A new discovery offers us old guys hope in building muscle mass fast! Many older men are unable to get the full benefits of weight training as they are unable to lift heavy weights (needed to stimulate muscle growth) due to to arthritis and other conditions. Also physiologically older men are unable to get the gains in muscle growth post-workout as younger men can. But there is hope!
Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have discovered that restricting the flow of blood moderately through muscles combined with low-level resistance exercise produces muscle-mass in older men (average age 70).
"We think that this may be a novel treatment for older people who need to bring their muscle mass back up," said professor Blake Rasmussen
Body builders have been using the technique for years when they noticed restricting blood flow made light weights feel heavier.
"We saw that when we put the cuffs on, they responded similarly to young people doing traditional high-intensity resistance exercise. The low-intensity exercise produced increases in protein synthesis, and activated two cellular pathways that stimulate protein synthesis and muscle growth in the post-exercise period.", said graduate student Christopher Fry, the lead author of the paper.
This new research offers an exciting opportunity for us middle age guys to catch up to the younger guys in building muscle mass fast.
SOURCE: University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
