Monumental Advantages of Weight Training

Professor of exercise physiology Gianni Maddalozzo of the University of Oregon has done research focusing on osteoporosis and muscle strength in adults between the ages of 40 and 80. The test subjects suffer with sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass that occurs naturally with the aging process. The findings are either extremely exciting and provocative or alarming and discouraging depending on your views of fitness, more specifically weight lifting. Professor Maddalozzo also states initially, that this loss of muscle mass is inevitable. By comparison to other diseases, sarcopenia is quite subtle, siphoning one fifth of a pound of muscle per year between the ages of 25 and 50 and then advancing the pace thereafter. At 50, muscle loss can total a pound per year. The symptoms, not recognized until it’s too late due to the fact the body will not get thinner but accumulate fat to fill the void, may not be detected until the unsuspecting victim takes a tumble and breaks a bone. The victim finds little muscle left to build on during rehab from his injury. Professor Maddalozzo and others are leading a crusade to illuminate us to the monumental advantages attained from weight lifting. Research suggests sarcopenia not only diminishes muscle size and strength but has also been linked to weakened immune systems, early stages of heart disease, diabetes, weaker bones, stiffening of the joints and poor posture. Muscle also plays a central role in protein metabolism, affecting our response to stress. A decline in overall metabolic rate can also be attributed to diminishing muscle mass. Further research is expected to draw a correlation between muscle mass and cancer mortality. Views are changing; there will be more emphasis on weight training and the accompanying nutritional component, protein necessary to develop that muscle mass. Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko, PhD, a professor of kinesiology and community health at the University of Illinois and a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine states, "We used to discourage older adults from lifting heavy weights. Now we're telling them they can't maintain overall health without it." After age 50, you can't get by just doing aerobic exercise. Robert Wolfe, PhD, a professor of geriatrics at the University of Arkansas says, "But it is far more effective to begin resistance training before the process gains momentum. Intervention in the middle years is necessary." Although the federal government has not mandated it, some agencies such as CDC advocate weight lifting to help curtail the devastating affects of sarcopenia. Muscle mass or the lack thereof has also been linked to common diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The results of a study published in Circulation, a scientific periodical, in 2006 connect sarcopenia to insulin resistance, elevated lipid levels in the blood, and increased body fat, especially visceral adipose tissue. Research also concluded that long term adaptation to resistance training lowers cortical response to acute stress; increases total energy expenditure; relieves anxiety, depression, and insomnia; and demonstrates beneficial effects on bone density, arthritis, hypertension, lipid profiles, and exercise tolerance in coronary artery disease subjects. A study conducted about a decade ago at East Tennessee State University revealed some interesting facts about cardiovascular exercise and its inability to create muscle tissue. Forty-three healthy subjects 55 and older were studied. Twenty-three of the individuals did only aerobic activities like treadmill, bike, and elliptical trainers for 30 minutes 3 times per week for 4 months. The remaining 20 individuals split their time doing 15 minutes of aerobic activity and the remaining time lifting weights and using machines. There was a significant increase in bone density and muscle mass in the split-routine group while the aerobic group showed no gains in muscle mass or bone density.