For women to decrease mortality risk: lift weights like your life depends on it

A study followed 750 women aged 50-94 years for a decade.  Researchers wanted to see the effect of changes in bone mineral density (BMD) and appendicular lean mass (ALM) on mortality. The study found that deaths increased as BMD and ALM diminished irrespective of age.

A quote from the study, Musculoskeletal decline and mortality: prospective data from the Geelong Osteoporosis Study:

“Poor musculoskeletal health increased the risk for mortality independent of age. This appears to be driven mainly by a decline in bone mass. Low lean mass independently exacerbated mortality risk, and this appeared to operate through poor health exposures.”

Another study had a similar result. The takeaway: Lift weights like your life depends on it. At Austin Personal Training and New Orleans Fitness Trainers we have had success with clients who have increased their bone density and lean muscle mass.

There is a catch: how to stress the musculoskelatal system sufficiently to stimulate improvements in muscle mass and bone density, and at the same time, avoid injuries.  We use MedX equipment. The equipment has special medical-rehab features that make exercise easier on the joints. It allows us the work the body sufficiently to stimulate improvments while sparing the joints.

Those with poor musculoskeletal health die sooner

From this study, Musculoskeletal decline and mortality: prospective data from the Geelong Osteoporosis Study, the conclusion:

“Poor musculoskeletal health increased the risk for mortality independent of age. This appears to be driven mainly by a decline in bone mass. Low lean mass independently exacerbated mortality risk, and this appeared to operate through poor health exposures.” The takeaway: Stay as strong as you can as long as you can.

Proper strength training will add to your lean muscle mass, even those who are considerably older, and it can forestall the progression of osteopenia. While strength training is not a cure for decreasing bone density, it is an effective treatment. A treatment can slow, reverse, or stop the progression of a condition. 

A 60 year old client of ours increased her bone density one standard deviation over the course of two years – one 30 minute workout a week and no meds. Significant results do not require hours in the gym. Those who are older required more recovery, and for most, strength training one time a week is optimal.

At Austin Personal Trainers and New Orleans Personal Trainers we work with people of all ages. We use MedX equipment; with its special medical rehab features, we can accommodate those with limiting conditions.

Caloric restriction and longevity

A New York Times article, The Calorie-Restriction Experiment, details a study where researchers attempted to find out if eating less increased longevity. 132 men and women reduced their daily calories by 25 percent for two years to see if a Spartan diet affects the aging process and its associated diseases. 

Subjects experienced “astounding drops in cardiovascular risk factors”.

BUT, another quote:

“Ninety-nine percent can’t do it,” John Holloszy, a medical doctor who is the lead investigator at Washington University, told me. “The people in the study are not going to stick with it” after they leave.

Damn.  Two years to figure that out?

The study was about factors effecting longevity, but what I found interesting was that subjects lost about 15 % of their body weight and reached a plateau at a “weight stability” level. It is important to note that subjects were of normal weight to slightly-overweight to start. They did not have much to lose. I am guessing that weight loss was not all fat tissue. If you attempt to lose weight by calorie restriction your body will catabolize lean body mass to lower the body’s metabolism to compensate for the decreased caloric intake. Who wants a "weight stablity" level where you have to go through life under-muscled and hungry?

A more reasonable approach might be to cut back eating just a bit and exercise a bit more. A different study found that more muscle was positively associated with longevity. If you add proper strength training to the mix your body will make a positive adaption to withstand the stresses placed on it by the strength training. The body does so by maintaining or even adding muscle mass and thereby increasing metabolism.

At Austin Personal Training and New Orleans Fitness Training we offer high intensity training (HIT) that has been show effective for weight loss. All you have to do is stick with it and make modest changes in eating habits.  You will lose fat and more likely keep it off.