This seems fairly obvious but it's good to have it confirmed as I'm 60 now. I usually cycle about 100 miles a week and I'm glad I'm not wasting my time!
Exercise Makes Our Muscles Work Better with Age
31–40 of 56 posts
Re: Exercise Makes Our Muscles Work Better with Age
#32From the paper: "World champion master athletes in their 9th decade of life had a greater number of surviving motor units, reduced collateral reinnervation, better neuromuscular transmission stability and a greater amount of excitable muscle mass as compared with age-matched controls." and "The Masters Athletes (MA) consisted of track and field athletes ranked in the top 4 of their respective events at the world mast…
"World masters" championships are for older athletes. For example, in athletics, we have https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masters_athletics:
"Masters athletics is a class of the sport of athletics for veteran athletes in the events of track and field, road running and cross country running. The competitions feature five-year age groups beginning at age 35. Men as old as 105 and women in their 100s have competed in running, jumping and throwing events."
Winners of these events need not have been world class athletes when they were young, and often weren't, but they typically have been exercising regularly more than other people.
But yes, it is not that surprising that people who are world-class athletes in their age group score differently in some metrics than people who are not. Question is: in what metrics? This study researched that. It's not just that they have more muscles, the muscles they have work better, too.
Re: Exercise Makes Our Muscles Work Better with Age
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
Holy cow, heart attack at 40? Can you elaborate on how that happened? I mean, they never really know exactly what causes any particular heart attack. But there are definitely specific risk factors I can single out, and beyond that, I can speculate. For starters, I was a bit overweight, and I am diabetic. Those are both risk factors. But on the flip side, my diabetes is well controlled, and while overweight, I wasn't…
Jesus. That sounds like the path I am headed down. Overweight, workaholic, ibuprofen taker.
I hear ya. Not to try and be too preachy, but you might want to re-evaluate some things. Or, at the very least, sit down with your doctor and talk about cardiac health and see if you should take a stress test or have some imaging done or something.
The good news is, it's almost never too late to improve your cardiac situation. I don't know how old you are, but arterial function can be improved after even a lifetime of bad habits and what-not. Just do all the things we've all been taught to do: eat a healthy diet (the Mediterranean diet is generally considered pretty good), lose weight, stop smoking (if you smoke), watch your cholesterol, stay active, etc.
Re: Exercise Makes Our Muscles Work Better with Age
#34> Of course, this type of single-snapshot-in-time study can’t tell us whether the athletes’ training actually changed their muscle health over the years or if the athletes were somehow blessed from birth with better muscles, allowing them to become superb masters athletes.
I really appreciate this kind of honesty. It's rare that a popular article explicitly points out possible confounders.
Re: Exercise Makes Our Muscles Work Better with Age
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
Holy cow, heart attack at 40? Can you elaborate on how that happened?
I'm 43. My father had had his third heart attack by the time he was my age. Shitty diet, smoking during more of his life than not, negligible exercise (despite being an adrenalin junkie), and high-stress work (during my life, he was everything from a paramedic, to an underwater welder, to a corrections officer at a state penitentiary) were doubtless contributing factors. I'm sure genetics played a substantial part, t…
Sounds a bit like some shitty genetic defect.
Re: Exercise Makes Our Muscles Work Better with Age
#36I thought this was taken for granted but I'm glad it's been confirmed and we understand the neural process behind it. It's a good motivation for working out. I often think: "I'm squatting 180lbs now, so that I can sit down onto and stand up from a toilet when I'm 80."
You should probably start using the squat toilets. Its a real good lower body workout.
Don't neglect your arms...try the over-head piss.
Re: Exercise Makes Our Muscles Work Better with Age
#37"Of course, this type of single-snapshot-in-time study can’t tell us whether the athletes’ training actually changed their muscle health over the years or if the athletes were somehow blessed from birth with better muscles, allowing them to become superb masters athletes." I really wish they hadn't used world class athletes, who almost always have major genetic advantages.
yes, and maybe if they hadn't used world class athletes they could have had more than 29 of them.
I mean if they had 10000 exceptionally fit people for their age, that might start to mean something.
Re: Exercise Makes Our Muscles Work Better with Age
#38I sure hope so! I'm 42 now, and I just came back in from a bike ride - only my second since a 5 month layoff caused by a combination of weather, travel and shoulder surgery - and I'm beat. And gawd was I slllooooowwwww out there tonight. Uuuggghhh. But hey, I know it will come back with time, and - more to the point - I know how important it is to stay active. After the whole heart-attack thing back in 2014, I'm pret…
Holy cow, heart attack at 40? Can you elaborate on how that happened?
If you think that's bad, I know of two different people offline, one who had a stroke at 27 and the other a heart attack at 34. Don't know either well enough to comment on their lifestyle or contributing factors, though.
Re: Exercise Makes Our Muscles Work Better with Age
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
Been lifting with a focus on powerlifting for about 7 years, my last meet total was 515 squat, 585 deadlift and 336 bench at 185 lbs. Be patient, get on a tried program, put in the work, eat and sleep and it'll come.
I am curious if you had to deal with any injuries over the years. My body seems to be the type that gets injured easily, no matter what I do I seem to get injured. I am obsessive about form, I seem to get "overuse injuries", shoulder impingement, sensitive it band ect.
Can't speak for GP, but I kept hitting a wall in strength gains with shoulder or lower back pain until I made mobility work a priority. It doesn't have to be fancy or extreme, frequency is the key. Search out Joe DeFranco's Limber 11 and Simple 6 for a decent routine and try to get 3-4 times a week minimum. After a month you'll be surprised how different your body feels.
Re: Exercise Makes Our Muscles Work Better with Age
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
Holy cow, heart attack at 40? Can you elaborate on how that happened? I mean, they never really know exactly what causes any particular heart attack. But there are definitely specific risk factors I can single out, and beyond that, I can speculate. For starters, I was a bit overweight, and I am diabetic. Those are both risk factors. But on the flip side, my diabetes is well controlled, and while overweight, I wasn't…
Jesus. That sounds like the path I am headed down. Overweight, workaholic, ibuprofen taker.
It was me as well, 7 months ago I weighed 245, ate a shocking diet and subsisted on energy drinks and coffee.
Last year I got diagnosed with a serious spinal condition and resolved to fix as much as I could.
I now weigh 182lbs, lost 12 inches of my waist, don't drink any energy drinks and my coffee addiction is down to I work out for 30-45 minutes everyday without fail mostly bodyweight and callisthenic exercises with swimming a couple of times a week.
Blood pressure is normal, resting heart rate dropped by 10 back to 70.
The pain from the spine condition has halfed as have the meds I take to stay functional.
It's been a hard journey 1500 cal a day for 6 months was brutal but I'm now at maintenance weight and the time would have passed anyway.
My advice: if it bothers you, fix it!