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Preventing Muscle Loss as We Age

nytimes.com

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Re: Preventing Muscle Loss as We Age

#31

Post by ekianjo »

davemp wrote: post #11

Am I missing something or is the article just giving a name to very generic muscle loss and saying that one can workout and get enough protein to combat it? I hate to be overly critical, but these types of articles published by the likes of nytimes just make digesting news more difficult. Puff pieces honestly subtract value from my life. I with more news vendors would think about the value they provide in the interne…

Agree. I see also way too many NYtimes articles on HN recently. What happened to the adage that "if its on the popular media, it should probably not be on HN". Is HN turning into the comment system of the NYT?

Re: Preventing Muscle Loss as We Age

#32

Post by lotsofpulp »

rerx wrote: post #29
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 picture is taken from this study: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3810/psm.2011.09.1933 (use Sci-Hub if you do not belong to an institution paying for access)

Thank you! I couldn't come up with a reputable source on reverse image search to figure out if it's fake or not.

Re: Preventing Muscle Loss as We Age

#33

Post by matwood »

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...

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 good sandwich - just not all the time. Most meals consist of meat/dairy and veggies.

If I'm fortunate enough to live into old age, I don't plan to stop exercising. It's part of what gets me out of bed every morning.

Re: Preventing Muscle Loss as We Age

#35

Post by doctorcroc »

adrianN wrote: post #17
presscast wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Frail elderly people often don't eat enough, or lack fiber, for example because their teeth hurt. Appetite also declines with age. You're strongly implying causation here. I'm unaware of any serious body of research that indicates elderly people are getting frailer because of a decrease in appetite.

I did not mean to imply that, I just wanted to make the point that eating less is not always good advice, in particular in the age bracket that suffers from age related muscle loss.

You're right, and there's always exceptions to the rule. Eg some of those with life threatening injuries probably need processed food in the interim. But the general point stands which is that human longevity had been correlated with caloric restriction. Even in Ben Franklin's wit and wisdom, he remarks that to preserve one's life, one should eat less. This observation is timeless

Re: Preventing Muscle Loss as We Age

#36

Post by hsnewman »

zaroth wrote: post #8

Ctrl-F Testosterone - was disappoint. For approximately half of the population, supplementing testosterone into old age is a great way to maintain (and build) SMM along with that physical activity which TFA admonishes the lack of.

Coming from a family history of prostrate cancer, I would never consider testosterone replacement therapy.

Re: Preventing Muscle Loss as We Age

#37

Post by dfsegoat »

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...

Doesn't tell the whole story: Was told by a doc that with the amount of scar tissue in my R shoulder / bicep that he could easily trick new medical residents into thinking it was the MRI of a 70 or 80 year old.

... I train jiu jitsu 3x / week + cardio 3x / week.

Re: Preventing Muscle Loss as We Age

#38

Post by hazz99 »

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...

Was the 70yo triathlete just a triathlete in their younger years, or did they keep up the exercise as they got older?

If you can remember, of course.

Re: Preventing Muscle Loss as We Age

#39

Post by SketchySeaBeast »

presscast wrote: post #15
morsma wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Low carb and periodic water fasting (autophagy), and you should be set old age.

Add "occasional heavy lifting" to that list. Baby boomers are deadset on this idea that cardio is the only kind of exercise that one should be doing.

I wonder who was running the PR for cardio and weightlifting in the 70-90's. For some reason weight lifting, and barbell training in particular, has a weird anti-intellectual connotation. Getting up to run for two hours at 4 am is the habit of a successful business executive, but spend a couple of hours a day in the gym and carry an excess of muscle mass and you're clearly dumb. It's very strange.

Re: Preventing Muscle Loss as We Age

#40

Post by oihoaihsfoiahsf »

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.

To be fair, the legs of healthy people who perform the same type of exercise do tend to have very similar shapes.
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