How to reverse age-related energy decline

Mitochondria, found in most cells, is where respiration and energy production takes place. As we age mitochondria become impaired and energy production declines. A study sought to determine if high-intensity interval training HIIT) could reverse that trend.

Two groups did HIIT workouts for 12 weeks - men and women ages 18 to 30 and men and women ages 65 to 80. From this article about the study,High-Intensity Interval Training Helps Slow Down the Aging Process the results:

“Participants in the younger group saw a 49% increase to their mitochondrial capacity, which is what helps your body’s cells create energy. The older participants saw a 69% increase.”

HIIT workouts don’t take long, and they are effective in addressing a wide range of health issues. At New Orleans Fitness Training and Austin Fitness Training we specialize in HIIT for strength - one integrated workout combining strength training and interval training.   We also have clients do interval training on stationary bikes. Past blog posts on mitochondria and a post on bike interval training.

The best exercise for aging muscles

As we age muscles weaken, cell damage accumulates, and mitochondria, which produce energy, decline in number and energy output. A study sought to determine what type of exercise might best repair that mitochondria damage. The study was composed of two groups, men and women under thirty and men and women over 64. Subjects were further divided into four sub-groups. Each group did one of the following exercise regimens for 12 weeks:

• Vigorous weight lifting

• Moderate bike riding plus light weight lifting

• Interval training on a bike

• Those who did nothing

As would be expected weight lifters experienced gains in muscle and strength, and the bike interval trainers increased endurance. Unexpectedly were the changes measured in the cells. From the NYT article reporting on the study, The Best Exercise for Aging Muscles - NYTimes.com, this quote:

“Among the younger subjects who went through interval training, the activity levels had changed in 274 genes, compared with 170 genes for those who exercised more moderately and 74 for the weight lifters. Among the older cohort, almost 400 genes were working differently now, compared with 33 for the weight lifters and only 19 for the moderate exercisers.”

Another quote:

“It seems as if the decline in the cellular health of muscles associated with aging was 'corrected' with exercise, especially if it was intense.”

At our Austin Personal Trainers facility we specialize in high intensity interval training (HIIT) for strength - one integrated workout combining strength training and interval training. The workout increases strength and endurance, and reverses mitochondria impairments to a level consistent with a younger stage in life. It is like having a fountain of youth. People of any age can benefit from this workout. We also have clients do interval training on stationary bikes. Past blog posts on mitochondria and a post on bike interval training.

Your mother infected you with an alien

Your body is an amazing feat of construction.Ten trillion living cells all working together to make you. All the instructions required to build the You that You became are encoded in your DNA. Forty-Six chromosomes containing more than 25,000 genes have all the instructions required to build a human. Except…Nothing in your DNA explains how to make fuel for the engines that run inside you. Imagine if we had 1000 car manufacturers making millions of cars but no gasoline refineries. A car without fuel is just… art.

The fuel you need is call Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP). For your cells to move, grow, repair, and reproduce they need ATP. To make your muscles move you need ATP, but your DNA doesn’t have any instructions for making ATP.

Luckily for you, your mother included a little extra in her reproductive package. A tiny cell-like structure, a tiny alien, called mitochondria. Mitochondria are inside you, but are not part of your genome. They do not have any instructions for making any part of you. They have their own DNA with genes and instructions needed to reproduce and thrive on their own. Like your cells, they also need ATP to function. Luckily, they make ATP. They know how. They just need a safe place to live while they do it. In fact, they make so much ATP that they give the extra to you for your body to use.

Over time these alien mitochonria get old and slow down. They produce less and less ATP. Strength training with sufficient intensity has been shown to revitalize mitochondria and increase ATP production.

At Austin Personal Trainers facility we have a strength training program that will give your mitochondria a boost and increase your energy to levels you have not experienced in years. It is like having a fountain of youth.

Thank you to John Shafer, personal trainer at Kelly Personal Training Austin, for writing this blog post.