then it was knees, then hips. I worried about my ability to continue to do gardening and walking. Then I read about boron, ordered a supplement, and within 2 weeks all the pains just stopped.
1
This article mentions muscles, but the bones are what gives us away as we age. Exercise cannot help us there.
1
Weight bearing exercises have been shown to build bone strength among the elderly. See the Bone Builders program.
13
@pb Weight bearing exercise helps bone health. https://www.bones.nih.gov/health-info/bone/bone-health/exercise/exercise-your-bone-health
2
I have exercised regularly for most of my 69 years, drink very little, and carefully eat a plant based diet for the last 10 years. I had minor surgery last Summer for a trigger finger. As expected there was inflammation around the incision. The finger has healed nicely, but simultaneously I developed arthritis in one of the adjoining fingers perhaps a result of the body's active attempt to heal that incision.
1
Something I read years ago (in "The physics of life: the evolution of everything" by Adrian Bejanin) has stuck: "life is motion." From the molecular level all the way up. I try to keep moving: walk or bike instead of taking the car when possible, gym 6 days/week, etc. And whenever I'm tempted to swear at the myriad daylong interruptions that force me to move (e.g. the dog always on the wrong side of the door, chores, errands, etc, etc), I say to myself: "but thank you for making me stir."
16
I live by one simple maxim. I expect to hold to it so long as my mind doesn't decide to wander away from me. Use it or lose it. And on the age ladder I'm starting to get up there. So far, so good.
John~
American Net'Zen
7
Pounding one's body on hard pavement never seemed like a good idea. Swimming is the real key - an excellent low-impact way to exercise the entire body. Three times a week - 40 minutes each day.
I've also never touched alcohol, most meat and cigarettes.
One startling thing here in Switzerland is the number of young people who smoke. It is insanely expensive and there is plenty of anti-smoking propaganda everywhere. Yet there are large 'raucher zones' near every school. Bizarre.
7
@Plennie Wingo, maybe. However, swimming can have a real impact on the shoulders. I would say that any exercise can be good if it is done properly. And any exercise can be harmful if it is done harmfully. I swim myself and love it, but I had to learn how to adjust my strokes to have less impact on my shoulders after I went beyond my 50ties.
7
@Plennie Wingo There have been some studies that show that high impact exercise - up to a point - is necessary for bone growth. The question is - up to what point? The answer probably varies by person.
4
@Ademario keep your shoulders strong. Find the exercises that deal with swimmers shoulder and do them. They may help a lot, too.
1
At age 83, I drink three Irish ales in the evening, pump iron twice a week, walk my dogs 5 times a week, work my legs more by doing mini-squates at the microwave while I am waiting to cook my lunch and then wiggle my toes while working my computer keyboard.
21
@Jim Dwyer I like your program. And going up and down all those hills in beautiful Bisbee is a workout in itself!
3
I'm not sure whether this matters, but I sleep on a hard all-foam mattress. No springs. I run a bunch and lift a ton. I'm never sore. Friends my age talk about aches and pains. I get sore muscles from the gym, but I don't have much joint soreness or anything. I wonder whether sleeping on a hard foam mattress helps. Also, I rarely drink. My guess is that not drinking probably helps with inflammation. My thinking is work out like crazy, don't drink, eat clean ad maybe, just maybe, a woman 20 years younger will let you buy her dinner.
9
@Anti-Marx It's better if you sleep with your back down as this extends your back muscles and makes your spine suppler and healthier the next morning. It's a form of passive exercise. I got this piece of advice a few years ago, I've been heeding it ever since and it works. However, it should not replace daily exercise, of course.
@Roberto
I have a very strong, toned core. I think a strong core is the best thing for back health (maybe not spine health). I do some upward dog and I hang from a bar for twenty seconds. I like to think lat pulldowns do the same thing as upward dog. I'm built like Jason Statham.
@Roberto
Impossible. I'm a stomach sleeper to the grave. I sleep like a lizard.
It really is a chicken and the egg situation. If a person has a lot of aches and pains. they will have a harder time exercising and undoubtedly have more inflammation. So which issue determined the situation? Exercising doesn't magically take away the miseries of old injuries and arthritis----Those that have been able to maintain a high degree of activity through the years probably have less of these problems holding them back. I try to be very active, but have many medical issue hampering me. It would be good if this society was more understanding----
13
I have friends who are overweight and in their 70’s. Their health is deteriorating. I think they would be in much better shape if they lost the weight and exercised. One lady in our group is nearing 80. Her weight is normal, she exercises daily and is in good health.
11
I'm 50 and run 24 miles a week on the hard streets of NYC. My knees are fine. I get new running shoes, every 300 miles. Also, I almost never run more than 7 miles at a time. I've never done a marathon or half-marathon. I run 7 miles every other day. I don't run every day. I lift, on the days that I don't run. maybe my knees feel okay, because I don't run every day, am only fifty, get new shoes every 300 miles, or never run full or half marathons (or all of the above).
I always find it strange that people who run feel they must run a marathon or a half marathon. I like to run. I run 6.5 miles an hour, which is fast enough for me. I run different routes through Manhattan for variety. I enjoy my runs immensely. I'm not trying to get faster or to run longer. If I'm really enjoying myself, I might run 8 miles instead of 6.5, but I've never run more than 9 miles any time in my life. I've been running for almost 30 years yet have never once considered doing a marathon or half-marathon. To me, a marathon isn't running. It's masochism.
29
@Anti-Marx, I’m a lifelong runner whose goal was to run a marathon. I ran it at 55 last year, got my medal and was thrilled. Not sure I’ll do it again because of the months of training required. But you’re right, masochism is involved and I really felt it at Mile 22. Luckily several runners around me, including a few in their 70s, encouraged me to keep going. Kindness can be found in unexpected places.
4
@Anti-Marx At 53 I did some of my best running, 5k,10k, 15k. No knee pain. You sound just like me at your age. But young man, I am 68 now. The knees wear out at age 60 at your pace. My advice to you is run only on a rubber track, or grass or like I do now on beach sand. Good luck to you, run on a soft base, and you may last forever.
4
@Kat1813
May I ask why running a marathon was your goal? Like I said, I love to run, but I don't care about marathons or winning. I'd do parkour. I'd rather do parkour. I used to like mountain biking.
I'm a greedy person (I trade stocks), but I'm not a competitive person. I track cars, but I don't care about lap times, which means I'll never win any races. I just like going fast. I've never been interested in competition. I had a gf who stayed lean and fit by hitting EDM clubs/raves three or four nights a week and dancing for 5 hours. That's my idea of fitness.
2
I exercise consistently doing both aerobic and resistance training with free weights and machines. I feel great and am strong,but no way do I feel like I am 25. Exercise regularly,but do not delude yourself that you can compare to an athlete in their 20's.
14
The question jumps off the page: If suppressing inflammation is the key to maintaining healthy muscle mass as we age, then why is exercise the only way to alleviate inflammation? I take several herbal supplements specifically to address inflammation. I also exercise. Maybe we need a study that teases out the benefits/advantages of exercise for inflammation vs. specific supplements.
3
@John-Manuel Andriote I think the key is exercising causes muscles to grow and get inflamed; the elderly that exercise regularly has the ability to cut down the inflammation rapidly and allow for further exercise. It is the exercise which causes the muscle to tear and rebuild that builds muscle, the inflammation is just a byproduct.
2
@kj - correct. strenuous exercise causes low level inflammation just as acute injury causes major inflammation; its what heals muscles and injured areas when macrophages release their various hormones esp IGF-1.
the younger athletes macrophages just did the job more quickly than the older non-athletes. so the idea isnt to avoid or suppress inflammation, its to keep your response functioning as efficiently as possible and exercise seems help that alot.
and thats also why the old RICE formula is no longer recommended. applying ice slows the onset of inflammation and entry of hormones into the area, delaying healing. athletes like for example who used to do post-games ice baths either no longer do them or severely limit them to maybe 10 minutes max as it delays onset of the necessary inflammatory response and yes, the associated pain. using NSAIDS for pain also actually delays onset of healing so the old canard of "no pain, no gain" really IS true.
6
I love when the NYT publishes articles about exercise. Just reading it is motivational! I would like to see some related discussion and articles about exercise and pain...after taking ibuprofen at max daily quantities for years and years, I developed many of the warned of side effects. I’ve recently been on a journey to control the inflammation from exercise and injuries and have found relief in yoga and acupuncture. This ancient practice is so underrated. For me, it means I can go about my life now without pills or injections. Turning 63 soon. Taking ibuprofen was so much easier and I admit that it made me feel great but those days are over. Kettle One and cranberry also helps!
20
@J
" taking ibuprofen at max daily quantities for years and years "
be kind to your liver re: vodka
I don't think there are any rules -- or we haven't figured them out yet. A friend of mine married late and her much older husband was feisty and a dedicated runner in great shape. I was sad to learn that this picture of health ended his days completely senile in an institution. Meanwhile I have a hefty female relatives who lived to a ripe old age with all their faculties in tact. Was it their sense of humor? We simply do not know enough.
12
@GinaK
Scientific studies like still lacks so many of the control factors that comparing apples to apples is hard. I would refrain from bringing anecdotal evidence of zero scientific value to such a discussion.
7
@Jay, don't be so hard on other people. Ginak just made a casual observation. He/she didn't mean to be scientific. However, Ginak made a good point that we don't know enough. We don't. Really. I am a researcher myself - not in medicine, though - and I never cease to wonder with Socrate's words "I only know that I know nothing". If we already know, why bother? It is the sense of "unknowingness" that keeps us searching.
11
Heredity is the other unknown factor that will make any of these wonder-working regimens more or less effective.
Getting out and finding what our bodies best respond to in conjunction with diet, sleep (guilty) and consistency is the key. We often don’t know what we’re predisposed to.
6
"Bogglingly" ?! Seriouslyly?
5
Larger sample, please - and looking forward to the results of the women's study.
18
Ageing begins when you fail to exercise. When your young to take it for granted that you will exercise but as you get older you don't think its as necessary because you are getting older.
EXERCISE is like eating, you give sustenance to the body with food but discount exercise. Food and exercise work together to make a better person mentally as well as physically.
REMEMBER, " IF YOU EAT YOU MUST EXERCISE."
29
Way to be, Yooper! You're an inspiration.
1
When did growing older, and being possessed of the attendant state of the human body become a moral problem that needs to be corrected? To whom do I owe it to remain forever 25?
6
In other news, water is wet. Think I'm joking? I have yet to see a single article outlining the negative aspects of exercise. And I have yet to go through a day of my life where I don't see an article touting its benefits.
How much more evidence do you need?
8
The "thighs the limit" when it comes to all things we should do in moderation. So often, I see older men in their 70's and 80's push themselves as they begin to exercise and then suffer shortly after from sore, spasming muscles. Even after a 6 week layoff -usually because of an injury - they will jump back into excessive exercise. And to what end? Because they read something and decide they should do it - right now and to the max. All of these articles should insist people take it easy because slow and steady wins the race.
7
What about the women? Their muscles weren't measured?
6
@Cham, you know - they can just generalize the results to women because what could go wrong with that, right?
1
@sara. If you read the article, it said data on women will be coming out shortly.
2
Those who have not previously been exercising would have much less efficient blood and lymphatic fluid supply and circulation and so of course would have more trouble with inflammation and less efficiency in removal of waste metabolites and inflammatory agents.
In ~ 1975 the University of Washington NCAA wrestling 195 lb champion and number two at 176 came down to Jack Voltaire’s weight lifting and wrestling gym for firefighters and pro wrestlers on E Pike St just off Broadway.
Two 73 year old retired 165 lb pro wrestlers were, after 8 hr of power and Olympics lifting, finishing their 4 hr of wrestling by pushing and twisting each other back and forth.
The college fools started laughing and making insults about the ‘phony’ pro wrestlers and their wrinkled skin and age. About 15 minutes went by and finally the old men invited them to join them or shut up. Within 10 minutes both college boys started getting nauseated and vomiting. The old guy, ~30 lb and 11 lb lighter casually picked up the boys and tossed them about 10’ into the padded walls. The boys then staggered out of the gym. A buddy, 3rd in the NCAA at ~165 had kept quiet and then got the giggles when his partners got dizzy and vomiting had broken out in laughs as his teammates staggered out.
Jack grinned, gave him a lifetime free pass, and invited him to train with his wrestlers. Note: Also 73 and still165 lb Jack had a 21 3/4” neck and still casually dead lifted many reps at 500lb. He once held the world record
10
"weather" inflammatory?
"Now, the researchers wanted..."
"researchers next had"
At least two sentences beginning "But." (I think you get a pass on this one.)
Proof reading may or may not improve with exercise. :)
I like "bogglingly."
4
@fambrough Knock it off. Yes, "they weather inflammatory changes much better..."
1
@patrick Mea culpa! I do apologize. Apparently, my reading has not improved with age!
1
Always pushing exercise as a panacea when in fact movement must be correct for an individual's particular body or it is NOT beneficial. 50% of the US population is OBESE so this huge group is doing weight lifting all the time. Just like the "eating healthy " mantra which is ungrammatical and gave us supersized bodies, exercise can do more harm than good. Your colleague Gina Bellafante writes about her dual hip replacements because she liked to run and now we have to pay for her surgery.
4
@Joan Breibart
My athletic brother in law, an ardent jogger for forty years, has had both hips and knees replaced. He notes that his uncles died young of heart attacks so he chose well. I wonder.
3
@Joan Breibart How many people get hip replacements who do not exercise. 50% are not "doing weightlifting all the time".
3
@Joan Breibart Who is "pushing"? The article is simply reporting the results of a scientific study.
5
The New York Times is getting like Cosmopolitan and Tennis Magazines in this thread! This is essentially repeating the same health advice, using other words, that we’ve seen in articles before in this section!
4
What delightful self congratulation! Good for you.
I walked for decades and fractured all 4 of my sesamoids. So I swam 45 minutes twice a week and came down with bilateral bursitis. So I walked and developed fasciitis. I started lifting weights again and slipped my meniscus. Clearly, those like me who suffer recurrent injuries are in much greater need of research and therapy than the happy jog-alongs portrayed here. I don't need a new heart or joints; I just want to keep moving.
9
Say what you want about exercise and yes it provides excellent benefits but health is more complicated.
3 years ago i stumbled on making my own bread from home ground organic wheat berries. The first benefits I noticed included loosing 4 inches off my wast and loosing 20 pounds without dieting.
The entire experience opened my eyes to a travesty of health that follows when. a diet based on modern bread is consumed. This is not necessary and is easy to change.
Perhaps this is why 35 countries are healthier than we are. My advice is to exercise with a 2nd goal of eating real food.
18
I am a 66-year-old woman who has worked out regularly since age 18. I just have NEVER stopped, except for the occasional hiatus for mild illness, occasional (though rare) surgeries, etc. I have ALWAYS resumed working out as soon as possible after any hiatus, simply because I cannot stand the creaky, pent-up sense of malaise that happens to me without adequate exercise. I like exercise too much to ever give it up. However, I had to stop running in my late forties because my knees started giving me problems. I now regularly swim long distances. But overall muscle exercise is important so I also do regular resistance exercise. I am very full of gratitude for my good health and ability to continue working out! It gets a little harder every year, but it is so worth it!
25
I am one of those older men who started to seriously exercise in my mid thirties. Apart from having my gallbladder removed, I have never suffered from any serious illness or health issues. At 70, the only medication, just one, for hypertension, is all I take. No vitamins or statins or pain medications, all because I work out 4 days a week, faithfully. I am in better shape now than when I was in my 20s, and owe it all to exercise, constant and disciplined. A good diet, moderate intake of alcohol and good weed, you can live a good, long health life.
22
"25 Again? How Exercise May Fight Aging"
Unless data exist that support the contrary and I couldn't find any, a more justified title for this article might be:
"25 Again? How Exercise Clearly Fights Aging"
7
I'll turn 78 next week. I've been running for 40 years.
I now walk/jog 5.08 Km every morning. In the last 3 years my time has increased from 50 min. to 61-62 min. However, in the last 3 months I found out that by pushing myself I've increased my jogging runs from 6-8 to 10-12 and from 30-40 sec. to 75-90 sec.
I sleep better, I feel better. Even, when older one should push, demand more for him/herself. It's also good for the mind.
33
@TrueNorth Thank you.....I wondered about the "pushing". I work out faithfully 3 times a week for 90 minutes plus I am very active, prefer walking whenever I can. I have wondered about pushing myself more but didn't know if there was a value or even possibly a negative effect. At 85 years old, I will start Friday at the gym doing more reps and using more weights and going longer distances on the exercycle. I have always maintained my perfect weight and have an excellent diet..
8
@Bill Comiskey, start slowly in upping the weights. Upping the reps is easier but if you up the weight too much too soon, just because it "feels" easy in the gym, you will pay for it in pain later and then have to lay off. Better to increase just a little, do more reps, and even better, add a few new exercise to work some new small muscles or areas you don't usually work out. Starting with light weights in those areas too.
9
@Bill Comiskey
A few months back I was on vacation i.e. away from my normal route and jog stretches. Instead of relying on those milestones I had to pace myself on my heart beat and how my muscles felt.
I discovered I was doing a lot more than what my established routine was.
Now, back on my normal route I no longer rely on the milestones I developed and "push" myself by relying on my pulse and my muscles instead.
3
I just turned 73, and like Linda, I still wear size 2 petite. I have been vegetarian for exactly 40 years. Now I only eat organic products. Exercise has always being part of my very busy life as single mother, entrepreneur and caregiver. When I do not exercise I am very tired, my body and back ache; my ankles, knees, elbows and wrists get swollen. All these go away as soon as I start a routine of exercise. Now it is hot yoga, 5+ hours a week. I cannot stress out the importance of exercise. I have seen my loved relatives die at a much younger age than mine, unable to cope with their illness because their body was unfit at the time they got. I think of illness as a wild animal that moves into our body, and our body as the container. If the container is made of cardboard, our body will be destroyed really fast. If it is made of wood or any other strong material, it will be able hold until we get rid of the beast, or learn to live with it. Sjogreen has moved in. There is no cure, but I am determined to make my body as strong and flexible as possible so have time to finish my current project and start my nonprofit and keep it going long after I am gone.
15
All this talk about the value of running and not a word about...stretching. I am 61 and run three times a week for about 3.5 miles up- and downhill in my hometown of San Francisco. It's a workout. I always start with 40 minutes of yoga/stretching. It think it's important to stretch before running and I don't run unless I've stretched first. Without stretching you run a higher risk of hurting yourself.
11
@Peter
Yes, stretching is most important. However I do AFTER.
If I don't strach after my walk/jogs my knees and thighs ache
4
@TrueNorth Agree with stretching after. No need to do stretching before if one is slowly warming up as one runs/hikes/lifts/whatever.
I am 84 years old and have taken dance class beginning at age 26 while always having had a 40 hour a week day job. I retired at age 76 and began teaching a senior dance class which I have been doing ever since. I'm sure it will be hard for anyone to believe but I have a very useful appearance and my ability to move is still extraordinary. I attribute this to the hundreds of dance classes that I have taken over my lifetime. I wasn't using dance as an exercise but rather as a creative outlet.
21
I'm so happy to hear that this study involved both men and women as most of these types studies tend to focus on men. Excercise produces short-term postive stress in the body that inevitablely calls-forth inflammation. The inflammation activated is the pro-inflammatatory marker called IL-6, which role is to break down muscles. Once IL-6 has done its job, anti-inflammation IL-10 is activated, commencing the healing of muscles. We begin to loss muscle mass by age thirty at 1% per year, however, the rate of muscle loss varies by individual and how active one is. I've also read from other studies that beginning an active lifestyle at middle age still predicts good outcomes in old age.
Lastly, I'm glad the article explained the types of excercies measured as cycling and running excercies involve significant intensity, proving that movement and particularly high insensity interval training (HITTs) have positive correalations to healthy aging showing that older adults could heart muscles and cardiovascular systems that are almost similair to younger adults.
Great article!
5
Not sure, even at 62, that I want my muscles compared to those of any 25 year olds. Have you seen a more sedentary and out of shape demographic in your life?
15
I did no exercise until I turned 30 as newly diagnosed Type 1 diabetic. I hesitated at first because I know what a creature of habit I am and that once I started I wouldn’t want to stop. I joined a gym and have been in the gym for a fairly intense workout three times a week for 40 years now. I do exactly the same workout every time because it benchmarks my strength and flexibility. I never deviate, and at age 69 I can do everything I could at age 30, 40, 50, or 60. The only difference is that earlier I could go to the gym two days in a row, but now I need a day’s rest between each workout. I have noticed that my friends who never stopped working out all look at least ten years younger than their actual age, and not just their bodies but also their faces. Vanity can be a great motivator.
10
I doubt that my muscles will return to that of a 25 year old.
That said.. my regular exercise program as I entered my 60s has been a great benefit for me personally and I do feel younger then when I was in my 50s... and my endurance and freedom from muscle and tendon injuries is much less.
The research may be questioned.. but the fundamentals of moderate daily exercise as you get older enabling you in a more positive manner health and well being wise.. is just common sense. I don't need endless research debates to know this.
3
Certainly the headline is quite misleading. And not supported by the study. I am all for regular exercise at all ages. But the study is limited. It is not at all clear to me that the regular exercise resulted in the changes in muscle biopsy. The older subjects who exercised throughout their adult life may have had fewer muscular conditions and therefore could continue to exercise. The older more sedentary patient may have had muscular conditions that did not respond well to stress and therefore were not able to continue exercise into late adulthood. This study may have just been selection bias.
3
@David Sharkis
Admittedly, I am only an annecdote in the discussion... but at age 64.... I exercise daily, for 30 minutes on a treadmill, followed by a light resistance workout for muscle tone. I began this stepped up program at age 62... and in earlier years was physically active, but not on a regular exercise program. As I got older.. I noticed more issues with aches and pains, tendon issues, muscle issues, and generally more inflamation symptions across the board.
Over the last two years.. I have notably more mobility in my body and less aches and pains when I wake up in the morning. My blood work has improved, and my body shows less symptoms of lingering age related inflamation. I have NOT modified my diet, which has always been pretty moderate, with the exception of a sweet tooth.
8
I have always wished for more studies and reports on we elderly who still do quite well (even with our aches and pains due to age related bone stress ) and in my instance managing life in this great city 24/7, I so remember my mom in law at age 99 talking to her friend her same age "Gracie why are we still alive"that's the answer I want addressed.
4
52 yo and menopausal, stand up at work 8-10 hrs a day, healthy eating most of the time, minimal alcohol, ride a stationary bike 30mts x 4-5 days a week, 1 hr hot yoga x 2 a week, dance for fun. Wearing the same size clothes that I have since my 20s (size 4). Occasional back and shoulder pain that I attribute to the stress related to my job, but feel as if I were in my 30s. So I do not need a study to confirm that if I do not move, my muscles, joints, energy, stamina and outlook on life will suffer for the worse.
12
Please be sure to give equal space to the results of the study on women when they are published. The information presented here is of questionable use to half of the population, who have different hormones and ratios of fat to muscle, and who may or may not have similar results especially if the older participants are post-menopausal.
27
Either this is a poorly designed study or the interpretation of it is poor.
Apparently it did not measure or accurately track the level of exercise of the three groups respectively. Although stating that none of the participants lifted weights, it used a weight lifting test to evaluate muscle changes and inflammation markers.
Firstly, we know from a number of studies that optimal physiological results are only achieved with cardio output commensurate with 15,000 steps a day at a brisk pace. And indeed we know that in those parts of the world renowned for longevity, that level of activity is often maintained well into the senior years.
Secondly, the evidence is that an optimal exercise regime should include weight bearing as well as cardio workouts. The one reinforces the benefits of the other. Moreover, resistance training is shown to be as important as cardio in maintaining healthy weight levels.
There are other factors that determine overall health. They include diet, exercise and hereditary factors. You can't do much about your genetics (though that may not be far off), but diet and exercise are remarkably important and yet habitually ignored.
Our health care system is overwhelmingly reactive as opposed to proactive...which of course is also why it is so horrendously expensive and froth with unnecessary pain and suffering. Our public policies are designed to reward intervention. There is little incentive for prevention.
9
Virtually every day a new study is released supporting the cause/effect of exercise and health. Yet most of our national healthcare debate revolves around insurance and treatment issues. Isn’t it time for our country to wake up to the essential need for movement, along with wise nutrition, as preventative measures. This will require a cultural shift that is long overdue. Until that time arrives we are stuck in a healthcare nightmare that will only get worse. Meanwhile, I’ll keep moving, outdoors and in the gym, every day!
32
@Tom D Who else remembers a First Lady who promoted lifetime fitness through a project called "Let's Move"?
13
My father is 93, has a pacemaker, and rides his bicycle 6 miles nearly everyday. He reports that he feels better after riding. We say he is lubricating his joints when he rides. He does wear a helmet, and sticks close to home but it also gives him a chance to meet neighbors out walking their dogs and see the changes going on in the neighborhood.
92
@Lee Yes! Cycling is the key. My goal is to be your dad! Used to be a runner. Now at 60 I ride for an hour 4-5 times a week. More fit and no pains. More equipment to manage, but worth the trouble.
I'd love to know about those of us with autoimmune disease and chronic inflammation. I feel better when I work out - more energy, more strength, less pain. And even when I have to take a break because I'm having a bad week for pain and stiffness, it's not that hard to pick up where I left off. Is there a clinically measurable reason for this, or is it just that I feel virtuous?
13
@Laura
There are lots of differences in degree of systemic or chronic inflammation. And, in fact, it's increasingly clear that lower levels (as measured by CRP, for instance) correlate with less serious disease and/or better effectiveness of medications (for example, less likelihood that someone on Humira or Remicade will lose response to the med, or that their dosage will have to be doubled to retain response.)
And there are different ways to measure the "effectiveness" of exercise activity such as resting heart rate, VO2max, lung capacity, various forms of strength (leg power, grip strength, etc.)
Some researches have even demonstrated that exercise temporarily curtails the growth of cancer cells as the muscles involved in exercise make energy demands on the body, the body responds by prioritizing nutrition delivery to the muscles, and cancer cells "fall back in the que" as the muscles are serviced.
In general, exercise makes the body better able to cope with the adverse effects of disease (the same way that it makes everyday activity easier for someone who is physically strong.) I've always found that exercising gives me a "high" just after stopping, which lasts into the next day.
So, yes, I don't think you're imagining something when you say you feel better after exercise. There are undoubtedly hormones generated by the body that could be measured to demonstrate this.
4
Laura, I was diagnosed with Sjogreens. It is an autoimmune disease without cure. If I stop exercising I cannot walk because of the swollenness in my ankles. All my joints hurt and my fingers get locked. Hot yoga has worked miracles. In less than one month I can bend further more than I used to. Now with my legs and back as straight as a beam, I can put my face between my knees. I also take boswellia serrata, aka frankincense, and other natural things. The only thing that I have truly lost is speed while running.
6
@Laura It’s all about oxygenation. Exercise oxygenates the blood more than not exercising. I was a victim of the autoimmune industry given many of the meds mentioned in this comment sections. Now - no meds, doctors but lots of movement. If I don’t move I stiffen up and it hurts. If I don’t do cardio my joints get inflamed, if I do a HIIT workout for 20-30 minutes, the inflammation subsides.
1
Why didn't they have a fourth group, of people who were sedentary for decades but then started exercising regularly (years ago) at an advanced age. Then they would not have had to *guess* about whether the harmful inflammation effects would go away, after resuming exercising for some time.
31
There is a related book, "Strong Women Stay Young" first published by a Tufts University researcher in the 1980s. It did not report on inflammation (that I remember), but it did support that exercise and muscle development were not just possible, but to be encouraged in old age. Perhaps the next study should examine whether the inflammatory of non-exercising elderly goes down if they adopt a regular exercise program.
11
At 52 I was doing a combination of Pilates, HIIT, dancing and walking 50 kilometers a week. I was feeling young, energetic and on top of the world. A year later, after having suffered from a very painful herniated disk which left me bedridden for several months, I feel older than my age. I lost all my muscles and could barely walk around the block! Thank goodness, the worst is behind me and I am now slowly regaining stamina through a very progressive walking and strength training program. So there is absolutely no question in my mind to the value of being physically fit! Movement is the best medicine.
65
@Sophie Sorry you had to go through that. In my own experience with extended bouts of inactivity away from the gym I've learned that the gains in my muscles from before are still there and come back again.
18
@pewter you give me hope. Left the gym 5 years ago. did not go back due to lower back injury. But....just got diagnosed with Oesteoporosis at 58.... weight training helps. And exercise will lesson my back inflammation....joining gym tomorrow, so I can feel good again!
9
I hear you! Going through similar stuff. Keep fighting. We WILL get there. I’m 52, and will not give in.
3
Another great article from Ms. Reynolds. One question I have is whether high intensity interval training would produce the same results over time as constant-paced cardio exercise. I’m a big fan of HIIT because of its time efficiency. I use the saved time to focus on strength training (with relatively low weights; the risk of injury is much higher in my opinion as I age). Would love to know.
8
@Shiv Of course high intensity interval training has the potential to help - and it could also kill you if your body is not fully prepared.
1
If you read all the way through this it seems all they learned is that older men who work out regularly have less inflammation after a hard workout than those who do not work out. This doesn't seem all that surprising, and doesn't justify the headline's suggestion that 70 year old athletes have 25 year old muscles. I've been working out all my life, and I am sorry to have to tell you that I am less fit, fast, or strong now at 65 than I was at 25.
27
Hoo boy! Exercise is important to a healthy life, that’s for sure.
But I’ve also read that a whole plant food diet — avoiding animal products and processed foods — results in less inflammation overall. So might it also decrease the so-called aging related increase in inflammation?
So the healthiest lifestyle might be one with plenty of exercise, no smoking or drinking alcohol, and eating whole plant foods.
13
@Dr. J Most definitely. I've been eating only plant-based for 8 years and my aging process has slowed down. I also don't have achy joints any longer.
1
@Dr. J ,
but with that prescription comes a 94% increase in one's tendency to commit suicide. ;-)
4
@Dr. J **So the healthiest lifestyle might be one with plenty of exercise, no smoking or drinking alcohol, and eating whole plant foods.**
Oy. What's the point then?
5
Inactivity is what causes aging.
I see my mother in law who is 73 and has not walked/ or exercised at all in her life and now can barely walk.
This is life for most people in the suburbs.
They only walk to and from the car and get zero exercise.
55
@Karen Suburbs cause aging - I have said that for years!
4
The conclusions here are ridiculously overreaching. All the researchers have “proven” is that muscles that are not exercised often become more inflamed and stay that way longer than muscles that in better condition through exercise. It’s nothing more than an overstatement of the obvious.
5
If inflammation is an issue, why not just regularly take anti-inflammatory medicines?
I am a (very) active 71-year-old with arthritis. I take anti-inflammatory medications, and have for years, because without them I can't move without pain. With them, my wife and I average about 2 hours a day of really solid exercise.
Do anti-inflammatory medications have a positive health benefit above and beyond the pain modification that allows movement and exercise? Are there any studies on this?
10
@Travelers I don’t know what those “anti inflammatory” medications you are being prescribed and taking actually are. But I do know that non are sustainable long term and the consequences severe. You should alternately look into a low inflammation nutrition regimen (as in plants only). No doctor is going to tell you this because they think that taking those toxic medications is reasonable and get no training in nutritional solutions.
10
@ScottB
Scott, This is not helpful. It is a lecture.
I have been taking these medicines (over the counter) since they were available at drug stores. I am one of the healthiest, strongest, and most fit 71-year-olds you will ever see. In the past 11 years I have cycled 23000 miles, mountain hiked 3600 miles, etc. etc. Most of this was done with a congenital heart condition that required open heart surgery a year ago. My cardiologist said I recovered faster than any other patient she had ever seen. I did this because I am in great shape and because I eat well (thank you, my wonderful and beautiful wife who loves to cook!)
I'm not really interested in other peoples' uninformed and anti-scientific views. I want something beyond peoples' opinions. I want data.
There is no evidence that what I take is "toxic." Instead, they are life sustaining medicines. This morning I swam laps for an hour and 15 minutes, cycled for over an hour, and walked 1/2 mile.
18
@Travelers I think we need to know what these "anti-inflammatory medications" are. Are you talking about aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, prescription NSAIDs (like Celebrex or meloxicam), prednisone, or supplements sometimes given the same label (turmeric, tart cherries etc. etc.)?
11
I’m 69 and began taking adult ballet classes regularly 6 years ago. There are things I can’t do - jumping is too hard on my knees and pirouettes make me dizzy - but ballet keeps my body flexible and my brain engaged. I love the idea that “ballet is like a sport but harder”.
57
I'm 80. Jogged/ran since I was in my 30's. Up here in the UP of Michigan, I can still shovel heavy snow, clean my roof and climb hills....and jog!
88
I was hyper active as a kid. By the time I was 6 or 7 a certain "look" by either parent sent me outside where I ran, played, and ran some more. I never stopped. My knees had to be replaced at 60 and 5 years later I still walk, ride outdoors, or get on my spin bike. Moving and eating correctly for a lifetime allows me today to body surf in the ocean, hike at 10,000 feet, ride my mountain bike on trails, paint the outside of the house, and maintain a half acre of bushes and trees. Just got off the phone with my Dad, he can't walk behind his place today due to slipping hazards, and he's annoyed about it. 90 soon.
16
Good genes!
1
Hard to balance the benefits of exercise with the consequences of overdoing it because we don’t know where the overdoing line is. I did in my shoulder with tennis and my knee with running. I wish I had known where the lines were, but I only knew that I love exercise.
25
@Peter Silverman
Where to draw the line? You've hit the nail on the head here with surgical precision. I'm a lifelong exerciser and have had to rethink and reinvent my exercises at regular intervals related to age-related changes in physiology. It's worked well for the most part, but when I forget, the painful consequences remind me to act my age.
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@Peter Silverman if you can walk you can run. I was told to no longer run because of my knees. 30 years later, I am now running anew at a 5K/day and a 10K every weekend. No knee pain or issues.
The excuse of not running due to bad knees is no viable if you can walk. Get a running coach to teach you proper form. Start walking slowly, in the proper form...then walk/run, then you will be running. It’s all about the form, steps per minute, how you strike, when you lift your heel, how far, how to breathe, how to land, how to proprel, where to keep your shoulders, where to look etc. Had I know this I wouldn’t have spent 30 years not running but looking forward to doing so, painlessly for the next 30!
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@Peter Silverman
You didn't "overdo" it. You hurt yourself doing it wrong. There's a big difference. I wish people would stop offering up FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) on the topic of exercise.
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I think the researchers to some extent re-studied what is already known. Simply, eccentric exercise (muscle lengthening as it contracts) produces micro tears and inflammation. With proper recovery between bouts of such exercise, the muscle not only becomes stronger, but also more resistant to inflammation with subsequent similar physical
work. Running is relevant because the quadriceps group contracts eccentrically during the landing phase of the running stride. This is why it is beneficial to run downhill as well as up, all of course tempered by one’s own unique physiology, age, level of conditioning, etc. Please any exercise physiologists out there, feel free to correct anything I’ve misstated. Thank you.
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At 62 I started cycling everywhere, and love it. But low and behold, the streets and sidewalks of Shreveport, LA are not fit for bike riding. I have to buy new tire tubes and tires all the time. But the exercise from biking is great.
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68 male, 5’-9”, 184 lb, 52 RHR been running and cycling since I was a kid. It keeps me healthy and sane. I would also encourage the addition of yoga for flexibility and balance, and weight training for strength.
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@RMH 64 male, 5’9”, 42 RHR, 157 lbs, 106/57 BP, 45.68 VO2 Max.
Sounds like you need to step it up!
If you get your HR to 80% of max for 30 min/day minimum, you will feel much better (and knock off that extra 30 lbs of weight too!)
(I run a 5K/day during the week and a 10k/day on weekends. I also bike 20 -30 miles/day - prior to doing this I was at your weight/HR - you will also get your waist size at the navel =/< your pants inseam!)
@RMH, your RHR is great but your BMI not so much.
I think this article is great. Many people need to be reminded that exercise helps in a multitude of ways. Articles like this give me the motivation I need to get up and workout.
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I found that taking magnesium completely prevented the bushfire muscle soreness effect. Maybe at a younger age you can access magnesium more easily from your food and at an older age you need supplements?
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Bogglingly? The closest my spell checker came up with was beguilingly. Well, I guess I'd rather be beguiled than boggled.
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Do we really need any more studies that show that exercising is very good for everyone? Doesn't the fact that nearly everyone on the planet has a better sense of well being after moving enough to increase their heart rate just a little? I know there are few (very few) exceptions to this, but the money spent on these studies that show the benefit of exercise might be better spent on studies that show the best ways to get people to actually exercise. We know it works.
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Also it should be stressed that long term, DIET trumps exercise.
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@AH Diet trumps exercise if you're trying to lose weight. A "good" diet trumps a "bad" diet.
Some exercise trumps little or no exercise. Regular exercise trumps... well, let's just say that good exercise and diet habits need to be learned early, ingrained, and made part of our daily lives. Finding what's right and works for you.
Finally, my own addition: you do not need a gym or a set of weights or any complicated/sophisticated equipment to exercise! Pushups, pull-ups, squats, planks, other bodyweight exercises, walking, jogging, jump rope, etc., etc. All of these do the job well.
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@Julie
Every six months or so, there's an article about the benefits of exercise. I don't doubt the conclusions, but why do they have to keep funding these studies? My guess is that it's an easy grant, and the work product, an easy (forgone?) conclusion.
How about a study on why inflammation makes it so hard to get off the couch? Or research on drugs to counter inflammation (the inflammation associated with heart disease is not affected by aspirin which deals with a different kind of inflammation).
How about a study on how health insurance companies subtly counter efforts by aging consumers to remain healthy? While state of the art hospitals like Stanford can perform minimally invasive heart surgeries like valve repairs, "non-profit tax-exempt" HMO hospitals like Kaiser insist on doing things the old fashion way, sawing through your bones to break open your chest cavity. This discourages the elderly from getting their valves fixed, relying on medication instead while declining in vigor and ability to exercise. In my case, Kaiser doesn't offer arthroscopic knee surgeries for Medicare patients, only total knee replacements, even though arthroscopic surgeries would be cheaper. I guess TKRs are more profitable. I've given up on walks.
You can't fight the system. It's the system that'll kill you. These repetitive articles come across as pep talks from associated insurance companies.
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Thanks for this article - more evidence to keep moving. When will science preference women? It's great that women were included in this study - which is still rare these days - but wouldn't it be great if the women's results were studied and released first? After all, there are far more elderly women living than men.
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@Quinn & Lee
Better to say "...women's results were studied and released first or at minimum at the same time as the men's."
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@Quinn & Lee
Hate to tell you but most of your health is tied to genetics . Exercise will make you feel better but don’t count on it to extend your life. No evidence exists to this one key issue. Just exercise in moderation. The longest life cycle is in Japan . Diet, walking and control stress. The elderly take part in gardening , walking, meditation , no weights.
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@Ralph Petrillo The goal isn't to live the most years. The goal is to live the most HEALTHIEST years. Quality, not quantity.
My mother turned 90 this year. She does cannot walk, and wears diapers. She never exercised in her entire life. The past five years for her have been very low-quality. Had she gotten her heart rate up through regular walking throughout her life she would have enjoyed better health.
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As an 80 year old life long exercise
There is a fine line between exercise and wear and tear.
Find it and pay attention to it
For me , the line appeared at age 75 when my left knee began to hurt after running. I replaced running with walking for 1 hr with a 10 Lb dumbbell in each hand, with which I do various exercises while walking
Works for me but everyone ages differently
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@Life long exerciser My experience pretty much as well. Happily I discovered e-biking a few years ago which provides a decent amount of exercise and is great fun. I even have a fat-tire unit with tire chains for winter riding. Indoors I have a regular mtn bike on an exercise stand. So far so good.
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@Life long exerciser
I very much agree. The goal is to stay fit, not wear out your body at an accelerated rate.
Moderate cardio + muscle toning light resistance training is the way to go in my view. For some, weight loss and dietary shifts would be appropriate as well... but in my case.. I have never struggled with weight and have always eating a moderately healthy diet.
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I play pick up soccer. I play with a mix of older guys and younger guys with some rules thrown in for safety. Running, jumping, kicking, and field awareness and vision followed by socialization. All very good things. Games are 1.5 to 2 hours. Pick and choose your runs. No pressure. Two times a week. If you don't like working out play a game and modify it to fit your needs. Go slow. Set parameters--Okay, not heading the ball. Simple. Keep active but incorporate a social aspect to it. It's the fellowship that keeps you young and feeling good.
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I work out but I do not run. Do I benefit?
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@Marc A You need to get your heart rate up for 45 minutes to an hour around 4-5 times a week.
You want to maintain an "easy" aerobic heart rate (for me at 50 this is about 130 beats/minute). Add some anaerobic level heart rate but limit this to around 15% of your overall weekly exercise time.
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Do they have an erg (rowing) machine at your gym? It is a the fastest way, in my opinion, to get ones heart rate up and is a tremendous leg and arm work out. Better than treadmills for cardio, for sure.
when will researchers publish physical studies on women first?
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@jo I will provide a study for you.
Eating well and getting your heart rate up for 60 minutes, 4-5 times per week, will give you good health.
The formula doesn't change for women. We all evolved together in a non-sedentary environment (as hunters-and-gatherers) spending many hours a week walking and perhaps very easy/slow jogging at times.
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@jo
Assuming you mean "in significant numbers," probably when the costs of doing small-numbers studies on women aren't so much higher than doing the same studies on men. Few researchers or funding sources want to do half as much research overall in order to start with women, and it's unlikely it would even benefit women to do so at this point. Twice as much research on men is likely to be better even for women than half as much research on women. The sexes aren't that different that the benefit of starting with women would be likely to outweigh the lower amount of total research.
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@A
Twice as much research on men may simply be twice as useless for women. Our hormone cycles affect inflammation. We need to know the differing ways our bodies respond in different phases of our menstrual cycle. The benefits may well differ.
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The key word is may . If you lift weights over the age of fifty your nuts. Simply do push-ups, sit ups and pull ups. Swimming is a great exercise. If you can walk about ten miles a day , walk up three to five flights of stairs. The reason why weight lifting is bad passed fifty is that there are many hernias, lower back disc trouble. I have never heard of a disc pull by walking up a stair case , running a mile, doing fifty pushups. However there are so many injuries with weights as individuals are above the age of fifty.
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@Ralph Petrillo
I wouldn't advise pushups unless you're in good shape. They are the equivalent of lifting weights and can certainly cause back problems.
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@Ralph Petrillo
In order to do push ups and pull-ups you may well need to start by lifting weights less than your own body weight and work up to your own body weight. Not all weightlifting is in the body builder overkill range.
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@Ralph Petrillo Using weights -- resistance exercise -- is one of the best anti-aging methods. To avoid injury use less weight and go "super-slow" -- 8 - 12 seconds for a single rep. Aim to get the muscles to point of trembling as they get fatigued. But don't need to go all the way to failure. Stop when good form is compromised.
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Why didn't they compare sedentary young men to the sedentary older men? Seems to me that being sedentary when you're young is also bad for your muscles. And, of course, the fact that you are sedentary when you have increased inflammation may likely be because you're in pain from the inflammation. Either there's not enough information about this study, or it's really poorly designed.
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@Eero
Sedentary is bad overall. I assume the authors considered this self-evident.
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This is encouraging news, however, it is way too soon to assume this really means anything at all. One small study is just that - one small study. Why do newspapers persistently publish studies that have no evidence beyond the singular conclusions of that one study? In a way, it's attractive snake oil. I certainly hope the conclusions of this study encourage activity, however it's still way too soon to take this as anything but an opinion.
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@Michael Kennedy Not to mention the women’s study has yet to be published.
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@Michael Kennedy
This study is evidence for what people believe to be true; this study is a lot better than belief. Where and how would you go about designing a large-scale study?
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I'm 65 and have been working out regularly for 10 years on advice from my doctor for cholesterol issues. My recommendation for the middle aged and older is to join a fitness center that offers group classes. But first get some guidance from a trainer. She or he will help you with proper form and technique that will help avoid strain and injury. Since I am less motivated working out on my own, I participate in group classes exclusively. Some people are the opposite. Some classes are cardio based, some strength based, and some are a combination. I swear by them.
And remember, the hardest part of a workout at the gym is getting yourself TO the gym. One does not regret having worked out. The regret is for not working out.
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I'm a life-long fidgeter who went from being the kid who was always in trouble for not sitting still to the older adult who stands at parties and wanders the aisles on aircraft. It would be interesting to hear whether this kind of minimal but constant body activity helps fitness in the same ways as planned exercise.
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Almost 70 yrs old and 3 years into retirement, I began an exercise regimen with a personal trainer one week after my last day of sedentary full time work. Over the weeks and months, my trainer has gradually increased the intensity of an exercise routine involving stretching, planks and weights. I have twice weekly session with my trainer and then do one or two sessions on my own. If you ask what age I feel like, I say mid-40s. You don't need to have a personal trainer but it is good to have professional guidance at the outset and an occasional review. Consult your doctor before beginning an exercise program. It's a much better feeling to be paying my fitness center than a series of doctors and hospitals.
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@creditking agree 100%! Have been exercising for the past 5 years, worked with several trainers, and just did a weightloss program that really reset me into much more healthy eating habits. My logic: better to enjoy better healthy and well being now and avoid obesity and sedentary-related illnesses as much as possible
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@creditking
Great comment, and consistent with my overall health improvements after retirement as well.. though I am only 64.. but I am doing physical things I have not done since my early 50s.... so regular exercise is working well for me.
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Good contribution, but much more research is needed to fully understand over 70 athletes. Just try to find a cardiologist who can adequately discuss treatment for well-conditioned seniors with high calcium scores, or the urologist who can differentiate the effects of bicycle saddles from those of expected aging on the prostate. And where is the Geriatric Athlete Institute we need? Come to think of it, NY Times, how about a daily sports section page on lifelong sports detailing for all ages their risks, benefits and pure joy? Enough MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA and occasional features about everything else.
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@JEH good point. I know an over-70 athlete who complained of heart troubles and when his doctor performed a stress test, it came out within the normal range for a man his age. The doctor did not take into account that at his fitness levels, he should have done much better. He had a massive heart attack a few weeks and was lucky to survive it.
@JEH So true, and so frustrating. I'm lucky to know a handful of geriatric cyclists who are in their 80s, and typically ride 30 miles 3-4x/week. One of them had to stop after experiencing mysterious blackouts twice while riding. There was no known cause, which baffles me. I don't think the scientific community knows what to make of the bodies of these amazing people, and we really need to learn much more about them.
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Yes all generally true, but it has been generally known for a long time.
Two caveats.
1-Running continuously or for long periods is generally not the best thing for your body. Ditto for any extreme strenuous exercise. Better to do tailored exercises, even as simple as stretching to insure better health and good looks.
2-The people who stay in shape and look good are few and far between because of the incredible discipline it takes. Not only for the exercise but even harder eating the right, proper amount of food and drink.
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@Paul
1. Sitting continuously for long periods of time is not good for your body. It is those who sit who have the most knee replacement exercises.
2. "People who stay in shape and look good are few and far between because of the incredible discipline it takes."
Put simply, they are lazy.
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@Earth Citizen I am in my mid-50s and work out hard seven or more hours per week. No discipline or motivation, just getting off the couch and getting it done. I feel great but will let others judge my looks.
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@Paul I've exercised in gyms and ran on streets my entire adult life, and I can say that for me it's diet that's far more effective than exercise. A few years ago I started a vegan diet, I was always vegetarian, but going vegan took 9 lbs off my 5'7" frame...I feel great! ...you look better when you feel better.
Great timing, NY Times, thank you!
I pulled up this story while I was finishing my coffee and putting on my walking shoes. I'm 66 1/2, and just recently started working out seriously - and had been asking myself "So WHY is exercise good?"
Most articles I can find tell me WHAT benefit I should receive by exercise, but being a bit of a science geek, I wanted to know WHY. What is actually happening at the cellular level that makes the body function better when it's been working hard?
I appreciate getting one of my first answers, and I appreciate the further motivation. Thanks!
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No mention if these older runners also did weight training or other bodyweight training along with their running.
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@John Raffaele
Huh?
"The researchers next had the men complete a single session of brief, but strenuous, lower-body weight training, using a knee-extension machine. Since none of the men lifted weights, this exercise was expected to stress their muscles in an unfamiliar way."
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@Mark
Yes, but did they do it before the experiment? That would be good to know.
@John Raffaele It did state that none of the men lifted weights -
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It has been known forever that exercising hard causes muscle micro damage and that after the damage is resolved via an inflammatory response the muscle gets stronger. Once stronger the muscle is not damaged by the previous level of exercise.
Since the inflammation assists in this process of getting stronger taking ibuprofen is not helpful. It is an unfortunate misconception that all inflammation is harmful.
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Why be an exercise guinea pig?
Just relax.
That fights inflammation too!
Actually, it's interesting stuff.
Do we all need to jog? Is it aerobic exercise? Any exercise?
Or do amounts and type not matter?
BTW, legs of runners and cyclists would be expected to have larger muscles. But the body has other muscles as well. No study can have infinite scope, but some context/caution, along with the always rhapsodic conclusions of such studies, might be helpful.
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@AJ
You have no (zero) evidence that "just relax" (whatever that means) is a way to fight inflammation.
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If inflammation is the problem, how 'bout a daily regimen of ibuprofen.
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@john fisher
Hi John,
Your idea sounds rational, but in my PhD (pharmacology) program I learned why pill regimes, whether vitamins, supplements or anti-inflammatory drugs, are never a good idea unless they are given for a specific disease: Pills are a bolus ("big ball") dose of a single chemical, which arrives in the body suddenly. That's not how the body works. The body carries out highly complex chemical interactions which take place at physiological (very small) not pharmacological (big) concentrations. Suddenly flooding the body with a huge amount of a novel, or even a naturally-occurring chemical, interferes with that gradual, intricate and complex chemical activity, and may even overwhelm the body's normal biochemistry, forcing it to compensate in ways that can be problematic.
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@john fisher, Inflammation after excersize is a good thing, not a problem. The inflammation is part of the muscle recovery process. Subsequent workouts will need increasingly more weight and/or reps to produce inflammation as the muscles repeatedly inflame and repair themselves, becoming stronger each time.
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@john fisher ibuprofen treats the symptom, not the cause.
Look to what is causing the inflammation, and focus on that.
ibuprofen is not good for you.
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This is interesting if what it is saying is that regular exercise seems to inoculate individuals to inflammation, even in other parts of the body that that which is regularly stressed.
I'd be curious if these runners had the same response is they used for example, their upper body such as biceps or pectoral muscles.
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I have been running since my late twenties and feel grateful for the quality of life it has given me, now that I am 74 and running still 6-7 times a week for three miles each time. Along with careful diet and avoiding sodium, I thank running for helping me keep my weight, my blood pressure, my blood sugar and my cholesterol down without pills of any kind. My runs are leisurely, now, no longer any marathons, but they still give me much pleasure.
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@JAMcKenzie, Ed.D.
JA, I'm with you. Running since I was 12, with a few breaks along the way, still going at 72. Never stop.
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I fell in love with running in my late teens and had to stop in my mid 40s. My back and hip muscles were ravaged from years of running on pavement, even with great shoes. In my early 50s I discovered I had a herniated disk. Unimaginable pain. I do low impact exercise only now and i feel terrific. Running is great if it works for your body, but for some people it can be very damaging.
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@Philly Skeptic I used to run a mile a couple times per week, but when I retired 2 years ago I got serious. I now use an elliptical machine to spare my knees and joints - and I can still get my heart rate up to bursts of 165 at my age of 63. This has lowered my blood pressure from 145 to 120 and increased my HDL dramatically and my doc is quite impressed. (I also started lifting weights for upper body strength.)
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