{"id":1572,"date":"2016-07-25T14:46:34","date_gmt":"2016-07-25T14:46:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.porticomagazine.ca\/?p=1572"},"modified":"2020-10-28T14:40:31","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T18:40:31","slug":"exercise-keeps-muscles-young","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/exercise-keeps-muscles-young\/","title":{"rendered":"Exercise keeps muscles young"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"U<\/a>Prof. Jeff Power has uncovered the \u201csecret\u201d to staying strong as we age: superb fitness.<\/p>\n

His research shows elderly people who were elite athletes in their youth or later in life \u2014 and who still compete as masters athletes \u2014 have much healthier muscles at the cellular level compared to those of non-athletes.<\/p>\n

The study, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology,<\/em> compared world-class track and field athletes in their 80s with people of the same age who are living independently. There have been few such studies of aging and muscle weakening in masters athletes in this age group.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the most unique and novel aspects of this study is the exceptional participants,\u201d says Power, Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences. \u201cThese are individuals in their 80s and 90s who actively compete in world masters track and field championships. We have seven world champions. These individuals are the cr\u00e8me de la cr\u00e8me of aging.\u201d<\/p>\n

The study found that athletes\u2019 legs were 25 per cent stronger on average and had about 14 per cent more total muscle mass.<\/p>\n

In addition, the athletes had nearly one-third more motor units in their leg muscles than non-athletes. More motor units, consisting of nerve and muscle fibres, mean more muscle mass and subsequently greater strength.<\/p>\n

With normal aging, the nervous system loses motor neurons, leading to a loss of motor units, reduced muscle mass, and less strength, speed and power. That\u00a0process speeds up substantially past age 60.<\/p>\n

\u201cExercise is definitely an important contributor to functional performance,\u201d he says, adding that even non-athletes can benefit. \u201cStaying active, even later in life, can help reduce muscle loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

But, he adds, \u201cwe cannot rule out the importance of genetics.\u201d He said further research is needed to determine whether muscle health in elite athletes comes from training or genes.<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prof. Jeff Power has uncovered the \u201csecret\u201d to staying strong as we age: superb fitness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1575,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[55,199,200,201,56],"yoast_head":"\nExercise keeps muscles young -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/exercise-keeps-muscles-young\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Exercise keeps muscles young -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Prof. Jeff Power has uncovered the \u201csecret\u201d to staying strong as we age: superb fitness.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/exercise-keeps-muscles-young\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-07-25T14:46:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-10-28T18:40:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/cycling-655565_640.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"457\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Portico Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/\",\"name\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/exercise-keeps-muscles-young\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/cycling-655565_640.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/cycling-655565_640.jpg\",\"width\":640,\"height\":457,\"caption\":\"U of G research shows exercise keeps muscles young.\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/exercise-keeps-muscles-young\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/exercise-keeps-muscles-young\/\",\"name\":\"Exercise keeps muscles young -\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/exercise-keeps-muscles-young\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-07-25T14:46:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-10-28T18:40:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/ad735acac2eccbc0069f79d23598f533\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/exercise-keeps-muscles-young\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/exercise-keeps-muscles-young\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/exercise-keeps-muscles-young\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Exercise keeps muscles young\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/ad735acac2eccbc0069f79d23598f533\",\"name\":\"Portico Staff\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/46b428721fd31a9d9bde7e15d8054af3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/46b428721fd31a9d9bde7e15d8054af3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Portico Staff\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/author\/staff\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Exercise keeps muscles young -","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/exercise-keeps-muscles-young\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Exercise keeps muscles young -","og_description":"Prof. Jeff Power has uncovered the \u201csecret\u201d to staying strong as we age: superb fitness.","og_url":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/exercise-keeps-muscles-young\/","article_published_time":"2016-07-25T14:46:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-10-28T18:40:31+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":457,"url":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/cycling-655565_640.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Portico Staff","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#website","url":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/","name":"","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/exercise-keeps-muscles-young\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/cycling-655565_640.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/cycling-655565_640.jpg","width":640,"height":457,"caption":"U of G research shows exercise keeps muscles young."},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/exercise-keeps-muscles-young\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/exercise-keeps-muscles-young\/","name":"Exercise keeps muscles young -","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/exercise-keeps-muscles-young\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2016-07-25T14:46:34+00:00","dateModified":"2020-10-28T18:40:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/ad735acac2eccbc0069f79d23598f533"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/exercise-keeps-muscles-young\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/exercise-keeps-muscles-young\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/07\/exercise-keeps-muscles-young\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Exercise keeps muscles young"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/ad735acac2eccbc0069f79d23598f533","name":"Portico Staff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/46b428721fd31a9d9bde7e15d8054af3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/46b428721fd31a9d9bde7e15d8054af3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Portico Staff"},"url":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/author\/staff\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1572"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1572"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1572\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1607,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1572\/revisions\/1607"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}