Be strong, and age gracefully

Could strength training be the real Fountain of Youth?

Remember Jack LaLanne? “Your waistline is your lifeline. … People don’t die of old age – they die of neglect.” He was like a broken record; he even became the brunt of late-night television jokes. (All those late-night guys are dead, but LaLanne is still going strong at age 93.)

LaLanne, the godfather of physical fitness, was the first to promote the benefits of strength training for general health and longevity. He was the original “juicer” man, too.

LaLanne refused to get old – he’s still not “old.” He does strength training and a general workout for 90 minutes every day.

At one time, LaLanne had 200 health clubs all over the United States, using exercise machines he designed to facilitate strength training. His technology remains the basic principle behind most exercise equipment today.

Strength training, a different way of exercising, caught the attention of researchers at Tufts University in the 1980s. (Behind LaLanne by about 40 years.) Researchers, working with 60- and 70-year-old men, had them exercise at 80 percent of their work capacity instead of the usual 40 percent to 50 percent.

In just 12 weeks, the findings shattered myths about aging. These men were thrilled with their results; they hadn’t felt better in years. Their muscles became 10 percent to 12 percent larger and a whopping 100 percent to 175 percent stronger.

These results were duplicated in an unlikely group – frail, elderly nursing-home residents 86 to 96 years old. The results were the same, despite each subject having at least two serious chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes or osteoporosis. Most used walkers or canes; some could not even get out of a chair without a push with their own arms.

In just eight weeks of three 30-minute weight-lifting sessions per week, these aged volunteers increased their muscle strength by 175 percent. They also increased their walking speed and balance by an average of 48 percent. And there were no injuries.

Miriam E. Wilson, Ph.D., also a research scientist at Tufts, conducted a similar study of the benefits of strength training for post-menopausal women. She, too, received stunning results.

“After one year of strength training, the women’s bodies were 15 to 20 years more youthful. They traded fat for muscle. Instead of losing bone density, they actually showed small but significant gains,” Wilson said.

These women tested as strong as 35-year-olds; they were happier, more energetic and more self-confident. They turned back their aging clock.

Wilson’s study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, and it created worldwide notice. She then wrote a book for the general public, “Strong Women Stay Young.” It is a dynamite how-to book that not only explains the theory of strength training but also outlines a program that anyone can do at home. The book includes a section for men, too.

The theory of strength training is: You work out with a weight that’s just heavy enough that you can lift it eight times in good form before you have to rest. As you get stronger and that weight no longer is challenging enough, you increase the load.

Hey, golfers, strength training can even improve your golf swing, according to Mike Teater, owner of the Exercise Institute in Post Falls.

I was discussing strength-training fitness with Teater last week as I searched for a local gym using these principles for fitness training.

He’s very knowledgeable about how to achieve maximum results in a minimum amount of time with the miracle of strength training. His clients get results in only two 15-minute sessions twice per week.

You can start to see the results of strength training in about two weeks, with maximum results in about three months.

I have not seen data that measure beyond that point, but to maintain the benefits, the program must be followed for life.

Coincidentally, the fitness training at Teater’s Exercise Institute is done in accordance with Tufts University guidelines, along with the principles of the Superslow method.

Teater’s clients are trained one-on-one in a quiet atmosphere. Teater said this facilitates focus and concentration, maximizing the effects of the high-intensity, slowly executed exercises.

Phillip Alexander, M.D., chief of medical staff at Texas A&M University College of Medicine in College Station, says they are following 29 patients on a high-intensity Superslow exercise protocol. The post-menopausal women in this group are averaging a 1 percent increase in their mineral bone density monthly, he said.

Wow! Goodbye, Fossamax.

Too bad about Ponce de Leon, the poor chap who spent his life searching for the Fountain of Youth. Maybe it was right under his nose all along.