The Incredible Flying Nonagenarian

[Mohamed Ellozy]

For those who feel the weight of the years, read The Incredible Flying Nonagenarian.

Masters competitions usually begin at 35 years, and include many in their 60s, 70s and 80s (and a few, like Kotelko, in their 90s, and one or two over 100). Of the thousands who descended on Lahti, hundreds were older than 75. And the one getting all the attention was Kotelko. She is considered one of the world’s greatest athletes, holding 23 world records, 17 in her current age category, 90 to 95.

About the middle of the article I found this quote:

Exercise training helps stop muscle strength and endurance from slipping away. But it seems to also do something else, maintains Mark Tarnopolsky, a professor of pediatrics and medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario (who also happens to be a top-ranked trail runner). Resistance exercise in particular seems to activate a muscle stem cell called a satellite cell. With the infusion of these squeaky-clean cells into the system, the mitochondria seem to rejuvenate. (The phenomenon has been called “gene shifting.”) If Tarnopolsky is right, exercise in older adults can roll back the odometer. After six months of twice weekly strength exercise training, he has shown, the biochemical, physiological and genetic signature of older muscle is “turned back” nearly 15 or 20 years.

Maybe time to return to my dumbbells?

There is, of course, a lot of speculation and very few hard facts, but lots of food for thought.

 

[eddie]

Really interesting article

I am 53 yo and it has been five years of regular work outs and weight training for me. I swear by the weights as part of an overall fitness training program - lower weight but lots of reps. However, it seems to me that the part of the human system that tends to break down first is joint health and that this is what first tends to sideline those who want to stay active. Any comments?
This thread should be very interesting.

 

[Stash]

51 and I'm in the gym with some sort of resistive 5 times a week. Started in my early 30s. I missed a couple years when I moved to Maine (had to get my schedule worked out) and lost a bunch of strength and general energy level. I've been back at it since August and am already feeling the difference in endurance and just feeling better at the end of a day.

At 5' 11" and 155 lb I obviously don't use huge weights but I do push it some and do a lot of body weight stuff (pull ups, tips, lunges). Make all the difference in the world.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

I read that article last night after dinner, Mohamed, and thought of posting it here - thanks for doing it. I also shared it with my wife, who's a gerontologist. It's fascinating stuff, and as you point out, inconclusive as yet.

I hike with people 10-15 years older than myself, and often wonder - are these 75 year-olds able to hike at a rate of 1,000-1,500'/hour because they have blessed with exceptional genes, or simply because they continue to do this month after month, year after year?

And a corollary to this: does exercising at a high level - be it hiking, jogging/running, biking, etc - ward off Alzheimer's and similar mental deterioration? I know exercise studies have been done on this topic, but I don't know of any that study people who engage in HIGH levels.

I have no desire to live forever, but I am motivated to do those things which maintain a high quality of life while I'm here, all the while maintaining a balance and harmony of those other features of life which are also important.

 

[RoySwkr]

And a corollary to this: does exercising at a high level - be it hiking, jogging/running, biking, etc - ward off Alzheimer's and similar mental deterioration?

There was a woman in the NH AMC who strongly believed this, she did the winter 48 around age 70 and then subsided into doing easier hikes at a fast pace. Don't know if it delayed AZ but it did not keep her from dying of old age.

 

[DougPaul]

And a corollary to this: does exercising at a high level - be it hiking, jogging/running, biking, etc - ward off Alzheimer's and similar mental deterioration? I know exercise studies have been done on this topic, but I don't know of any that study people who engage in HIGH levels.

I don't know if high vs moderate levels of exercise have been studied, but from what I have read, exercise is the one factor that correlates with a reduction in the incidence of Alzheimer's.

Doug

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

In today's NY Times: The Benefits of Weight Training for Children:

In the Pediatrics review, researchers with the Institute of Training Science and Sports Informatics in Cologne, Germany, analyzed 60 years’ worth of studies of children and weightlifting. The studies covered boys and girls from age 6 to 18. The researchers found that, almost without exception, children and adolescents benefited from weight training. They grew stronger.

That finding, which busts one of the most pervasive myths about resistance training for young people — that they won’t actually get stronger — is in accord with the results and opinions of most researchers who have studied the subject

Looks like resistance training is valuable at both ends of the life cycle, and obviously in between!