Aging Muscles and Inflammation

We have a problem. It’s that muscle has become demonized and many people are scared of it. The uninformed think all lifting weights is bodybuilding and that you’ll start to look like Ronnie Coleman if you touch too heavy of a dumbbell. The problem with this logic is that it forgets one of the most fundamental reasons to train in the first place - to keep muscle around as you age.

As we age, our muscles start to shrink. Weak muscles can lead to falls and breaks and loss of independence. Many think that increased inflammatory factors throughout the body contributes to the decline.

Dr. Todd Trappe and his colleagues have been studying physiology of older athletes, specifically noticing that the more physically fit someone was, the less inflammation. They became curious to how they respond to weight training stress and inflammation.

The researchers gathered 21 fit men who have been running or cycling since the 70s, 10 cyclists and runners in their 20s and 10 healthy but sedentary elderly men.

After putting the participants through some strength training they checked everyone for inflammation markers. The young athletes showed the least amount. The trained elderly men saw slightly higher makers with the untrained group showing the highest.

When we train it’s stressful for the body. Everyone has an inflammatory response post workout to kickstart the repair process. It appears from this small study that the more physically fit you are, the quicker you can clear that inflammation post workout.

You can find the original article here.

Justin Miner

@portsmouthcoach