Yes, the human body naturally changes with age. Muscle mass begins to decline as early as your 30s, and for women, menopause can accelerate both bone and muscle loss. This increases the risk of falls, injuries and greater dependence on others.
And while it’s true that working out is one of the best ways to combat age-related muscle loss, there’s a widespread belief that older adults take longer to recover after intense workouts.
According to a new study published in the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, older adults actually experience less muscle soreness after exercise than previously thought. In fact, older adults showed less muscle damage than younger adults, discrediting the common notion that aging muscles are weaker and need more time to recover.For the study, researchers examined 36 studies on the muscle recovery times of 389 younger adults and 390 older adults after exercise. While "younger adults" were defined as between ages 18 and 25, the researchers gave the somewhat eyebrow-raising label of "older adults" to anyone 35 and up.The data involved people self-reporting their muscle soreness, markers of muscle damage in their blood and muscle function one to two days after exercise.
As for what they found? Older adults didn’t lose more muscle function than younger adults. In fact, after 48 hours, their muscle soreness was about two-thirds lower, and after 72 hours, it dropped to just one-third of what their younger counterparts experienced.Researchers also measured participants’ creatine kinase levels, which is a marker of recent muscle damage, and found that older adults had 28% lower levels just 24 hours after exercising
How gender affects muscle recovery
Breaking it down by gender, women retained more muscle function after exercise than men. This remained true for both strength training and cardio.“This means exercise has no age limit, so move more to live longer and healthier," advises Dr. Hayes. "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.”
Precautions to Consider
While the study found that older adults may need less recovery time between workouts, experts caution against jumping straight into another high-intensity session too quickly.
Up Next:
Related: ‘I’m 71 and in the Best Shape of My Life—Here’s the One Super-Simple Tip I Swear By'
Sources
Muscle tissue changes with aging. Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care.Advancing Age Is Not Associated With Greater Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and Meta-Regression. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity.Dr. Lawrence Hayes is a lecturer in physiology and senior study author at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom. Milica McDowell, PT, MSPT, DPT, C-EP, is an exercise physiologist and vice president of operations at Gait Happens.Age. National Institutes of Health. Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Science Just Shattered a Major Myth About Aging and Muscle Recovery )
Also on site :