- Recent research shows that even if you have never exercised, you have the same muscle-building potential as a professional athlete.
- However, professionals stress the need to take it easy at first for gym newbies to prevent injuries.
- In addition, the health benefits of even a small quantity of physical activity are significant.
Jim Owen, at the age of 70, recognised that his prosperous but sedentary Wall Street profession was negatively impacting his health. Since then, Owen, who will be 79 next month, has regularly worked out.
His book “Just Move! A New Approach to Fitness After 50” details his efforts to become in shape again after reaching middle age.
Research published in Frontiers in Physiology confirms what Owen saw firsthand: you can gain muscle growth at any age, even if you’ve never exercised consistently.
Fitness in later life
Researchers at the University of Birmingham in the UK compared male muscle-building potential. Comparisons were made between persons over 60 who had maintained a regular exercise regimen (working out at least twice a week for at least 20 years) and those who had not.
In this study, participants had a muscle biopsy 48 hours before drinking an isotope tracer drink and completing a weight training session, and another biopsy immediately after the workout. Researchers were able to track the progress of muscle protein synthesis thanks to this drink.
There was no difference in the two groups’ capacities for gaining muscle in response to resistance training.
University professor and study author Leigh Breen, PhD, said, “Our study indicates that it doesn’t matter if you haven’t been a regular exerciser throughout your life: You can still benefit from exercise whenever you start.”
He added that the greatest way to attain whole-body health is through a lifelong dedication to healthy habits like exercise. However, beginning later in life will still help postpone the onset of age-related frailty and muscular weakening.
Personal trainer and co-founder of New York’s Focus Personal Training Institute Joe Masiello says that even though regular exercisers are in better physical shape, their bodies synthesise protein at the same rate as those of untrained individuals when it comes to the specific resistance training exercise used.
Younger people “have a higher physiological advantage to gaining muscle than older people,” as Masiello put it.
Age is irrelevant regarding the need to increase workload to prevent a training plateau. To continually develop muscle, you need to provide enough stimulus (or workout stress) and variety rather than merely keep the muscle you already have.
Exercising and its Effects
A runner’s body responds to physical stress at any age, according to Jason Karp, a running coach at Run-Fit and REVO2LUTION RUNNING in California.
In response to external stressors, the body alters itself to cope. Muscle contraction is primarily mediated by two proteins, actin and myosin, which are found inside muscles. The more we work out, the more protein our bodies produce and the stronger our muscles get.
According to Pennsylvania-based personal trainer Jamie Hickey, “the process of gaining muscle starts the second that you challenge your muscles to do something tough and unexpected,” whether it be taking up a dumbbell, completing a pushup, or racing on a treadmill.
Muscle fibres may be damaged by exercise stress. Muscles get larger when the body heals them.
In a nutshell, as long as the resistance or workout is demanding, it doesn’t matter how much or how little experience the exerciser has.
Adding to this was Tom Holland, a licenced sports nutritionist and exercise physiologist from Connecticut. “If the muscle is pushed, it will alter,” he said.
The bulk of strength improvements in the first few weeks of a new training plan are not due to this muscle protein synthesis and hypertrophy. Hickey argued that such changes resulted from the body’s nervous system learning when and how to activate the necessary muscle cells.
For instance, the first time you do a bench press, you may notice that the weights aren’t perfectly stable and move slightly from side to side. However, when you do a second or third set of the same exercise, things start to become easier, he says.
Hickey said that this was the result of the brain’s activity.
Creating a new workout routine
How do newcomers to working out get started?
“Figure out where you’re at now and build from there,” Karp said. “Add a little stress at a time over many months.”
New exercisers often overextend themselves since they don’t know how to exercise properly. This is why it is often a good idea to seek the advice of a medical professional, a trainer, or both.
Morgan Nolte, PhD, an expert in geriatric physical therapy from Nebraska, said, “Many people simply don’t know where to start with strength training or exercise in general.”
“They know it’s healthy for them but are frightened of being harmed,” she said. “This is particularly true if they have a preexisting ailment, which is frequent in older folks, such as high blood pressure, back discomfort, or a joint replacement.”
Keep in mind that a person in their forties who starts working out consistently will experience different benefits than an individual in their seventies who does the same thing.
Since the maximal heart rate declines with age, a 40-year-old can begin at a greater intensity or do more from a cardiac standpoint. If you’re beginning an exercise routine in your 60s or 70s, you’ll likely have more health problems to work with than someone younger.
However, it is never too late for anybody to start an exercise routine. Exercise is good for the body and the mind. Nolte claims that everybody can do the exercises since they may be adjusted to fit the person’s needs.
She also notes the need to emphasise exercise’s positive effects on the mind, particularly among the elderly, disproportionately affected by depression.
Masiello advised keeping things basic. “Many individuals don’t take action because they feel helpless and don’t know what to do or because they don’t have the time. They need not commit an hour to the gym, do a series of difficult exercises, or buy expensive fitness equipment.
He also emphasises the need for consistency in establishing a workout routine. Once you’ve gotten into the habit of working out regularly, you may vary the time, intensity, and kind of your workouts to maximise their benefits.
Even Holland acknowledges the need to take things carefully at first.
Holland reassured his listeners, “you need not go to the gym or do hourlong sessions, either.” “Every minute counts. Three 10-minute workouts are equivalent to one 30-minute workout, according to research.
It’s never too late to start,” Masiello said. When people start working out later in life, they often see a dramatic improvement in their overall health and appearance. Especially if the ache they’ve been experiencing for years finally goes away. Physical activity has therapeutic benefits.