Conventional knowledge suggests that low-impact, non-weight-bearing exercises are ideal for older people. As you age, you may switch from hitting the gym to simply taking walks, for example. But a pair of new studies present evidence that quite the opposite is true. Not only may strength training be able to protect your brain from the type of cognitive decline that leads to Alzheimer's, but it won't hurt your muscles any more than when you were younger.
RELATED: Doctors Warn You're Not Getting Enough of This Vitamin to Protect Against Stroke and Dementia.
Older adults may experience even less muscle damage than young people.
A new scientific review published in the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity compared post-weight training muscle damage in older (ages 35 and up) versus younger (ages 18 to 25) adults. The researchers looked at data from 36 separate studies and concluded that "older adults experience less muscle soreness following exercise according to research which overturns the widespread belief that aging muscles are less resilient," according to a press release.
In fact, older adults experience less muscle soreness, exhibiting a 34 percent reduction at 48 hours and a 62 percent reduction at 72 hours, as compared to their younger counterparts. Additionally, older adults had 28 percent lower creatine kinase levels (which are an indicator of muscle damage) than younger adults 24 hours after working out.
"These findings are significant because they challenge the widespread belief that aging muscles recover more slowly or are more prone to exercise-induced damage. This misconception often discourages older adults from engaging in regular physical activity due to fears of prolonged soreness or weakness," said Lawrence Hayes, PhD, a senior author of the study and a lecturer in physiology at Lancaster Medical School.
"This means exercise has no age limit so move more to live longer and healthier. Aim for 150 minutes of activity each week, add strength training twice per week, and most importantly, find a workout you love. When you enjoy it, you're more likely to stick with it," he added, echoing the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) current exercise recommendations.
RELATED: If You Can Lift This Many Pounds, You're in Great Shape, Doctors Say.
Strength training could prevent cognitive decline.
A separate study published in the journal GeroScience looked more specifically at how strength training affects aging brains.
The researchers enlisted 44 older adults with mild cognitive impairment, "an intermediate clinical condition between normal aging and Alzheimer’s disease in which cognitive decline is greater than expected for age, indicating a higher risk of dementia," explains NeuroscienceNews.com.
Half of the participants completed resistance training exercises twice a week, and half did not exercise. They were all evaluated at the beginning and end of the six-month study using neuropsychological tests and magnetic resonance imaging. The researchers observed the following in the weight-training group:
- Improved memory: Better performance in verbal episodic memory, the ability to verbally recall personal experiences
- Protection against Alzheimer's: No reduction in gray matter volume in the right hippocampus and precuneus (gray matter enables proper function, but reductions in these parts of the brain are associated with Alzheimer’s disease) compared to the control group, which saw a decrease in gray matter volume
- Better cognitive function: Improvements in white matter, the parts of the brain responsible for neuronal signaling
"A characteristic of people with mild cognitive impairment is that they have volume loss in some brain regions associated with the development of Alzheimer’s. But in the group that did strength training, the right side of the hippocampus and precuneus were protected from atrophy," explained Isadora Ribeiro, a first author of the study and a doctoral fellow at the State University of Campinas' School of Medical Sciences in São Paulo, Brazil, per NeuroscienceNews.com.
Marcio Balthazar, the study supervisor and a researcher at the Brazilian Institute for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, explained to the news outlet that they believe the results have to do with the reduced inflammation and neural growth associated with strength training.
"Any physical exercise, whether weight training or aerobic activity, is known to increase levels of a chemical involved in brain cell growth. It can also mobilize anti-inflammatory T-cells. This is key," he noted. "After all, the more pro-inflammatory protein that is released in the body, the greater the chance of developing dementia, accelerating the neurodegenerative process and forming dysfunctional proteins that eventually kill neurons."
RELATED: 91-Year-Old Fitness Star Shares Her Best Workout Tips to Stay Young.
The takeaway:
New research shows that older adults experience the same or less muscle damage than younger adults after strength training. This is welcome news since another study suggests that strength training can improve memory and protect against cognitive decline associated with dementia and Alzheimer's.
