Faculty Opinions recommendation of Resistance exercise training improves age-related declines in leg vascular conductance and rejuvenates acute leg blood flow responses to feeding and exercise.

One manifestation of age-related declines in vascular function is reduced peripheral (limb) blood flow and vascular conduction at rest and in response to vasodilatory stimuli such as exercise and feeding. Since, even in older age, resistance exercise training (RET) represents an efficacious strategy for increasing muscle mass and function, we hypothesized that likewise RET would improve age-related declines in leg blood flow (LBF) and vascular conductance (LVC). We studied three mixed-sex age groups (young: 18–28 yr, n = 14; middle aged: 45–55 yr, n = 20; older: 65–75 yr, n = 17) before and after 20 wk of whole body RET in the postabsorptive state (BASAL) and after unilateral leg extensions (6 × 8 repetitions; 75% 1 repetition maximum) followed by intermittent mixed-nutrient liquid feeds (∼6.5 kJ·kg−1·30 min−1), which allowed us to discern the acute effects of feeding (nonexercised leg; FED) and exercise plus feeding (exercised leg; FEDEX) on vascular function. We measured LBF using Doppler ultrasound and recorded mean arterial pressure (MAP) to calculate LVC. Our results reveal that although neither age nor RET influenced BASAL LBF, age-related declines in LBF responses to FED were eradicated by RET. Moreover, increases in LBF after FEDEX, which occurred only in young and middle-aged groups before RET (+73 ± 9%, and +90 ± 13%, P < 0.001, respectively), increased in all groups after RET (young +78 ± 10%, middle-aged +96 ± 15%, older +80 ± 19%, P < 0.001). Finally, RET robustly improved LVC under FASTED, FED, and FEDEX conditions in the older group. These data provide novel information that supports the premise that RET represents a valuable strategy to counter age-related impairments in LBF/LVC.

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Resistance exercise training reverses age‐related impairments in macro and microvascular blood flow and the associated blunted muscle protein synthesis response to nutrition

The FASEB Journal ◽

10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.1132.9 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 27 (S1) ◽

Author(s):

Bethan Phillips ◽

Philip Atherton ◽

Krishna Varadhan ◽

Marie Limb ◽

Michael Rennie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Blood Flow ◽

Protein Synthesis ◽

Exercise Training ◽

Resistance Exercise ◽

Muscle Protein ◽

Muscle Protein Synthesis ◽

Microvascular Blood Flow ◽

Resistance Exercise Training ◽

Age Related

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Randomized, four-arm, dose-response clinical trial to optimize resistance exercise training for older adults with age-related muscle atrophy

Experimental Gerontology ◽

10.1016/j.exger.2017.09.018 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 99 ◽

pp. 98-109 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Michael J. Stec ◽

Anna Thalacker-Mercer ◽

David L. Mayhew ◽

Neil A. Kelly ◽

S. Craig Tuggle ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Clinical Trial ◽

Exercise Training ◽

Resistance Exercise ◽

Muscle Atrophy ◽

Dose Response ◽

Resistance Exercise Training ◽

Age Related

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Effect of 4 weeks of aerobic or resistance exercise training on arterial stiffness, blood flow and blood pressure in pre- and stage-1 hypertensives

Journal of Human Hypertension ◽

10.1038/jhh.2008.36 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 22 (10) ◽

pp. 678-686 ◽

Cited By ~ 147

Author(s):

S R Collier ◽

J A Kanaley ◽

R Carhart ◽

V Frechette ◽

M M Tobin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Blood Flow ◽

Exercise Training ◽

Arterial Stiffness ◽

Resistance Exercise ◽

Resistance Exercise Training ◽

Stage 1

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Preserved Capacity for Adaptations in Strength and Muscle Regulatory Factors in Elderly in Response to Resistance Exercise Training and Deconditioning

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm9072188 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (7) ◽

pp. 2188 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Andreas Mæchel Fritzen ◽

Frank D. Thøgersen ◽

Khaled Abdul Nasser Qadri ◽

Thomas Krag ◽

Marie-Louise Sveen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Resistance Training ◽

Muscle Strength ◽

Exercise Training ◽

Resistance Exercise ◽

Muscle Mass ◽

Myogenic Regulatory Factors ◽

Resistance Exercise Training ◽

Regulatory Factors ◽

Age Related ◽

Muscle Regulatory Factors

Aging is related to an inevitable loss of muscle mass and strength. The mechanisms behind age-related loss of muscle tissue are not fully understood but may, among other things, be induced by age-related differences in myogenic regulatory factors. Resistance exercise training and deconditioning offers a model to investigate differences in myogenic regulatory factors that may be important for age-related loss of muscle mass and strength. Nine elderly (82 ± 7 years old) and nine young, healthy persons (22 ± 2 years old) participated in the study. Exercise consisted of six weeks of resistance training of the quadriceps muscle followed by eight weeks of deconditioning. Muscle biopsy samples before and after training and during the deconditioning period were analyzed for MyoD, myogenin, insulin-like growth-factor I receptor, activin receptor IIB, smad2, porin, and citrate synthase. Muscle strength improved with resistance training by 78% (95.0 ± 22.0 kg) in the elderly to a similar extent as in the young participants (83.5%; 178.2 ± 44.2 kg) and returned to baseline in both groups after eight weeks of deconditioning. No difference was seen in expression of muscle regulatory factors between elderly and young in response to exercise training and deconditioning. In conclusion, the capacity to gain muscle strength with resistance exercise training in elderly was not impaired, highlighting this as a potent tool to combat age-related loss of muscle function, possibly due to preserved regulation of myogenic factors in elderly compared with young muscle.

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Arterial stiffness and blood flow adaptations following eight weeks of resistance exercise training in young and older women

Experimental Gerontology ◽

10.1016/j.exger.2014.02.010 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 53 ◽

pp. 48-56 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Lindy M. Rossow ◽

Christopher A. Fahs ◽

Robert S. Thiebaud ◽

Jeremy P. Loenneke ◽

Daeyeol Kim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Blood Flow ◽

Exercise Training ◽

Arterial Stiffness ◽

Resistance Exercise ◽

Older Women ◽

Resistance Exercise Training

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Lack of age-related decreases in basal whole leg blood flow in resistance-trained men

Journal of Applied Physiology ◽

10.1152/japplphysiol.00061.2005 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 99 (4) ◽

pp. 1384-1390 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

Motohiko Miyachi ◽

Hirofumi Tanaka ◽

Hiroshi Kawano ◽

Mayumi Okajima ◽

Izumi Tabata

Keyword(s):

Blood Flow ◽

Muscle Mass ◽

Young Men ◽

Middle Aged ◽

Vascular Conductance ◽

Leg Blood Flow ◽

Age Related ◽

Blood Pressures ◽

Leg Muscle ◽

Activity Groups

Reductions in basal leg blood flow have been implicated in the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome and functional impairment in humans. We tested the hypothesis that reductions in basal whole leg blood flow with age are either absent or attenuated in those who perform regular strength training. A total of 104 normotensive men aged 20–34 yr (young) and 35–65 yr (middle aged), who were either sedentary or resistance trained, were studied. Mean and diastolic blood pressures were higher ( P < 0.05–0.001) in the middle-aged compared with the young men, but there were no significant differences between the sedentary and resistance-trained groups. In the sedentary group, basal whole leg blood flow (duplex Doppler ultrasound) and vascular conductance were lower (∼30 and ∼38%, respectively; P < 0.01) in the middle-aged compared with the young men. There were no such age-related differences in the resistance-trained group. In the young men, basal whole leg blood flow and vascular conductance were not different between the two activity groups, but, in the middle-aged men, they were higher (∼35 and ∼36%, respectively; P < 0.01) in the resistance-trained men than in the sedentary men. When blood flow and vascular conductance were expressed relative to the leg muscle mass, the results were essentially the same. We concluded that the age-related reduction in basal whole leg blood flow is absent in resistance-trained men. These results suggest that resistance training may favorably influence leg perfusion in aging humans, independent of its impact on leg muscle mass.

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Effects of aging and Parkinson’s disease on motor unit remodeling: influence of resistance exercise training

Journal of Applied Physiology ◽

10.1152/japplphysiol.00563.2017 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 124 (4) ◽

pp. 888-898 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Neil A. Kelly ◽

Kelley G. Hammond ◽

C. Scott Bickel ◽

Samuel T. Windham ◽

S. Craig Tuggle ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Exercise Training ◽

Neuromuscular Junction ◽

Resistance Exercise ◽

Motor Unit ◽

Type I ◽

Resistance Exercise Training ◽

Age Related ◽

Myofiber Type

Aging muscle atrophy is in part a neurodegenerative process revealed by denervation/reinnervation events leading to motor unit remodeling (i.e., myofiber type grouping). However, this process and its physiological relevance are poorly understood, as is the wide-ranging heterogeneity among aging humans. Here, we attempted to address 1) the relation between myofiber type grouping and molecular regulators of neuromuscular junction (NMJ) stability; 2) the impact of motor unit remodeling on recruitment during submaximal contractions; 3) the prevalence and impact of motor unit remodeling in Parkinson’s disease (PD), an age-related neurodegenerative disease; and 4) the influence of resistance exercise training (RT) on regulators of motor unit remodeling. We compared type I myofiber grouping, molecular regulators of NMJ stability, and the relative motor unit activation (MUA) requirement during a submaximal sit-to-stand task among untrained but otherwise healthy young (YA; 26 yr, n = 27) and older (OA; 66 yr, n = 91) adults and OA with PD (PD; 67 yr, n = 19). We tested the effects of RT on these outcomes in OA and PD. PD displayed more motor unit remodeling, alterations in NMJ stability regulation, and a higher relative MUA requirement than OA, suggesting PD-specific effects. The molecular and physiological outcomes tracked with the severity of type I myofiber grouping. Together these findings suggest that age-related motor unit remodeling, manifested by type I myofiber grouping, 1) reduces MUA efficiency to meet submaximal contraction demand, 2) is associated with disruptions in NMJ stability, 3) is further impacted by PD, and 4) may be improved by RT in severe cases. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Because the physiological consequences of varying amounts of myofiber type grouping are unknown, the current study aims to characterize the molecular and physiological correlates of motor unit remodeling. Furthermore, because exercise training has demonstrated neuromuscular benefits in aged humans and improved innervation status and neuromuscular junction integrity in animals, we provide an exploratory analysis of the effects of high-intensity resistance training on markers of neuromuscular degeneration in both Parkinson’s disease (PD) and age-matched older adults.

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The Importance of Resistance Exercise Training to Combat Neuromuscular Aging

Physiology ◽

10.1152/physiol.00044.2018 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 34 (2) ◽

pp. 112-122 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Kaleen M. Lavin ◽

Brandon M. Roberts ◽

Christopher S. Fry ◽

Tatiana Moro ◽

Blake B. Rasmussen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Exercise Training ◽

Resistance Exercise ◽

Exercise Prescription ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Functional Mobility ◽

Resistance Exercise Training ◽

Age Related ◽

Muscle Health ◽

Performance Gains ◽

Whole Muscle

Older adults undergoing age-related decrements in muscle health can benefit substantially from resistance exercise training, a potent stimulus for whole muscle and myofiber hypertrophy, neuromuscular performance gains, and improved functional mobility. With the use of advancing technologies, research continues to elucidate the mechanisms of and heterogeneity in adaptations to resistance exercise training beyond differences in exercise prescription. This review highlights the current knowledge in these areas and emphasizes knowledge gaps that require future attention of the field.

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