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Rafael is 66 years old. Five days a week, first thing in the morning, he goes to the public gym in his town south of Valencia, where he follows a strength exercise routine that the center’s instructor has given him to work through the day. Muscle groups throughout the week. Twice a week he goes out pedaling on his bike. Between 50 and 70 kilometers at a good pace, whenever he goes out for a walk (he exceeds the 10,000 steps recommended by WHO per day), marking the same pace, whether through the gardens around the city Whether passing through or running errands. “My 40-year-old son keeps making fun of me and says that I am stronger than him,” he says with a laugh.
For a long time, the concept of “anabolic resistance” was prevalent socially and among professionals, according to which as people age, the response of skeletal muscles to anabolic stimuli such as physical exercise decreases. However, as Dr. Enrique Sainz de Murieta, a rehabilitation physician and member of the board of directors of the Spanish Society of Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine (SERMEF) explains, although it is true that the muscle response is lower than in younger people. ,
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“This concept is often overemphasized and sometimes the low response that is obtained with strength training after the age of 60 is usually due to errors in training, such as inadequate rest, for the age profile. Lack of optimized protocols or progressive loading,” says. Sáez de Murieta.
A recent study led by researchers from La Frontera University (Chile) and Maastricht University (Holland) showed that even people over the age of 85, when undergoing individualized and progressive resistance exercise training, can improve their immunity. Are capable of increasing. Skeletal muscle mass. “These results challenge the common belief that they are less likely to gain muscle and strength than other age groups,” says Gabriel Marzuca, a member of the Interuniversity Center for Healthy Aging (CIES), a consortium of Chilean state universities. CUECH) and lead author of the research.
All senior citizens benefited equally from this type of (strength) training, regardless of age.
Rafael is training on a bicycle in a town in Valencia.
The study analyzed the effects of a strength exercise routine on people aged 65 to 75 and over 85 who performed supervised exercise three times a week for three months. “We thought that if one did resistance exercise training in a supervised and progressive manner we would see benefits in all older people, however, we hypothesized that people over the age of 85 would benefit more than people between 65 and 75.” There would be a limited range of benefits by age. However, we were surprised to find that this type of training benefited all older people equally, regardless of age,” Marzucca explains.
For Julian Alcazar, researcher at the Networked Biomedical Research Center for Fragility and Healthy Aging (CIBERFES), the results of the study are not exactly new, although he recognizes their importance because few investigations in the past have specifically analyzed them. Effects of strength training on people over the age of 85.
We should not resign ourselves and accept the negative consequences of aging, they can be avoided
“We think that whatever happens to our body and mind from a certain age is normal and it is just because of age. However, what we don’t usually think about is that as we age we also change our habits significantly: we become more sedentary, we eliminate high-intensity exercise, and we Eat poorly. We should not resign ourselves and accept the negative consequences of aging, because they can be prevented and avoided, or in the worst case, slowed down. Science has already told us a lot about this and is continuing to tell us,” Alcazar argues.
Strength exercises, fundamental to healthy aging
As Alcazar explains, strength training is recommended throughout the life cycle (“even in children, contrary to popular belief”) but “it increasingly gains importance” as we age. It is estimated that, if nothing is done to prevent it, from the age of 40 onwards, approximately 8% of muscle mass is lost per decade, with this loss becoming even more rapid after the age of 60. Is.
“Maintaining good muscle quantity and quality is key to the aging process, as it allows us to have more strength and better physical performance to better perform activities of daily living (for example, getting up from a chair. , climb) or go down the stairs or carry bags from the market) and, in the process, gain more independence and reduce potential social and health costs,” says Gabriel Marzucca.
Getting good muscle function is one of the best investments
The loss of muscle mass, strength and function is, of course, fundamental in the development of frailty or sarcopenia, a specific condition of older adults characterized by symptoms such as weakness, fatigue, lack of energy, balance problems and difficulties. Walk and stand still. “By doing this type of strength training we can prevent the appearance of this pathology and if it is already established, we can combat it,” says the researcher.
An opinion shared by Julián Alcazar, who points out that scientific evidence shows that, even in situations of advanced frailty in older people, the symptoms are reversible due to physical exercise: “Through a collaboration between the University of Castilla-La Mancha and the University of… Through Hospital Complex we have been able to demonstrate through numerous studies that physical exercise (including strength training) is able to achieve, for example, that an elderly person who was not able to get up from a chair without help, can “Can do that in just 16 weeks of training.”
Exercises like yoga, Pilates or Tai Chi work on flexibility, breathing and muscle strength.
Enrique Sainz de Murieta says, in addition to sarcopenia, there is large and growing scientific evidence that shows a direct relationship between greater physical strength and lower mortality from all causes throughout life. “Good muscle function (strength and power) is one of the best indicators that an older person enjoys good general health. A SERMEF spokesperson says that getting it is one of the best investments to maintain the ability to perform tasks that we usually do without the help of other people.
As Sainz de Murieta recalls, muscle is a tissue that, in addition to allowing movement or maintaining posture, has a very wide function: “Today, among other things, we know that muscle is an important endocrine and metabolic tissue, which improves synapses in the brain and neuroplasticity, or is a protective factor against certain cancers such as breast and colon cancer.”
With WHO’s 10,000 steps it’s not worth it
Despite the fact that there is more and more discussion about it, the World Health Organization continues to recommend walking 10,000 steps per day as a pillar of a healthy life. A scientific review was published in the Lancet In 2022, it was concluded that in people over the age of 60, 6,000 to 8,000 steps per day were already sufficient to significantly reduce the risk of mortality. In any case, experts point out, although walking and doing cardiovascular exercise are recommended, this is not enough for healthy aging.
“The available evidence indicates that strength training combined with cardiovascular conditioning exercise, either in classical or interval training, yields greater health benefits than strength exercise or aerobic exercise alone,” says Saenz de Murieta, for whom This evidence busts the myth. The best exercise is walking: “Walking is an excellent exercise, but it should be combined with strength exercise, which is essential to improve people’s ability to perform activities.” Typically and even today it is one of the most important elements in rehabilitation programs to regain lost functional capacity, for example after hospitalization.”
Walking is an excellent exercise, but it should be combined with strength exercises
Walking is an excellent exercise, but it should be combined with strength exercises.
This strength exercise can be done in the gym or at home. In any case, experts agree, it should be supervised by a competent professional. Julian Alcazar concludes, “The most advisable thing is to put ourselves in the hands of a physical-sports teacher (graduate in sports science) so that they can evaluate us, analyze our objectives and develop a Can prepare training programs.
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