Miscellaneous
Resistance Exercise Reverses Aging in Human Skeletal Muscle
Doug McGuff, MD recently posted an article on ultimate-exercise.com on the effects of resistance training on aging, calling attention to a study published in PLoS ONE showing a reversal of aging in over 500 genes. (Melov S, Tarnopolsky MA, Beckman K, Felkey K, Hubbard A (2007) Resistance Exercise Reverses Aging in Human Skeletal Muscle. PLoS ONE 2(5): e465. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000465)
Abstract
Human aging is associated with skeletal muscle atrophy and functional impairment (sarcopenia). Multiple lines of evidence suggest that mitochondrial dysfunction is a major contributor to sarcopenia. We evaluated whether healthy aging was associated with a transcriptional profile reflecting mitochondrial impairment and whether resistance exercise could reverse this signature to that approximating a younger physiological age. Skeletal muscle biopsies from healthy older (N = 25) and younger (N = 26) adult men and women were compared using gene expression profiling, and a subset of these were related to measurements of muscle strength. 14 of the older adults had muscle samples taken before and after a six-month resistance exercise-training program. Before exercise training, older adults were 59% weaker than younger, but after six months of training in older adults, strength improved significantly (P<0.001) such that they were only 38% lower than young adults. As a consequence of age, we found 596 genes differentially expressed using a false discovery rate cut-off of 5%. Prior to the exercise training, the transcriptome profile showed a dramatic enrichment of genes associated with mitochondrial function with age. However, following exercise training the transcriptional signature of aging was markedly reversed back to that of younger levels for most genes that were affected by both age and exercise. We conclude that healthy older adults show evidence of mitochondrial impairment and muscle weakness, but that this can be partially reversed at the phenotypic level, and substantially reversed at the transcriptome level, following six months of resistance exercise training.
The full paper can be read here.
Towards the end of the intruduction, the paper states,
“We report here that healthy older adults show a gene expression profile in skeletal muscle consistent with mitochondrial dysfunction and associated processes such as cell death, as compared with young individuals. Moreover, following a period of resistance exercise training in older adults, we found that age-associated transcriptome expression changes were reversed, implying a restoration of a youthful expression profile.”
Notice they didn’t say that resistance training slowed or stopped the age-associated transcriptome (set of genetic instructions for how to build proteins) expression changes - it reversed them. Like Dr. McGuff says in his article, this is the closest thing there is to a fountain of youth. If everybody regularly engaged in proper strength training we’d have an elderly population far healthier, more independent, and enjoying a much greater all-around quality of life. Barring accidents, diseases and other disasters, most would probably also live significantly longer.
Dr. McGuff made an interesting observation based on the study that the low-intensity, long-duration aerobic “exercise” so often recommended as healthy activity may actually contribute to aging:
“If we embrace this concept of aging (the gap between maximal and minimal output), and the type of training that enhances this capability; then we must acknowledge that there is a type of exercise which can produce the opposite result. Low intensity, steady state exercise will actually accelerate aging by this definition.”
The explanation that follows is probably one of the strongest arguments I’ve read against traditional low-intensity, long-duration cardio. It’s too long to post here, so I strongly recommend going there and reading it. In a nutshell (and greatly oversimplified) the changes resulting from low-intensity, long-duration exercise may interfere with the type of exercise adaptations the above study has shown to reverse age-associated transcriptome expression changes
Lawsuit Alleges CrossFit Workout Damaging
There is an article in the Navy Times on a former sailor suing for permanent injury resulting in disability he claims resulted from a CrossFit workout. The article states:
“Several [experts] in the sports medicine field (military and civilian) have addressed a concern that the program has the potential for causing an increased incidence of musculoskeletal injuries and even muscle breakdown (rhabdomyoloysis) and therefore is not supported by [Navy Center for Personal and Professional Development],” the story states. “Granted, anyone can develop a program that’s very intense, but there’s a safer way of doing this for our sailors.” Picker could not be reached for comment.”
Later in the article,
“Several physicians, including Walter Reed Army Medical Center neurophysiologist Lt. Col. Mark Landau, concluded that Mimms suffered severe injuries following his intense CrossFit workout, according to court records.
The injuries included rhabdomyolysis, lumbosacral spine strain and strain of the bilateral quadriceps, according to court documents. As a result of these injuries, Mimms was incapacitated, lost time from work and required surgery, court records show.”
Without knowing the specific workout performed I can’t be certain, but I think it’s a safe bet the spine and quadriceps injuries resulted from performing one or more Olympic lifts or other exercises in an explosive manner.
This was the point of the CrossFit post I wrote a few weeks back. Many of the exercises recommended and the sloppy form resulting from attempting to move too quickly carry an unnecessarily high risk of injury. The same or better benefits could be had from replacing the Olympic lifts and other explosive movements with exercises that can be performed without reliance on momentum and using stricter form. I have some clients who regularly perform modified versions of the CrossFit routines Fran, Diane and Cindy (many of the CrossFit routines have women’s names) to focus on metabolic and cardiovascular conditioning, and none have have been injured in the process. By replacing the explosive movements with exercises performed in a controlled fashion the routines can be performed with a much lower risk of injury while maintaining the high level of metabolic and cardiovascular demand.
The thrusters in Fran (combined squat and press) can be performed in a controlled fashion, and the kipping pull-ups in both Fran and Cindy and can be replaced with strict pull-ups or chin-ups. I have one client with a grade 3 spondylolisthesis at L5-S1 and others with various knee and back problems who have been able to perform these routines with no problems. If these people can do them safely, they certainly shouldn’t cause spine and quadriceps injuries in a healthy person.
“The suit claims Mimms suffered from rhabdomyolysis — which occurs when tiny shreds of muscle fiber are absorbed by the bloodstream and ultimately poison the kidneys — as a result of performing a CrossFit workout under the direction of Lopez, who worked as Ruthless Training Concepts trainer at the now-defunct Manassas World Gym.”
I do not believe rhabdomyolysis is a problem with CrossFit training any more than it is a problem with high intensity training or any other exercise method, but rather a failure of the trainee or instructor to properly scale the routine to their current level of conditioning. Any workout can cause this if the intensity and volume exceed what is appropriate for the trainee. In addition to prescribing workouts of appropriate intensity and volume, the chances of developing rhabdomyolysis can be reduced by staying adequately hydrated and keeping the training environment as cool as possible. Extra care should be taken with trainees with kidney problems or other conditions such as sickle-cell trait which predispose them to a greater risk of developing rhabdomyolysis.
Trainees should be motivated to perform to the best of their abilities, and to train at a high level of intensity, but not encouraged to push harder or do more than they can handle.
References:
Kark JA, Ward FT. Exercise and hemoglobin S. Semin in Hematol. 1994;31:181-225.
Survival of the Fittest
“Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general.”
- Mark Rippetoe
The phrase “survival of the fittest” refers to the process of natural selection - the members of a species best suited to survival in their environment are more likely to live long enough to reproduce and pass along their genes, with each successive generation becoming better suited - more fit - to survive in that environment. Having already been born, there is little we can do to improve our fitness in the genetic/evolutionary sense. That is decided for us at the moment of conception. However, we can and should do everything we can to improve every aspect of our fitness in the physical sense.
In most parts of the world natural selection no longer operates the way it does in the wild due to agricultural and medical advancements and cultural and societal changes. These changes have lowered the genetic bar for survival significantly - have almost gotten rid of the bar altogether. Advancements in labor saving devices and easy access to calorie dense food have compounded this by minimizing the physical effort required for daily survival to practically nothing, resulting in a society that is mostly weak, slow and fat. Most people alive now in developed countries would be incapable of handling the physical demands of the day to day lives of our ancestors, and would have no hope of surviving in such an environment. There would, however, be far fewer hungry bears and lions. › Continue reading
A Moment of Silence
Nautilus inventor and exercise science pioneer Arthur Jones died exactly one year ago today. I ask that those of you who know him or were influenced by him please take a moment of silence at some point today to reflect on what he has contributed to the field of exercise and to each of us personally.
I first met Arthur in 1997 at a MedX presentation in Maitland, FL, and was fortunate to have spoken with him by phone several times over the years and visited him at his home in Ocala. Actually, as those who knew Arthur would tell you, I did a lot more listening than speaking, since a conversation with him was more like attending a lecture than having a two-way exchange.
I probably would not be where I am today, doing what I’m doing, if not for Arthur Jones. The two biggest direct influences on my training and my career were Mike Mentzer and Ken Hutchins, both employees of Nautilus and heavily influenced by Arthur. Many of the other people who have directly influenced me, Ellington Darden, Jim Flanagan, Joe Mullen, etc., also worked for and were friends of Arthur, and are all brilliant men in their own right. I am grateful to all of them for their generosity in sharing their time and knowledge.
Redesigning Drew Baye’s High Intensity Training
Over the next week or two there may be times when the site will not work properly or graphics may be missing. I will be trying and possibly customizing different WordPress themes for the site and may make a bit of a mess of it at times. Rather than take the site down until it’s ready, I’m going to leave it online since I’d rather have it be ugly and the info be available than not have it there for people who want to read it.
As always your feedback and suggestions are greatly appreciated.
New Article by Doug McGuff, MD
Dr. Doug McGuff has posted a new article on high intensity training and non-exercise activity thermogenesis over at ultimate-exercise.com. SuperSlow and HIT trainees and instructors, especially those of the more hardcore anti-aerobics mindset, will probably find Doug’s observations interesting.
Doug also announces the book he co-wrote with John Little, Body by Science, is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com. I’ve talked with John about it a few times over the past year, and it sounds like it’s going to be packed with information and a great resource for bodybuilders and anyone training to improve their physique.
Recent Updates, Post Comments, and the High Intensity Bodybuilding Book
As long time readers have probably noticed, I have been uploading several older articles and interviews along with some new posts. Most of the articles from the previous version of the site will be reposted eventually, many with major updates. Select journal entries may also be posted over the next couple of weeks, but they will be posted with the date they were originally written and go directly to archives.
One of the great things about using WordPress to manage this site is the ability for readers to post comments on articles. I believe reader feedback and discussion will contribute significantly to the value of the site. Unfortunately, there are also a few down sides, such as keeping discussions on topic and weeding out spam.
To maintain the value of the discussions to all readers I will only be allowing comments or questions that relate to the topic of the post. Comments that are disruptive or off-topic won’t be posted. Questions that are off-topic may receive a private reply or be addressed in a separate article, but they won’t be posted. Comments with advice on exercise or nutrition that is wrong won’t be posted. If you want to give bad advice you are welcome to do so on your own web site, but not here. I won’t allow things to get out of hand as they have on other high intensity training and bodybuilding discussion forums. This may piss off a few people, but I think it will benefit the majority of readers.
A few people have asked about the progress of the High Intensity Bodybuilding book. I’m making steady progress and plan to publish it this summer. There is still a bit of writing and a lot of editing to be done, as well as illustrations and photographs. I will post excerpts here as the book gets closer to completion.
Exercise is an Absolute Requirement for Life
Exercise is not merely important. It is absolutely essential. Most people, however, do not realize this, because the time factor of the cause-effect relationship between lack of exercise and the resulting decline in functional ability is so great. To further elaborate on this point, Arthur Jones once used the following example during a Nautilus seminar:
“If I were to grab you by the throat, and choke off your air supply, it would immediately become apparent to you that oxygen is absolutely essential for life. If I were to lock you in a room with no water, after several hours, the degree of thirst you would experience would indicate to you that water is a requirement for life. If I were to lock you in that room with water, but no food, it would take a little longer, a matter of a couple of days, before you would be ravenously hungry, and there would be no question in your mind that food was absolutely essential for life. However, it often takes years before ones body begins to show the harm done by a lack of proper exercise.”
If nothing is done to prevent it, we gradually lose muscle tissue as we age, becoming weaker, and less flexible as a result. There are several problems associated with this, the most obvious being a decrease in metabolism resulting in increased body fat, which is a primary risk factor for heart disease and several other serious health conditions such as diabetes. Not so obvious though, are the effects of a lack of exercise on one’s bones. › Continue reading
Redesign
I decided to completely redesign the site using WordPress to make it easier to update and manage. This will mean more content more frequently, and new features to make it easier to find information on specific topics on the site. All of the articles, journal entries, and downloads from the previous version of the site will be back over the next few weeks. Some articles will be updated or expanded and the workout and measurement charts are being redesigned.
Along with the redesign, I plan to finally incorporate regular question and answer features on the site to address some of the more common questions I receive from clients and through e-mail. I also plan to start keeping a more regular training journal, which seemed to be a favorite of readers back when I was writing for Cyberpump! years ago. All of this will be much easier to do with the new set up.
Thanks to Marshall and Jason for their help with the conversion to WordPress. It is greatly appreciated.