Ed - Thanks for the post. Important information, especially for
those of us past 50....

--- In Explosive_Fitness@yahoogroups.com, Ed White
<kitesurfer257@...> wrote:
>
> The below extracts are relevant:
>
> Special Report: Fight Age With Muscle
>
> http://health. msn.com/dietfitn ess/articlepage. aspx?cp-
> documentid=10017046 9&page=1
>
> The latest research is changing how doctors look at muscle mass.
No
> longer seen simply in terms of performance or vanity, muscle mass
> serves as the body's armor against several age-related diseases
as
> well as heart problems, diabetes, and even cancer...
>
> Maddalozzo's research focuses on the study of osteoporosis and
muscle
> strength in adults ages 40 to 80. Most of his subjects suffer
from
> advanced sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass that occurs
naturally —
> and inevitably — with age. Sarcopenia, in other words, is the
> scientific term for a phenomenon that Shakespeare identifies with
the
> sixth age of man: the gray, traditionally enfeebled years of
> the "shrunk shank."
>
> Compared with sarcopenia, other sneaky scourges of the middle
years,
> such as arterial plaque buildup and prostate enlargement,
announce
> their presence with a fanfare of symptoms. But sarcopenia creeps
by
> in imperceptible increments, stealing a fifth of a pound of
muscle a
> year, from ages 25 to 50, and then it picks up a dreadful, yet
still
> mostly silent, velocity. The condition subsequently bleeds a man
of
> up to a pound of muscle a year, a loss he is unlikely to notice
until
> it's too late. "You haven't gotten any thinner, because the
pounds of
> muscle are typically replaced by pounds of fat," explains
Maddalozzo.
>
> "But sarcopenia is progressing all the time. One day you trip and
> fall and suffer a fracture of your hip. Then, when you try to
rehab
> after hip-replacement surgery, you discover that you have
virtually
> no muscle mass to build on."
>
> Despite (or perhaps because of) its universal, inexorable nature,
> sarcopenia, until recently, did not get much respect. Indeed,
until
> 1988, the condition lacked its own scientific
name. "Historically,
> the scientific community has taken muscle for granted," concedes
> William Kraemer, PhD, a professor of kinesiology at the
University of
> Connecticut. Perhaps more tellingly, sarcopenia's proven
antidote —
> resistance training — will never make a dime for a pharmaceutical
> company. Scientists such as Kraemer, Maddalozzo, and a cadre of
> others are at the forefront of a movement that is redefining the
> importance of muscle mass in terms of overall health, not simply
> performance or vanity.
>
> Recent research shows that diminished muscle strength and mass
are
> empirically linked to declines in the immune system and the onset
of
> heart disease and diabetes, not to mention weaker bones, stiffer
> joints, and slumping postures. Muscle mass has also been shown to
> play a central role in protein metabolism, which is particularly
> important in the response to stress, and decreased muscle mass
> correlates with a decline in overall metabolic rate (muscle mass
> burns more calories at rest than fat does). Further research is
> expected to show measureable links between diminished muscle mass
and
> cancer mortality. The thinking about muscles and resistance
training,
> in short, is reaching critical mass, and a major shift in the
> American fitness paradigm is under way. Along with this
increasing
> emphasis on resistance training, there is an increasing awareness
> about the nutritional factors that can complement muscle growth,
> namely increasing daily intake of protein.
>
> "In the last 20 years, we have come full circle," says Wojtek
Chodzko-
> Zajko, PhD, a professor of kinesiology and community health at
the
> University of Illinois and a fellow of the American College of
Sports
> Medicine. "We used to discourage older adults from lifting heavy
> weights. Now we're telling them they can't maintain overall
health
> without it. After age 50, you can't get by just doing aerobic
> exercise." Although it's not explicit yet in the government's
overall
> health guidelines, agencies such as the Centers for Disease
Control
> and Prevention now recommend a couple of rounds of resistance
> training a week. "Muscle function can improve — sometimes
robustly —
> with resistance training, even after the onset of sarcopenia,"
says
> Robert Wolfe, PhD, a professor of geriatrics at the University of
> Arkansas. "But it is far more effective to begin resistance
training
> before the process gains momentum. Intervention in the middle
years
> is necessary."
>
> The muscles of most men reach maximum size (or, strictly
speaking,
> attain the maximum number of fibers per muscle) at age 25. From
that
> lamentably early peak, a long, gradual decline ensues. Over the
next
> 25 years, the muscles lose approximately 10 percent of their
fibers.
> Then, starting around age 50, things go to hell. The body's
> production of testosterone, human growth hormone, and DHEA ebbs,
and
> the motor cells of your nervous system, which spider out from the
> spinal cord to control the contraction of muscle fibers during
> physical activity, deteriorate rapidly. As the motor cells die,
so do
> the fibers to which they're attached, especially type II or "fast-
> twitch" fibers, the ones employed for short bursts of anaerobic
> power. For instance, if your biceps consist of 90 fibers when
you're
> 50 years old, by age 80, that number will be closer to 50 fibers,
> most of them feeble type "slow-twitch" fibers.
> It's through the study of sarcopenia that a greater appreciation
of
> muscle mass is evolving. Two seminal works, "Starvation in Man,"
an
> article published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1970,
and
> Hunger Disease: Studies by the Jewish Physicians in the Warsaw
> Ghetto, a book published in 1979, show that the depletion of
muscle
> mass is the cause of death in human starvation. This is because
> essential organs and tissues such as the brain, heart, and liver
rely
> on a steady supply of amino acids to synthesize new proteins and
> maintain function. Normally, dietary protein supplies these amino
> acids. Under duress, however, these organs maintain homeostasis
by
> drawing protein from the muscles. Our skeletal muscle mass,
besides
> powering all of our movements, also serves as a reservoir for our
> vital organs. And like all reservoirs, this one can run low — or,
in
> the case of starvation, run dry.
> In 2005, results from the Mediterranean Intensive Oxidant Study,
> which examined the causes of osteoporosis in men, found that bone
> density and mineral content had a direct correlation to skeletal
> muscle mass. "The stronger and thicker your muscle tissue, the
more
> force that tissue exerts on the bone," explains Maddalozzo. "And
> increased force, both during exercise and normal daily
functioning,
> results in the bones growing stronger and denser. That
significantly
> retards osteoporosis and, as a man ages, the rate of hip
fractures."
> A man with a full reservoir of muscle mass enjoys dual
protection:
> stronger bones combined with enhanced strength and Muscle mass
has
> also proved to play a key role in more common, but no less
deadly,
> conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. A study
of
> scientific literature published in Circulation in 2006 cites
articles
> showing that sarcopenia has been linked to insulin resistance
(the
> main factor in adult-onset, or type 2, diabetes), elevated lipid
> levels in the blood, and increased body fat, especially "visceral
> adipose tissue," which gathers around the heart and other vital
> organs and is a primary risk factor of heart disease. In fact,
> researchers concluded that long-term adaptation to resistance
> training lowers cortical response to acute stress; increases
total
> energy expenditure; relieves anxiety, depression, and insomnia;
and
> demonstrates beneficial effects on bone density, arthritis,
> hypertension, lipid profiles, and exercise tolerance in coronary
> artery disease. "As the dates on these studies indicate, we are
just
> seeing the tip of the research iceberg," says Wolfe. "In the
years
> ahead, we are likely to see the proof of even closer
relationships
> between muscle mass and disease states."
> The case against overreliance on cardiovascular fitness — a case
> striking close to my heart — was made best in a study conducted
at
> East Tennessee State University more than a decade ago.
Researchers
> studied 43 healthy individuals who were 55 or older. Twenty-three
of
> the subjects worked out three times a week for 30 minutes per
> session, confining their exercise to the treadmill, stair
machine,
> and stationary bike. The other 20 subjects performed 15 minutes
of
> aerobic exercise and devoted the rest of their sessions to
training
> their major muscle groups on weight machines. After four months,
bone
> density and lean muscle mass increased significantly in the group
> combining aerobic and strength training, but it did not improve
for
> the group confined to aerobic activity.
> According to Wolfe, Kraemer, Chodzko-Zajko, and other experts,
> resistance training must be conducted at a high intensity, at 70
> percent or more of the maximum perceived effort, in order to
produce
> the cellular and metabolic changes that yield stronger, thicker
> muscles and the resultant health benefits. "A little bit of
training —
> swinging a five-pound dumbbell around — just won't cut it," says
> Kraemer. "That's not enough to catalyze growth and engage the
> systems."
> That's why scientists such as Maddalozzo also emphasize a muscle-
> friendly diet that will complement — and, to a certain degree,
> compensate for — the bare-bones, let's-get-through- this strength-
> training programs that most people are likely to follow. "Unless
you
> eat the right diet, you won't get the best benefit from strength
> training," says Fred Hahn, a trainer in New York City. "You
> absolutely must have an adequate intake of protein for your body
to
> adapt to the stress." In Wolfe's 2006 study in the American
Journal
> of Clinical Nutrition, "The Underappreciated Role of Muscle in
Health
> and Disease," he argues that the present recommended daily
allowance
> of protein, 0.36 grams per pound of body weight, was established
> using obsolete data and is woefully inadequate for an individual
> doing resistance training. He, along with many others, recommends
an
> amount between 0.8 and 1 gram per pound of body weight….
>
> Maddalozzo's strength-training program, which he teaches others
and
> practices himself, is one of these new programs: It is two 30-
minute
> sessions a week, comprising one set of eight full-body,
multijoint
> exercises. Each exercise consists of eight to 15 reps, at 60 to
80
> percent of "maximum perceived effort," with the final rep
performed
> to the point of voluntary failure. "I work 60 hours a week, and I
> have two kids at home," says Maddalozzo. "I don't have the time
or
> interest to spend hours in a gym."
>
> "We'll start with the squat," he says, leading me across the
floor to
> a bare barbell. "That's the fundamental lower-body exercise. You
need
> basic leg strength for your running and also for general
functioning,
> for movements such as getting in and out of a chair."
>
> Getting in and out of a chair? "How much weight?" I ask coolly.
>
> Maddalozzo hesitates. "Before we talk about weight," he
says, "let's
> see a squat with no resistance." I reach for the barbell, but he
> stops me. "We don't even need that for now. Let's just see you do
a
> squat."
>
> I squat, or at least I give my version of a squat. I begin by
pushing
> out my knees, and then I bend from the waist with my shoulders
curled
> forward. "Not like that," says Maddalozzo. "You need to keep your
> back flat and your shoulders square, and drop your buttocks." He
> demonstrates the proper form with striking ease and fluidity.
>
> I try to copy the motion, but I am dealing with decades of scar
> tissue from a torn ACL, compensating behavior, avoidance, and, I
> admit, increasingly active sarcopenia. My shanks have undeniably
> shrunk.
>
> I try a third time, imagining myself as a baseball catcher
crouching
> behind a batter.
>
> Maddalozzo brightens. "Good," he says. "That's perfect."
>
> It hardly feels perfect. Bands of pain shoot through the
decimated
> muscle fibers of my tight, weak hamstrings. I force myself to
squat
> lower, and in so doing, I briefly lose my balance. I touch the
mat to
> right myself. My quads begin to tremble. A cool breeze combs the
> room, but I start to sweat. With some gruesome noises from my
knee
> joint, and another bolt of pain, I stand, a lean and sneakered
> pantaloon, summoning as much dignity as possible.
>
> "I guess I should begin with a pretty modest weight."
>
> Maddalozzo gives an encouraging smile. "Just by repeating the
proper
> motion a couple of times, you're starting to redirect your neural
> pathways," he says. "You're on your way. Let's go try some
lunges."
>
>
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