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Research: Stay strong
Strength training and building muscle mass is key to a long and healthy life, according to new research – but be warned, big muscles don’t necessarily mean strong muscles
STRENGTH FOR LIFE
It’s widely accepted that regular aerobic exercise is key to a long and healthy life, but now new research suggests that hitting the weights could be just as important in avoiding an early departure.
In a new analysis by US researchers at Penn State College of Medicine, published in Preventive Medicine, older adults who met twice-weekly strength training guidelines had lower odds of dying.
Over a 15-year period, older adults who strength trained at least twice a week had a 46 per cent lower risk of premature death than those who did not. They also had 41 per cent lower odds of cardiac death and 19 per cent lower risk of dying from cancer.
This was in addition to the more obvious benefits of strength training for older adults – namely improved muscle strength and physical function – as well as improvements in fighting chronic conditions such as diabetes, osteoporosis, low back pain and obesity.
Many studies have previously found that older adults who are physically active have a better quality of life and a lower risk of early mortality, but far less data has been collected on strength training specifically – possibly because strength training guidelines are newer than recommendations for aerobic activity.
DOES SIZE MATTER?
A study by Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK has found that bigger isn’t always better when it comes to muscles – because muscle strength doesn’t increase proportionately as the muscles grow in size.
The research was carried out on individual thigh muscle cells taken from a group of volunteers: 12 bodybuilders, six power athletes (such as sprinters) and 14 control subjects – men who were physically active but who didn’t weight train. Researchers stimulated the muscle cells and analysed the contractions.
By also measuring the size of the cell, they were able to calculate the force produced per gram of muscle. The higher the force, the better the muscle quality.
The individual fibres of the bodybuilders’ muscle cells were very large compared to the control group, and were able to generate forces that far exceeded those of other people. However, the individual cells had a lower force per gram of muscle than muscle cells from people who didn’t weight train – suggesting that excessive muscle growth was having a negative impact on muscle quality.
The power athletes had similar quality muscles to the controls, but were able to produce the force quicker. Their muscles were more powerful. “The training method seems to have an impact on muscle quality, which is of great importance in improving performance,” says lead researcher professor Hans Degens.
All that said, it’s important to recognise that weight lifting has an impact beyond muscle size: it can also improve the function of supporting tissues and blood vessels, as well as stimulating the nervous system to use more of the available muscle.
In short, reduced muscle force at a cellular level doesn’t necessarily mean impaired function at a whole body level – which is why bodybuilders are still able to perform significant shows of strength. Indeed, as a general rule, the bigger the muscle the more force it can produce.
Nevertheless, as the muscle gets bigger and bigger, there isn’t a proportional increase in its quality – there would appear to be an optimal size beyond which the gains are minimal.
The new study – which was published in Experimental Physiology – shows that neither the size of the muscle, nor an individual muscle cell, can be used to accurately predict its overall strength.
MUSCLE vs FAT
Maintaining a high level of muscle mass is key to living a longer life, regardless of a person’s level of fat mass, according to new research.
The analysis from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in the United States found that cardiovascular disease patients who have high muscle mass and low fat mass have a lower mortality risk than those with other body compositions – although high muscle mass is the more important factor.
The researchers examined data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999–2004) of 6,451 participants who all had cardiovascular disease.
The findings highlight the importance of maintaining muscle mass in order to prolong life, rather than focusing on weight loss – even among people who have a higher cardiovascular risk.
The authors suggest that clinicians should encourage their patients to participate in resistance exercises as a part of healthy lifestyle changes, rather than focusing primarily on weight loss.
The research findings were also published in the American Journal of Cardiology.
