Resistance Training: The muscle miracle: can I build enough in my 60s to make it to 100 – even though I’ve never weight-trained?

#31

I’m not yet 60 (I’m 53) so perhaps i shouldn’t get a vote here but as someone who went from being a guy who never lifted, to substantially turning my health around after a cancer battle a few years ago (and who has now been lifting heavy for about 15 months) i can tell you:

  1. building muscle that looks like you’ve built muscle is HARD: you don’t just show up at the gym and get “swol”. It takes years and years of hard work. My wife wont do it because she’s scared of getting too big, as if she’ll lift one weight and muscles will pop out of her shoulders and she’ll grow a beard.

  2. you’ll get much stronger very fast: i don’t look like a muscular guy, butt i can out-squat a friend of mine who was a UFC fighter. Push it and you’ll see.

  3. it is hard work but it is completely worth it — please do it! It changes everything about your health. I feel better all the time, i am more positive, i carry myself more upright and solid, tasks are easier, etc. For instance, my hormones seem to have come back by themselves.

  4. if you are physically unable to lift heavy (and my understanding is that the lifting of heavy weights is the hormesis that drives muscle building and bone densification and other physiological changes) i might consider Kaatsu — it was developed specifically for rehabilitating bedridden patients.

Sorry to hear of your heart attack. I’m not sure if i would take the risk of heavy lifting with a heart attack. That’s a personal choice. Maybe kaatsu would allow the resistance without too much load?

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#32

It is not even necessary to lift heavy weights. By understanding the theory of muscle hypertrophy it is possible to trigger the same growth mechanisms by lifting relatively light loads.
Of course, by heavy lifting we can spare time (lesser reps) and homework, whereas going to failure with lesser loadings requires more time and reasoning.
The real big drawback of heavy weights is that they can elevate substantially the likelihood of injury or ligaments inflammation, which may be a huge setback for resistance training, especially so when no more young, at 60 I found myself in another world, all what I did when 30 did not work any longer, I had to rethink all my strategy about resistance training.

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#33

@ KarlT: They are all very good, Schoenfeld is the acknowledged master, and the others cited are the disciples.

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#34

Kaatsu = blood flow restriction

This requires expert instruction but sounds very good. I do something else that feels similar (get a bigger than normal “pump”). I use maximum range of motion in my lifting, and I rest between sets in the fully expended range. I think that occludes the blood flow. In any case I get a massive pump from my lifts that allow it. I don’t use heavy weight…I aim for 15-20 reps per set ending at “failure” in my last set or two. I also start with a warmup set that is easy (½ to 2/3 the weight)

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#35

Definitely agree new strategies are essential when in our sixties. I would add it isn’t just heavy lifting that has to be evaluated. Any activity that promotes continuous inflammation will end up defeating the main purpose of exercise - to live a physical pain free existence. It takes much more thought and practice and analysis than at a younger age to get the best results. If you feel beat up from your workouts in a continual fashion, reevaluate what is prompting you to overlook what is a negative habitual feedback loop.

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#36

Unless you are a vegetarian, I see no need to supplement leucine.
Beef
85g serving contains around 1.7g of leucine
Chicken
85g serving contains around 1.5g of leucine
Pork
85g serving contains around 1.4g of leucine
Fish
85g serving of tuna contains around 1.7g of leucine

85 grams = ~3 ounces which is not very much. I eat 6 - 12 ounces every day so I assume I am getting enough leucine.

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Rejuvenate Biomed’s drug combination (metformin & galantamine) for Sarcopenia: Personal Results
#37

Leucine seems to be all over the map when it comes to weight/fat loss. Helps, hurts, - studies not consistent.

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#38

When I mentioned being concerned about sarcopenia, I meant that the NS 0200 polypill seems to mitigate it, am I correct?

#39

This is not personal of course, but this is for anyone reading this thinking that they can get phamalogical effects with leucine derived from food sources- this is not possible.

You must isolate the amino acid and achieve specific serum levels too have a desired effect. On the topic of of NS 0200- it must be taken with AMPK, SIRT co-activators to have metabolic effects.

#40

To save on confusion for people reading, this point has nothing to do with the synergy of leucine with other compounds. Leucine meets endpoints on some metabolic alongside other AMPK, SIRT activators. Leucine-only does not.

#41

I can find no studies that suggest that leucine extends lifespan. The studies that suggest that leucine extends lifespan is the isoleucine form and that is only in animal studies and some suggest that it shortens lifespan.

I hope the studies that suggest high protein diets shorten lifespan are wrong, because I am currently on a higher protein diet because I am old and have been led to believe that I need more protein because of my body’s reduced capabilities to process it.

“In stark contrast to these short-term results, long-term retrospective and prospective cohort several studies have found that high protein consumption is associated with increased insulin resistance, diabetes, cancer, and overall mortality”

#42

Please read thoroughly. Metabolic dysfunction endpoints which most drugs that extend lifespan effect these pathways… And you’re using a bunch of biological studies to make an assumption. on 1.2g of leucine bid, not enough to activate mTOR. You’re using apples to oranges to confirm your bias. This has nothing to do with protein diets.

Metformin + leucine + sildenafil- now show me the data on this polypill which has nothing to do with anything you posted.

#43

The conventional wisdom for building muscle after 50yo was 3-5g of leucine per meal (protein dose 30-35gm) x 3-4 meals per day. But don’t supplement leucine….just eat enough protein.

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#44

Hi Admin
I find this topic of exercise and autophagy to be a very difficult one.
For example, resistance exercise has been shown to upregulate mTOR and boost muscle growth (and then presumably attenuate or deactivate autophagy).
Watson K., Baar K. mTOR and the health benefits of exercise. Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology. 2014;36:130–139.

Making rats run on treadmills has been shown to activate mTOR and increase the rebuilding of brain cells. This has been a mechanism given for why exercise reduces depression.

Up-regulating mTOR causes cell growth and division whereas down-regulating mTOR generally stops cell growth and causes autophagy.

However this study that you have presented shows quite clearly that resistance training (that would normally uoregukate mTOR, cause cell growth but slow autophagy) can actually increase autophagy. This is the opposite of what one would expect with exercise.
From what I see in the summary they don’t include any downstream markers of mTOR deactivation, so perhaps there is another mechanism apart from mTOR that resistance training activates to influence the autophagy?

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#45

Exactly. I lost a great deal of upper arm and thigh muscle mass while basically immobilized for a month waiting for hip replacement. Very slow to regain.
Is irisin commercially available? If so, where.
What might be best supplement to help??
Gracias!

#46

Irisin is available as a lab chemical (and in studies its been injected). See this thread: Irisin Ameliorates Age-associated Sarcopenia and Metabolic Dysfunction

There is more data behind metformin / galantamine. If I was working to regain significant lost muscle I’d look at this new oral drug combo: Rejuvenate Biomed’s drug combination (metformin & galantamine) shows promise in sarcopenia in Phase 1b trial

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#47

A year ago I could not stand long enough to wash a set of dishes. I had palpable fatty infiltration of my quads and very visibly large loss of muscle mass. Ten years earlier I was very proud of my quads and have a photo from then, I’ll have to see if I can find that, then compare it to last June’s mass and again in a year. In July I had surgery that fixed both a major hip and a lower back issue. A sort of “second chance,” I’d say. With the issues fixed I finished losing a total of 54lbs ( with a bounce-back of about 7, which seems normal).

Able to hit the gym again I’ve regained quite a lot. My quads and biceps are no longer “squishy.” Yes, I have been lifting to failure, attempting to fail around 8-10 reps. So folk say that is not necessary, though I wish there’d be a bit more high quality pointing to data. I’m 73 and after losing the 50 lbs I looked just awful. (Though getting better w/ gains) If anyone can point to optimal “old guy” methodology of increasing both mass and strength, I’d love to see it.

All I know is that I am thrilled as can be to have gotten back to where I am today as compared to where I was last July. I do use exceptional care in form and never lift w/ inertia. That last lift to failure sure turns my face red, but otherwise I have not experienced anything negative. But, I’d prefer to use what would be optimal.

But to answer your question, sure, unless you have something that contraindicates lifting such as bad joints, but even there, one can usually work-around things. I have severe bilateral 1st thumb joint arthritis, so there are lifts and machines I simply can never do because I can’t hold a handle properly, those, I pass by and find another method to work that muscle group.

As for the amount of protein and timing, quality of protein and what not, I like this:

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#48

You might want to try wrist bar wraps. You slip them on your wrists ,they form a loop, and the tails you wrap around the bars. You then do not need any thumb strength to lock onto the grip. Your thumbs really a4e not for griping but to secure grip.

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#49

Good paper by an expert in the field. People should take note of those protein amounts.

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#50

“The intake of food containing proteins and leucine during meals stimulates muscle protein synthesis. Lower blood levels of leucine were associated with lower values of the skeletal muscle index, grip strength and performance. The international guidelines recommended that a leucine intake of 3 g at three main meals together with 25-30 g of protein is the goal to be achieved to counteract loss of lean mass in elderly.”

Search and for elderly you’ll find that to “trigger” anabolic processes a senior needs 3-4 grams per meal.
If you’re age 25 or 35 and you eat a turkey sandwich w/ 20 grams, you’ll prompt an anabolic response. If you’re 70, you will not. From what I’ve read leucine acts as a sort of “trigger,” and depending on what study you choose, it’s 3-4 grams of Leucine.

A high proportion of leucine is required for optimal stimulation of the rate of muscle protein synthesis by essential amino acids in the elderly. See:

https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpendo.00488.2005

From this:

“The results suggest that the EAA leucine has a unique role in the stimulation of muscle protein synthesis by EAAs in elderly humans. Specifically, in the elderly, the leucine-enriched EAA mixture stimulated postprandial muscle protein synthesis and resulted in postprandial accretion of muscle proteins, reversing the lack of response following the whey protein-based EAA mixture. In contrast, in the young, both EAA mixtures stimulated muscle protein synthesis, and no unique advantage of extra leucine was evident.”

Again, that “trigger” seems to be (for an elder) 3-4 grams.

Desertshores, you say: “I eat 6 - 12 ounces every day so I assume I am getting enough leucine.”
My response is that it is likely that you are not.

Interestingly if you ate 12 ounces at one sitting, you will trigger the anabolic response. But if you eat 3 meals w/ 4 ounces from your list, you will not because you never got the minimum 3 or 4 grams per meal of leucine.

There’s a very easy fix, which is what I do. I’m a creature of habit and so I’ve done the calculations of how much leucine is in my tuna sandwich and then pop two or three OOO capsules of leucine. 0.6 grams fill one OOO capsule, if I take 3 with my sandwich I get 1.8 grams leucine + what is in the rest of the meal.

1 kilo of L-leucine on zon (Bulk Supplements) cost $28. That’s about 3 cents per gram including the capsule, so for lunch I spend six cents on leucine, but I’m sure that, if nothing else, there is enough to trigger the anabolic state.

I have an All-In-Capsule device that cost about $40 and it takes me about half an hour to fill 200 capsules.

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