His efforts help to belie a number of entrenched beliefs about older people, including that physical performance and aerobic capacity inevitably decline with age and that intense exercise is inadvisable, if not impossible, for the elderly.
Other studies this year reinforced the notion that age need not be a deterrent to hard exercise and that such workouts could be key to healthy aging. An animal study that I wrote about in July, for instance, found that frail, elderly mice were capable of completing brief spurts of high-intensity running on little treadmills, if the treadmill’s pace were adjusted to each mouse’s individual fitness level.
After four months of this kind of training, the exercised animals were stronger and more aerobically fit than other mice of the same age, and few remained physically frail. Perhaps most striking, “the animals had tolerated the high-intensity interval training well,” one of the scientists who conducted the study told me.
But of course, mice are not people. So it was another study this year that to my mind provided the most persuasive evidence that strenuous exercise alters how we age. In that study, which I wrote about in March (which became my most popular column this year), scientists at the Mayo Clinic compared differences in gene expression inside muscle cells after younger and older people had completed various types of workouts.
The greatest differences were seen in the operations of genes after people had practiced high-intensity interval training for 12 weeks. In younger people who exercised this way, almost 275 genes were firing differently now than they had been before the exercise. But in people older than 64, more than 400 genes were working differently now and many of those genes are known to be related to the health and aging of cells.
In effect, the intense exercise seemed to be changing muscle cells in ways that theoretically could affect biological aging.
Want to get strong, but don’t have time for a gym? Strength training is key for increasing flexibility, reducing injury risk and maintaining an overall healthy body. The best part is that it doesn’t have to take long. Here we’ll teach you a simple nine-minute-long strength training program that you can complete in your own home. All you need is a set of dumbbells (or another type of weight), a clock and the goal of building a stronger body.
At this point, I should probably pause and explain that intensity in exercise is a relative concept. The word intense can seem daunting, but in practice, it simply means physical activity that is not a cinch for you.
For research purposes, intensity is based on percentages of someone’s heart rate maximum. But you and I can ignore these technicalities and pay attention to how we feel. Many scientists have told me that exercise is considered easy if you can talk and sing while participating in it.
During relatively moderate exercise, singing becomes difficult.
And during intense exercise, you will find it difficult to speak without gasping.
But, again, intensity is relative. If you have barely exercised in recent years, five minutes of climbing stairs will constitute an intense — and effective — workout.
If, on the other hand, you regularly stroll during the week, you might consider increasing the pace of those walks for a few minutes at a time, until you no longer can easily converse. The latest science suggests that your cells will thank you.
And afterward, other science says, reward yourself with a warm soak. Several ingratiating studies this year indicated that luxuriating in warm water aids in recovery from strenuous exercise and also, surprisingly, helps us to acclimate to hot-weather workouts.
But as always, the most compelling exercise-related research this year reminded us that activity of any kind is essential for human well-being. One of my favorite studies of 2017 found that people reported feeling happiest during the day when they had been up and moving compared to when they had remained seated and still.
Another memorable study concluded that, statistically, an hour spent running could add about seven hours to our life spans. These gains are not infinite. They seem to be capped at about three years of added life for people who run regularly.
Running is a great way to get fit, feel better and even form new relationships with other runners. Starting a new running habit doesn’t have to be hard — all it takes is a comfortable pair of shoes and a willingness to move a little or a lot, all at your own pace. The Well Guide makes it easy to get started, get inspired and stay on track. Are you ready? Let’s go!
But the results have inspired me. I trained for and ran a half marathon in 2017 and will run another in 2018. I am not fast. But I aim to be persistent. If Mr. Marchand can gain fitness and speed after turning 100, why should not those of us with still a half-century or more to spare? Happy New Year, everyone.
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