A new study reveals that even if you’ve never exercised before, you have the same ability as a world-class athlete to build muscle. Experts caution, however, that a newcomer to the sport should start slowly to avoid injury. Plus, even small amounts of exercise can make a big difference in your health.
A new study published in the journal Frontiers in Physiology concludes that: Even if you’ve never exercised regularly and you’re older, your body has the same ability to build muscle mass.
Fitness later in life
A team from the University of Birmingham, UK, compared the ability of men to build muscle mass. They looked at two groups: people over the age of 60 who exercised at least twice a week for at least 20 years, and people who didn’t have a regular exercise routine. Participants underwent a muscle biopsy 48 hours before consuming an isotopic tracer drink and performing a weight training session, then another biopsy after finishing. The drink allowed the researchers to see how protein accumulates in muscle.
Both groups had the same ability to build muscle in response to exercise.
This study clearly shows that it doesn’t matter if you haven’t exercised regularly throughout your life. You can always get benefits from exercise as soon as you start. Clearly, a long-term commitment to good health and physical activity is the best approach to achieving whole-body health, but even starting later in life, one can delay age-related muscle frailty and weakness. . Although they were already in better physical shape, the bodies of high-level athletes synthesized protein at the same rate as untrained people when it came to the specific resistance exercise used.
Physiologically, young subjects have a greater advantage in building muscle than older subjects. But regardless of age, progressive overload is key to avoiding plateaus. This means you have to apply the right stimulus (or exercise stress) and variation consistently to continually build, not just maintain, muscle.
How training and building muscle mass works
When a stimulus is applied to the body, it adapts to moderate stress. Actin and myosin are the two main proteins within muscles that are responsible for muscle contraction. They increase the more we train, which allows us to manufacture more protein and strengthen muscles. The muscle-building process begins the moment you ask your muscles to do something difficult and unusual, whether it’s lifting a barbell, doing push-ups, or running on a treadmill.
The stress of exercise damages muscle cells or fibers. As the body repairs them, they become larger than they were before, which helps build muscle.
In short, the experience level of the person doing the exercise doesn’t really matter, as long as the resistance or exercise is challenging. If the muscle is challenged, it will change. During the first few weeks of a new training program, most strength gains are not actually the result of hypertrophy and muscle protein synthesis. Rather, they are the result of the body’s neurological system learning when and how to activate the necessary muscle cells. For example, when you first bench press, your arms aren’t quite in sync and the weights may sway a bit from side to side. But when you do your second or third set of the same exercise, the practice becomes a bit more fluid. Your neurological system is at work.
Start an exercise regimen
Where should newbies who want to train regularly start?
Find your starting point and progress slowly and systematically, adding stress a little at a time over several months. People new to exercise may not be sure what to do to get a good workout, or they may try to do too much at first. That’s why seeing a doctor, working out with a trainer, or both, can be so beneficial.
Many adults just don’t know where to start with strength training or exercise in general. They know it’s good for them, but they’re afraid of getting hurt, especially if they have a pre-existing condition, which is common in older people, such as high blood pressure, back pain, or joint replacement.
Consider the differences that occur when a 40-year-old starts exercising regularly versus someone in their 60s or 70s. A 40-year-old will be able to start at a higher intensity or do more cardio because maximum heart rate decreases with age. A younger person is likely to have fewer health problems to deal with than someone who starts exercising in their 60s or 70s. That being said, anyone can start exercising regularly at any age. We can all benefit from physical activity. The exercises can be modified to suit each person, making them feasible for everyone.
It is very important to emphasize the mental benefits of exercise, especially for older adults where depression is common.
keep it simple Many people feel overwhelmed, don’t know what to do, or don’t have time, so they do nothing. They don’t have to spend an hour in the gym, do a bunch of complicated exercises, or buy complicated fitness trackers. Consistency is the most important thing to create an exercise habit. Once you get in the habit of including exercise in your day, you can adjust the duration, intensity, and type of exercise accordingly.
The key is to start slow
There’s also no need to hit the gym or do hour-long workouts. The minutes matter. Studies have shown that three 10-minute sessions of exercise have the same beneficial effects as one continuous 30-minute session. It is absolutely never too late to start. People who start exercising later in life can’t believe how much better they look and feel. Especially when the chronic pain they had for years goes away. Exercise is medicine.
* HealthKey strives to convey health knowledge in a language accessible to all. In NO EVENT can the information provided replace the opinion of a health professional.
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60 years physical activity senior
Well Being3 months ago
