Benefits of Resistance Exercise It Antiaging

Now before any of our readers get nervous about "resistance exercise" let's be clear that we not talking about pumping heavy iron or stripping your body fat until your showing off your sixpack abs. In a ground-breaking research study, participants achieved almost magic results even though their average age exceeded 87 years.

The training program involved 63 women and 37 men who were residents of a long-term care facility for the elderly. Th e whole study took place in 10 short weeks.

The details of the program were as follows:

* Only two muscle groups in the body were trained: the hip and knee extensors. A seated leg-extension machine was used to strengthen the knee extensors and for the hip extensors either a wall-mounted cable-pulley system or leg press machine was used. And you can achieve the same results at home without any machines.

* The amount of weight used was 80 percent of the one-repetition maximum or the maximum weight that could be lifted one time only. The weight was increased each training session if possible, and the one-repetition maximum was re-established every two weeks.

* Training sessions lasted approximately 45 minutes for three days a week with a day of rest between sessions. Each session consisted of three sets of eight lifts using each device, plus time to warm up beforehand and cool down afterward. Each lift lasted six to nine seconds with one to two seconds of rest between each lift and two minutes of rest between each set. After the 10 weeks, for the 94 percent who completed the program muscle strength increased by 113 percent, walking speed (gait velocity) increased by 11.8 percent, stair-climbing power improved by 28.4 percent, and cross-sectional thigh-muscle area increased 2.7 percent. Participants could also walk farther and were significantly more stable on their feet. In fact, 35 to 40 percent of those who were chair bound prior to the study improved to the point that they could climb stairs.

* Thirty-eight percent of these individuals were 90 years old or older. Eighty-three percent required a cane, walker, or wheelchair at the start of the study, and 66 percent had fallen during the previous year. The most prevalent chronic conditions were arthritis in 50 percent of the individuals, pulmonary disease in 44 percent, osteoporotic fracture in 44 percent, hypertension in 35 percent, and cancer in 24 percent. About the only things that disqualified someone from participating in this study were a terminal illness, severe cognitive impairment, insulin-dependent diabetes, or a leg fracture within the six months prior to the start of the study. The criteria for inclusion into the study were being over age 70 and being able to walk a distance of 6 meters or 20 feet.

Now, does it NOT make sense to do resistance training 3 times a week to keep your youth? This was published in the New England Journal of Medicine (1994;330:1769.1775)