Pumping iron modifies genes, study suggests - Good news for aging.

A study was released the other day in which the effects of weight training on the elderly was examined.

The study, published today, says resistance exercise for people 65 and older can actually reverse important aging effects on skeletal muscles, to the point where they work genetically like those found in people four decades younger.

This is huge and encouraging news for those of us who are starting to see some gray around the temples and have to face the fact, for the first time in our lives, that we are not immortal... ;-)  Most importantly, I think it reinforces the message that do not have to accept that we are at the whim of time and our environment.  There are choices we can make that will increase our health and enjoyment of life.

But Tarnopolsky said the genetic "fingerprints" of the exercising seniors actually shifted from their age-altered state to one more closely resembling those found in young men and women in their mid 20s to 30s.

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Tarnopolsky said weight lifting might remove some of the mitochondria damaged by age-related stresses, replacing them with genetically intact ones. As well, it may turn on genes, switched off by age, that offer muscle cells protection from damage.

Pretty neat if you ask me!

Dr. Howard Dombrower, director of rehabilitation at Toronto's Baycrest Geriatric Health Care System, said it's been well established that exercise benefits both the physical and mental wellbeing of seniors.

But Dombrower said he has typically recommended aerobic exercise like walking or biking for most of his patients and that the study may cause him to consider resistance training as well.

I love it when doctors admit that scurrying about on a treadmill or stationary bike is NOT the only (and in my books certainly not the most effective) means of exercise!

All in all, this was very inspiring "news."  Hopefully it will spur on a few people who are starting to feel the loss of functionality that comes with aging to get active and reverse the process.  The study only looked at the benefits of strength training, which I agree are huge, but there is another important component to address.  As Coach Scott Sonnon says, "you're as old as your connective tissue."  And if you want to stay young you need to nourish your joint capsules, remove adhesions from your joints and balance out the tissues which house your muscles.  The VERY best way to do that is through Coach Sonnon's Ageless Mobility DVD.

So no excuses... We can all grow old with grace. ;-)