Science Just Shattered a Major Myth About Aging and Muscle Recovery ...Saudi Arabia

It's time to debunk one of the biggest misconceptions about aging. Getting older doesn't mean you have to look or feel old. Despite what you might see on TV, not every older adult is bed-bound or walking with a cane.

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.

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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.

But not so fast: New research is now challenging that assumption, and the findings may completely change how we think about aging and exercise.Related: ‘I’m 64 and In the Best Shape of My Life—This Is the Exact Workout Routine I Swear By’

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.

Related: How to Improve Workouts Over 50, According to Trainers

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

“These findings are significant because they challenge the widespread belief that aging muscles recover more slowly or are more prone to exercise-induced damage," says Dr. Lawrence Hayes, a lecturer in physiology and senior study author at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom. "This misconception often discourages older adults from engaging in regular physical activity due to fears of prolonged soreness or weakness.”Related: The Best Walking Workout for People Over 50

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.”

Related: Best Walking Speed for Weight Loss, According to Trainers

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.

"I don't think that this should give 'older adults' a free pass to go work super hard in longer durations because they would get 'less sore.' They are still at risk of orthopedic or muscular injury," says Dr. Milica McDowell, DPT, an exercise physiologist at Gait Happens, who was not involved in the study. "If they suddenly interpret this research to imply that they could lift more weight or work out a lot longer, they could get injured. You need to properly ramp up to those longer distances or heavier weights."Another major issue to consider? How the study authors defined "older adult." The National Institutes of Health classifies older adults as 65 years and older, but as previously mentioned, the study grouped anyone 35 and older into that category. The authors explained that the threshold was based on the age range of the studies analyzed (30 to 60 years old), but it still blurs important distinctions."The caution with the interpretation of the article is that even though they compared many articles in the analysis, they clearly did not differentiate the age groups," Dr. McDowell explains.Rather than ramping up weight or intensity, Dr. McDowell suggests older adults view the study as reassurance that they can safely work out more frequently and recover well afterward.

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