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is this inevitable?
There is no doubt that sacropenia (muscle atrophy) occurs with age and that this leads to a loss in quality of life for seniors
(1). Whether this occurs primarily through loss of fast or slow twitch muscle fibres is of secondary importance to the effects
of losing ANY muscle tissue. The major problems associated with this loss of muscle mass are a drop in basal metabolic
rate and a decrease in the ease with which physical activities are undertaken. The drop in metabolic rate makes it much
easier for seniors to gain body fat despite eating the same diet they always have and the difficulty in performing physical
work decreases daily calorie expenditure. The net result is a gain in body fat and a decrease in markers of general health
despite the same caloric intake.
That means the diet that kept you lean and mean in your 20’s can make you fat in your 60’s folks, and that’s a disaster for
your general health !
It is also interesting to note that the loss of strength exceeds the loss of muscle cross sectional area (3) - this does indicate
either a preferential loss of Type II “fast twitch” muscle fibres OR a loss of neural drive or a combination of both. The plus
side of this is that muscle retains a high degree of plasticity into old age - the damage CAN be reversed by resistance
training! Muscle fibre behaviour (slow twitch / fast twitch etc) is governed by the activity of the neuron that fires that
individual muscle fibre. Many studies have shown that the proportion of “fast twitch” muscle fibres can be increased through
resistance training as this alters the behaviour of the neurons.
Should all veteran athletes incorporate resistance work into their training regimes?
Yes! The only proviso here is the absence of injuries that could be made worse by resistance exercise. If in good general
health there is no reason why resistance exercise should not be used. The main caveats are serious problems with blood
pressure (either too high or too low), chest pain and serious bone or joint conditions. In each instance your Doctor should
be able to tell you whether you are fit to partake in a resistance exercise program. Assuming you are already partaking in a
sport of physical activity then it is highly unlikely that resistance training will have a negative effect on your sporting
prowess. Indeed it is hard to think of a sport that would not benefit from the improvements in balance, mobility, strength,
and endurance that resistance training can bring. Resistance training can even improve cardio respiratory capacity (5) so
even those involved in aerobic sports stand to benefit!
How injury-preventive is weight training? Can you give some specific examples of how resistance work helps
prevent niggles etc?
Absolutely! Most sports involve particular muscles to a high degree whilst neglecting others. For example throwing and
racquet swinging motions heavily involve the muscles which internally rotate the arm. If the muscles at the rear of the
shoulder that acts as the “brakes” in this motion are not adequately developed then shoulder pain will be the result.
Sensible resistance training should develop the muscles around the shoulder joint to be of adequate strength in all
directions and hence prevent shoulder pain from racquet and throwing sports.
Similar arguments can be made for strengthening the hamstrings to stabilise the knee joint, and the abdominals to help
brace the lower back. Again the key is to seek an adequate level of strength around each joint in all possible planes of
motion.
What are the basic weights/resistance band exercises that should form the basis of all weights routines for
veterans? Are we looking at big compound moves etc?
The most important thing when planning resistance training for seniors is to recognise that in the initial stages of training
the level of resistance has little influence on the resultant increases in strength and muscle mass ( 2).
Resistance levels of 6 rep max, 9 rep max and 15 rep max have all be used to equal effect in studies on seniors starting
resistance exercise. It therefore makes sense to begin with quite conservative resistance (15 to 20 rep maximums) and
keep forces relatively low. Although it is perfectly possible to hurt oneself with almost any level of resistance anecdotal
reports of soft tissue injury are a lot less frequent with relatively lighter loads.
Regarding what type of movements should be performed the same rules apply as for most athletes. The first rule is that
you never utilise as a core movement an exercise in which the poundage potential is very small. You must use movements
in which you can envisage moving some loads!
The second rule is that you utilise exercises with a maximal range of motion. That means exercises that involve full flexion
and extension of the joints involved. There is little to be gained by working exercises that utilise a deliberately shortened
range of movement.
The third rule is that you utilise exercises wherever possible that involve flexion or extension around more than one joint.
This means that at least two major joints move to accomplish the movement. The major joints are the shoulders, elbows,
knees and hips.
A classic routine would be to have some kind of squat, some kind of push and some kind of pull in each training session,
performed 2-3 times per week, like this:
Day 1.
Squat
Bench Press
Cable Row
Abs work
Day 3.
Deadlift
Overhead press
Pulldown
Shoulder rotator cuff work
Day 5.
Leg Press
Dumbbell Incline Press
Dumbbell Row
With sets and reps being 2-3 sets of 15 - 20 reps each exercise.
Any anecdotal evidence of veteran athletes excelling at power/strength events rather than aerobic activities
(we've all seen those classic images of skinny 90 year olds doing the London marathon)?
We don’t need anecdotal evidence ! Let’s have a look at the current world records for masters powerlifting, in the 75Kg
(165lbs) weight class. These gentlemen are over 60 years old, and have a relatively “normal” bodyweight. The current
record for the bench press in this category is 162.5 Kg ( 358 lbs) by Englishman Alexander Lee. Now admittedly not many
60+ folks will plan on benching over 350lbs but the fact remains that it can be done. There is no physiological reason why
senior athletes cannot be awesomely strong. The squat and deadlift records in the same category are 230Kg (507lbs) and
245Kg (540lbs) respectively. There’s no getting around it; senior lifters are moving some big chunks of weight! On an
anecdotal level I have trained many senior athletes to a level of strength greater than that of untrained men ½ their age.
You CAN and SHOULD maintain your strength right up in to your 70’s and 80’s;there is no inevitable decline guys and gals!
If you fight back with resistance training it is possible to stay stronger, for longer.
Are there any resistance activities to be avoided as we age?
Not solely on account of aging, no. Seniors need to take the same approach to a pre-training screen as anyone else.
Movements that cause pain or exacerbate pre-existing pain should be avoided. Movements that simply feel extremely
awkward or uncomfortable should not be used - find an alternative exercise for the same muscle group that “suits” your
body. The training regimen should start with low to moderate volumes of exercise, with time taken after each session to
analyse the effects of a given exercise or set / rep scheme. To begin with try to limit exercises to one per muscle group per
session. In this way any deleterious effects following a session can be quickly traced back to a specific exercise.
Does recovery become more of an issue as we age? Why?
The rate of recovery from exercise slows as we age as levels of hormones such as testosterone and insulin like growth
factor 1 drop off. Testosterone and IGF1 are both involved in the process of signalling for muscle growth and with
diminished levels the magnitude of response to resistance training is lowered. This is why teens often make gains in 1
month that a senior lifter would be please to make in 3. This is the way of it! As we age we must accept a slower rate of
progression and recovery from training, but never a nil rate. Be not afraid to move slowly, be afraid only to stand still!
The governing factors for training frequency are the speed of protein synthesis following training and the rate of recovery
of the nervous system. The timescale for elevated protein synthesis is around about 48 hours. By 72 hours post training
almost all the localised adaptations that are going to happen, have happened and all that is left is for the nervous system to
recover. This is what takes so much time! You can reduce the time needed for recovery between training session by
avoiding neural stress / fatigue. This is done by avoiding fatigue and failure during training sessions. By all means build
some fatigue but stop a few reps short of the “last rep” you could do.
You will know if you are recovering between training sessions because you will FEEL ready to train. Here may be a little
muscle soreness after training but it does not mean that you need to take the rest of the week off. If you have the energy
and the will to train, then for goodness sake train!
Why do you think many older athletes refrain from lifting weights? Is the image of weight training too
bodybuilding focused?
I don’t believe so, no. To be honest I think most people ignore weight lifting because the aerobic side of fitness is pushed
too hard in the general media. For example almost everyone knows the benefits of taking 30 minutes of moderate aerobic
exercise every day. Now how many people can rattle of the list of health benefits that can be brought about by training with
weights? Not nearly so many! This is a terrible shame as people stand to lose out on so much as they age by NOT weight
training. Aerobics are all well and good but they won’t build muscle mass, and at the end of the day an increase in muscle
mass means an increase in strength and mobility, a decrease in bodyfat levels and subsequent drop in stroke and heart
disease risk, a decrease in the likelihood of becoming diabetic and so forth. It’s all good stuff so people need to spread the
word about the benefits of weight training for seniors and, more importantly, start training. Lead by example folks! It is the
only way we can increase the public profile of this fantastic health giving activity that we love!
REFERENCES
(1) Sports Med. 2004;34(5):329-48
Effects of resistance training on older adults.
Hunter GR, McCarthy JP, Bamman MM. Dept of human Studies, University of Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
(2) J Strength Cond Res. 2004 Nov;18(4):833-8
The effect of resistance-training intensity on strength-gain response in the older adult.
Harris C, DeBeliso MA, Spitzer-Gibson TA, Adams KJ.
Center for orthopaedic and Biomechanics Research, Department of Kinesiology, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725,
USA.
(3) J Musculoskeletal Neuronal Interact. 2004 Jun;4(2):161-4
Muscular adaptations to resistance exercise in the elderly.
Narici MV, Reeves ND, Morse CI, Maganaris CN.
Institute for Biophysical and Clinical Research into Human Movement, Manchester Metropolitan University, Alsager,
Cheshire, UK. m.narici@mmu.ac.uk
(4) Sports Med 2000 Aug,30(2):89-103.
A review of injury characteristics, aging factors and prevention programmes for the older golfer.
Lindsay DM, Horton JF, Vandervoort AA.
University of Calgary Sport Medicine Centre, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
(5) Arh Intern Med 2002 Nov25;162(21):2490.
Improved cardio respiratory endurance following 6 months of resistance exercise in elderly mena nd women.
Vincent KR, Braith RW, Feldman RA, Kallas HE, Lowenthal DT
College of medecine, University of Florida Health services Centre, Gainsville, FL, USA.