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Preventing Muscle Loss as We Age

nytimes.com

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Re: Preventing Muscle Loss as We Age

#151

Post by jlawson »

maxxxxx wrote: post #23
lysp wrote: post #14

I always like to show this picture as an example. https://i.imgur.com/ZcDedfo.jpg I don't have an original source but it shows a MRI leg scan comparison between a 40yo triathlete, a sedentary 70yo and a 70yo triathlete. The picture tells the story...

That's a good one. Amazing how little muscle the sedentary person has.

I'm pretty sure the images are scaled differently (note the sizes of the bones, which should be the same).

The sedentary person isn't just sedentary, they look to be morbidly obese. That image is zoomed out, but the actual size of the muscle isn't that different. It's just surrounded by a huge amount of fat.

Re: Preventing Muscle Loss as We Age

#152

Post by cgh »

dagoat wrote: post #139
st26 wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1.5g/lb (3.3g/kg) is considered by many in the weight training communities to be way overkill, and potentially hard on your kidneys.

> potentially hard on your kidneys Is there data for that? IIRC, for healthy kidneys this amount should not be an issue, slightly more per lb shouldn't be either. I'm not sure what weight training communities you refer to, but in bodybuilding and strength circles amounts that high and higher aren't often considered "way overkill". Anywhere between 0.75-1.25g/lb is where I shoot for, depending on my goals. But I have…

You are correct. The whole “beware of protein” narrative is completely wrong-headed. People here would likely be astounded by how much protein strength athletes eat with nothing but positive health effects.

Re: Preventing Muscle Loss as We Age

#153

Post by jmull »

henryw wrote: post #130
wjnc wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fallacy in this article is as follows: (quote) "A cross-section of 40 high-level recreational athletes (“masters athletes”) who were aged 40 to 81 years and trained 4 to 5 times per week underwent tests of health/activity, body composition, quadriceps peak torque (PT), and magnetic resonance imaging of bilateral quadriceps." The 81 yr old that trains 4-5x (!) a week is a lot more special than the 40 yr old (that'…

Training 4-5x a week is within your control. Winning the lottery is not. I get up every weekday morning at 5 to 6am to do a spin or group fitness class and lift 1 to 2 times per week Arnold superset style. I'm loving this lifestyle. (I guess the gym being Equinox helps.)

> Training 4-5x a week is within your control.

That may not be true for a large proportion of people in their 80s.

Re: Preventing Muscle Loss as We Age

#154

Post by psergeant »

Kirth wrote: post #85
stochastic_monk wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m 29 now. I started lifting at 26, but finally got proficient and rigorous about a year ago. The biggest key was learning to eat more because my body’s metabolism was low because I wasn’t eating enough. I went from a 2000 calorie maintenance to 3000 in about 6 months.

Did you find it hard to increase your calorie intake? This is something I've been struggling with for a while. Especially since I don't deal well with lactose getting in enough calories and protein can be a bit daunting. What are your "trick foods" that contain a good amount of calories but are good to eat?

> What are your "trick foods" that contain a good amount of calories but are good to eat?

Cheese! Parmesan is 50% protein and 50% fat by weight. Almost all soups and stews can be improved in taste and calories by adding enough coconut oil

Re: Preventing Muscle Loss as We Age

#155

Post by wjnc »

maxerickson wrote: post #67
wjnc wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fallacy in this article is as follows: (quote) "A cross-section of 40 high-level recreational athletes (“masters athletes”) who were aged 40 to 81 years and trained 4 to 5 times per week underwent tests of health/activity, body composition, quadriceps peak torque (PT), and magnetic resonance imaging of bilateral quadriceps." The 81 yr old that trains 4-5x (!) a week is a lot more special than the 40 yr old (that'…

The paper's discussion contains this statement: In addition, studying masters athletes partially limits the applicability of these data to the general population of aging adults who do not aggressively exercise 4 to 5 times per week. It's unfortunate that such a statement won't make it into popular treatments, but the paper doesn't get very far out over its skis.

My point is they are not sampling from genpop And they are sampling Different populations with age rising. I've met quite a few fit 60 yr olds, but have never seen a that fit 80 yr old.

Re: Preventing Muscle Loss as We Age

#156

Post by kazinator »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #133
matwood wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most people have no idea I'm 41, and instead think I'm in my 30s. Balding and grey hair show I'm not in my 20s ;) My 'secret' is I workout every single day . I might do heavy weight training, sled pushing, surfing, or a spin class. It doesn't matter as long as I do something physically challenging. I also follow an 80/20 rule on eating paleo-ish. Mainly I try to avoid processed foods, but I'll still eat a pizza or go…

Counterpoint: my wife and I are well into our 40s yet often mistaken for being much younger. Being significantly overweight gives us nice smooth wrinkle free skin.

People's idea of what "over forty" looks like is just a caricature, fed by confirmation bias.

Re: Preventing Muscle Loss as We Age

#157

Post by strls »

pixelperfect wrote: post #28
madeuptempacct wrote: post #3

More interested in preventing this: http://social-quotient.info/sq.4mg.com/brainpower.gif Much less clear on how accomplish that. Edit: To elaborate, I know exactly what I need to do to stay physically fit into old age and how to monitor my physical fitness - I know immediately when I get winded more from my regular run, my lift numbers drop, or I can't reach my toes. The scary part is if I stop working out for more…

There is a lot of evidence that cognitive decline is greater in people with insulin resistance. Eating a relatively low sugar/carb diet that doesn't cause blood sugar to spike is probably a good idea.

A better idea is to not develop insulin resistance in the first place and improve sensitivity.I eat 85% carb diet. My blood glucose barely moves up after eating a bunch of straight sugar, then goes back to fasting level after an hour and a half.

Re: Preventing Muscle Loss as We Age

#158

Post by wjnc »

henryw wrote: post #130
wjnc wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fallacy in this article is as follows: (quote) "A cross-section of 40 high-level recreational athletes (“masters athletes”) who were aged 40 to 81 years and trained 4 to 5 times per week underwent tests of health/activity, body composition, quadriceps peak torque (PT), and magnetic resonance imaging of bilateral quadriceps." The 81 yr old that trains 4-5x (!) a week is a lot more special than the 40 yr old (that'…

Training 4-5x a week is within your control. Winning the lottery is not. I get up every weekday morning at 5 to 6am to do a spin or group fitness class and lift 1 to 2 times per week Arnold superset style. I'm loving this lifestyle. (I guess the gym being Equinox helps.)

I agree with jmull here. In my personal opinion things like intermittent fasting might be a lot more broadly applicable to the elderly than exercising 4x a week or becoming a triathlete.

Re: Preventing Muscle Loss as We Age

#159

Post by randcraw »

Numberwang wrote: post #26
lysp wrote: post #14

I always like to show this picture as an example. https://i.imgur.com/ZcDedfo.jpg I don't have an original source but it shows a MRI leg scan comparison between a 40yo triathlete, a sedentary 70yo and a 70yo triathlete. The picture tells the story...

The patterns on the 40 and 70 year old triathlete match far too well. I'm calling bullshit. The "70 year old triathlete" scan is just further up the leg of the 40 year old.

I agree that it's typical for authors to cherry pick the samples used to illustrate their major message most forcefully.

That's why discriminating readers (like us) should rigorously overlook pretty pictures and instead look only at: 1) the amount of separation between groups (big effect?), 2) the stat. significance across the given population (consistent signal?), 3) the constraints the authors used to create that population (representative of the real world?), and 4) whether the discriminating signal they chose selectively detects the causal effect they propose.

No picture can do all of that.

Re: Preventing Muscle Loss as We Age

#160

Post by tpetry »

lifting_throw wrote: post #150
matwood wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most people have no idea I'm 41, and instead think I'm in my 30s. Balding and grey hair show I'm not in my 20s ;) My 'secret' is I workout every single day . I might do heavy weight training, sled pushing, surfing, or a spin class. It doesn't matter as long as I do something physically challenging. I also follow an 80/20 rule on eating paleo-ish. Mainly I try to avoid processed foods, but I'll still eat a pizza or go…

Some folks are able to lift heavy weights frequently, and that's awesome. I'm jealous. But here's a comment directed at people who've tried that and hurt themselves. For years I tried to lift heavy. Big compound barbell lifts. In my early 20s it was OK, but by 30 I started hurting myself. I always warmed up fully, but kept tearing things. I tried eating more, eating better, more recovery, everything I could think of.…

The total volume you lift with higher rep rqnges may be much higher than with high weight and low reps, hence you get bigger ;)
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