http://www.care2.com/greenliving/keep-your-muscle-strength-as-you-age.html
Keep Your Muscle Strength as You Age
By Dr. Gabe Mirkin, Intent.com
As you age, you lose muscle size and strength much faster than you lose endurance or coordination. Researchers at the University of Nottingham in England show that a major cause of loss of muscle is that aging prevents muscles from responding to insulin and that exercising helps to slow this loss of muscle size and strength (The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, September 2009).
Insulin drives amino acids into muscles to help them recover from exercise and maintain their size. Researchers traced radioactive amino acids and showed that insulin drives the amino acids into muscles much more effectively in 25-year-olds than in 60-year-olds. They also showed that the blood flow in younger people’s legs is much greater and supplies far more nutrients and hormones. However, three exercise sessions per week over 20 weeks markedly increased blood flow in the legs of the older subjects, enough to reverse muscle wasting.
People of all ages can use this information to help themselves become stronger. Athletes in all sports train by stressing and recovering. They take a hard workout, damage their muscles, feel sore the next morning, and then take easy workouts until the muscles heal and the soreness goes away. The athlete who can recover the fastest can do the most intense workouts and gain the most strength.
Eating a high carbohydrate-high protein meal within half an hour after finishing a workout raises insulin levels, increases amino acid absorption into muscle and hastens recovery (Journal of Applied Physiology, May 2009). The carbohydrates cause a high rise in blood sugar that causes the pancreas to release insulin. Insulin drives the protein building blocks (amino acids) in the meal into muscle cells to hasten healing from intense workouts. Muscles are extraordinarily sensitive to insulin during exercise and for up to a half hour after finishing exercise, so the fastest way to recover is to eat protein- and carbohydrate-rich foods during the last part of your workout or within half an hour after you finish.
Here’s how Diana and I (ages 67 and 74) use this information on insulin sensitivity. We ride hard and fast for about 20 miles on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. On our recovery days, we ride slowly for one to three hours. Mid-day we go to a buffet restaurant and eat a large meal with fish, shrimp, vegetables and other sources of protein and carbohydrates. After eating, we ride slowly for one or two more hours. Riding before we eat makes our muscles very sensitive to insulin. This causes insulin to drive amino acids rapidly into our muscles and help them recover faster. Riding after we eat helps us to avoid a high rise in blood sugar that damages cells. You can use either plant or animal sources of protein; both contain all of the essential amino acids necessary for cell growth.
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11 comments
add your comment »Its true line that as ages increases the Muscle strength decreases due to several reasons of weakness.It is possible to tone up the muscle regardless of age concern.Eating a high carbohydrate-high protein meal within half an hour after finishing a workout raises insulin levels, increases amino acid absorption into muscle and hastens recovery.
brennessel
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why is this inappropriate?
Ride 20 miles a day??? WORK and FAMILY come into mind as likely time-stealers. Oh wait, I'm disabled and can't ride a bike. Wonder if they're riding in my hilly mountainous area where you have to walk the bike uphill 1/2 the time. A buffet. In my dreams!!! Would have liked something more age-related than "ride a bike 20 miles a day" - duh - of course you can stay in shape at any age if you ride for 20 miles a day.
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why is this inappropriate?
"ANYONE can find the time to ride 20 miles a day several days a week on a bicycle. it just depends on whether that person is interested in doing something good for themselves or whether they just want to stay lazy."
Wow, it's nice for you that you have such an easy life. Some of us work two jobs and take classes while trying to still keep the house clean and the bills paid and unless you cut out sleep time, do not have time to ride 20 miles three times a week. If we could afford bicycles, which we can't, hence the multiple jobs. And as for lazy, that's judgmental as well as rude. Have a little class please. I work really really hard, and can barely make time for sit-ups and leg lifts in the morning. And there are a ton of people out there in the same position, and none of us give a whit what you think about our exercise routines. If you can't be nice, don't say anything at all.
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why is this inappropriate?
ANYONE can find the time to ride 20 miles a day several days a week on a bicycle. it just depends on whether that person is interested in doing something good for themselves or whether they just want to stay lazy.
when i lived in san leandro down by the water, i rode every day to the parcourse and around and around the parcourse several times before riding home. that was a 10 mile total course. on the weekends i usually did that course 3 times a day.
exercise is important for people of ALL ages.
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These are retired people, I assume, by their ages, and apparently have the time to ride bikes, which is good for them and for the environment. Helpful information about repairing muscles. Thanks.
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why is this inappropriate?
Who has the time to ride 20 miles a day three times a week ? (Bicycles I presume ?) Rich retired people by the sound of it, then splurging on buffet food!
Megan, why don't you check more thoroughly what you post here ? I usually like the articles that you post, and here some information about the insulin absorption is interesting, but the person writing this one is a bit out of touch with reality (meaning: life as it is lived by the rest of us).
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why is this inappropriate?
If you do 99 pushups one day, and 99 situps the next day, you don't need equipment or all that stuff.
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Oh for petes sake lets just all hook our excersize equipment up to a bank of batteries that will power our homes if the electricity goes out, and once the batteries are full, then the extra power goes out into the grid and the company deducts that from our bill. A good use for some of the stimulous money as long as it goes to set this up for low income people first.Imagine seniors living on $12000 a year or less being able to help them themselves cut their energy bills and do some healthy excersizing too. I would think they'd find this very 'empowering'. And what a way to keep the grandkids busy!
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why is this inappropriate?
This is a typical Western style approach to a useless and hedonistic style of living. Why on earth go for hours riding to get and stay fit, when you can work in your garden, help disadvantaged communities, etc. Then, they're even too lazy to cook their own meals and eat out. You have to ask yourself : what is their reason for being?
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why is this inappropriate?
I find this article confusing. It doesn't specify what is ridden, and indicates that they spend 2 to 7 hours a day riding. Bikes? 60 miles a week? I for one cannot go to a buffet lunch, can't afford it. The information about insulin levels is interesting but the exercise part is total confusion.
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