Download Muscle Growth in the Elderly

Wiser Muscle Growth: Building Muscle as You Age
By Quin Ralston
A Muscle Remembers
An underdeveloped muscle will begin
to recruit myonuclei as it begins training. Myonuclei
function as the “brain” for a muscle cell, and it is
excellent at using proteins to build muscle. As an
individual works out a muscle, more myonuclei are
recruited, and therefore an even greater rate of
muscle growth occurs.
What is so great about myonuclei?
Well research is concluding that they stick around for
at least 15 years to even a full lifetime. Moreover,
having a lot of myonuclei means that re-training a
muscle will take less time the next time it is trained.
So, if a person used to be an athlete back in the
day(or used steroids), their ability to get their
muscles back is much easier the next time they train.
This rate of re-growth is not perfect however,
because it diminishes with aging (Gundersen).
Persistence is Key
It takes longer to build muscles as
you get older, but there is hope! A recent study
took 14 non-active men and women aged 60 to
70 and trained their legs for 10 weeks. The
results? Their leg strength increased by 42% on
average, and their muscle size grew by around 78%. A younger group of people were also tested,
and they achieved the same results in 3 to 4
weeks (Lixandrao).
The take home message? Be
patient and results will come. The man in the
background of this poster is 63 years old!
Bigger, Stronger, Faster!
Concentric muscle contractions occur
when the weight is being raised up, or moved contrary
to gravity. Eccentric muscle contractions occur when
the weight is lowered but the muscle is still
contracting.
Sarcopenia is the term given to muscle
loss due to aging. Increased sarcopenia with aging
results in muscle loss, as well as lost muscle length.
Recent studies have found that concentric contractions
cause an increase in muscle size, while eccentric
contractions result in muscle lengthening.
Why is this important? Increases in
muscle size results in more power, while increase in
muscle length increases the speed of the contraction.
The point? Controlling your weights on
the up and down portion of any weight lifting activity
will make you stronger and faster. (Marco Narici).
References
Gundersen, Kristian. "Muscle Memory and a New Cellular Model for Muscle Atrophy and Hypertrophy." Journal of Experimental Biology (2016): 235-242. PDF.
Lixandrao, Manoel E. "Time Course of Resistance Training-Induced Muscle Hypertophy in the Elderly." Journal of Strength and Conditioning Association (2015): 159-163. PDF.
Marco Narici, Martino Franchi, and Constantinos Maganaris. "Muscle Structural Assembly and Functional Consequences." Journal of Experimental Biology (2016): 276-284. PDF.