Exercise Now, Stay Fit Later

Evan Stevens

The next few studies were about the effects of creatine supplementation and resistance training in aging adults. We know that aging decreases bone density as well as muscle strength while increasing fat deposition. Working out can prevent this, and the fitter you are when you are younger, the easier it is to be fit when you are older. Not only does midlife fitness improve later life fitness but also improves later life cognition. When looking at resistance training, what we want to do is train with heavy weight to get the most out of the workout. Heavy weights not only increase strength gains greater than repeated sets of light weights, but also have better implications for bone deposition, muscle tone, and blood flow.

When doing resistance work it is important to always go to exhaustion – sets and reps aren’t quite as important as they once were, strength and lasting change can only be done when muscles are worked to the point they can’t work anymore. The best way to do this is to do a “drop weight” style workout; lift heavy weight until you can’t lift that weight anymore, drop it and quickly pick up a lighter weight and keep going. When combined with creatine (supplies energy to the muscle by increasing the amount of ATP available), resistance training increases the muscle size by five percent. In seniors, because protein synthesis decreases, they need to consume more creatine to achieve the same benefits. The heavier, more difficult the work, the better the outcomes, in both strength and cognition (vigorous, high intensity exercise seems to have the greatest benefit).

When doing resistance work it is important to always go to exhaustion – sets and reps aren’t quite as important as they once were, strength and lasting change can only be done when muscles are worked to the point they can’t work anymore. The best way to do this is to do a “drop weight” style workout; lift heavy weight until you can’t lift that weight anymore, drop it and quickly pick up a lighter weight and keep going. When combined with creatine (supplies energy to the muscle by increasing the amount of ATP available), resistance training increases the muscle size by five percent. In seniors, because protein synthesis decreases, they need to consume more creatine to achieve the same benefits. The heavier, more difficult the work, the better the outcomes, in both strength and cognition (vigorous, high intensity exercise seems to have the greatest benefit).

Take away:

To ensure that you stay healthy as you age, continue to workout, supplement with creatine to build muscles (increase consumption as you get older), resistance train with heavy weight and go until fatigue. The earlier in life you are in shape and the longer you stay in shape, the better the outcomes are for later life. The best way to exercise is through HIIT, which not only improves muscle strength but cognition too.