82 year old powerlifter

Something to aim for......



Great squats!  Thanks to Michael Allen Smith for posting this on Facebook.

Depression and DNA aging

An interesting one in line with the impact of mind, attitude and social factors on our overall health.

The report is here - Does depression contribute to the aging process?

Stress has numerous detrimental effects on the human body. Many of these effects are acutely felt by the sufferer, but many more go 'unseen', one of which is shortening of telomere length.

Telomeres are protective caps on the ends of chromosomes and are indicators of aging, as they naturally shorten over time. However, telomeres are also highly susceptible to stress and depression, both of which have repeatedly been linked with premature telomere shortening.

The human stress response is regulated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, or HPA axis. This axis controls the body's levels of cortisol, the primary stress hormone, and it generally does not function normally in individuals with depression- and stress-related illnesses.

Exercise is good for older brains

Continuing the theme of keeping older brains healthy....I've had stuff before on how exercise increases insulin sensitivity (which we saw was a good thing) and how resistance training benefits older people.  Now this study which sees better brain performance in the elderly following intense exercise.

Acute moderate exercise enhances compensatory brain activation in older adults.

Good quote from Coach Rutherford

I heard this as I was walking home last night after a long day at work and a crap week. 

This week Robb Wolf had Michael Rutherford on the podcast  and it was a fun listen, easvesdropping on some pals chatting away really.  One quote stood out:



Your best ally as you age is to take as much muscle mass into your latter years as possible.

Of course it is.

Keep training as you get older

I can't add to this, so will just point you to Sweat Science where there are some amazing photos showing how training as you get older maintains muscle mass.

The incredible unaging triathlete

Old people should do resistance training

Of course they should.  We know that.

Here is another study just to rub it in:

Physical function predicts improvement in quality of life in elderly icelanders after 12 weeks of resistance exercise.

Conclusions: Our study shows that a 12-week resistance exercise program significantly improves lean mass, muscle strength, physical function and HRQL in elderly individuals, and that improvements in physical function predict improvements in HRQL. Our study indicates that resistance training should be promoted for the elderly as it has the potential to improve physical performance, thereby prolonging healthy, independent aging.