14 January 2016
Live Fast Die Old
The economics of exercise
by Frank O’Nomics
As we go into the New Year many of us will be looking at ways of countering the excesses of Christmas and starting resolutions that include a new fitness regime. More often than not, we set ourselves targets that are too demanding and fall at the first hurdle, with time commitment a major issue. Potentially much worse, we run the danger of over-exercising and injuring ourselves. This not only inevitably leads to the failure of our mission, but can leave a lasting legacy of injury. However, there are strong arguments that, by being smart about the way we train, we can achieve our objectives with a relatively modest time commitment. Some would go further and suggest that, by efficient training methods (albeit with a greater time commitment) , we can significantly slow the aging process. This is quite a claim, and not an easy one to prove given the limited body of evidence, but in a recent book by Joe Friel, “Fast after Fifty”, what research is available is used to illustrate the argument. It is worth reviewing some of this evidence and the training (and diet) that Friel recommends to see if there is something in it for us (I speak as a fifty-something myself).
One should not, of course, discount the risks of intensive exercise regimes, and, although employing the theories espoused may not involve a huge time commitment, it does entail some vigorous activity. The case of the BBC’s Andrew Marr is perhaps a salutary one here. Mr Marr suffered a stroke as he went for a big finish on a workout on a rowing machine and remains slightly disabled. The important thing is, with regard to any exercise, to seek medical advice if you are in any doubt, and to stop exercising if you feel any pain or dizziness. You may feel that the risks argue justifiably for a more sedentary life, or the maintenance of a gentle exercise regime. However, the point Friel makes is that, if you want to carry on competing at sport at a serious level for your age (particularly in cardio disciplines), or if you just want to slow the aging process, you will need to adopt some intensive interval-type training into your regime.
So what of the evidence? One of the key elements in the aging process is the decline in our aerobic capacity (known as VO2 max). Friel argues that this can be addressed by intensive training techniques. Bruce Dill at Harvard University tested students, as they aged, over a 25 year period from leaving university, and demonstrated that those who led a led a sedentary lifestyle lost just under 2 percent of their aerobic capacity per year. However, those who continued to maintain a high level of fitness over the period lost only around 1 percent per year – which over the 25 year period was obviously quite a considerable cumulative difference. The effects can be even more pronounced in later life, where Friel suggests that long slow workouts will do little to maintain our aerobic fitness as we age, and that high intensity training is the only way forward. He cites studies by Michael Pollock of the Mt Sinai Medical Center in Milwaukee, who showed that of 25 athletes over 52 years old, those that continued to train vigorously lost only around 2 per cent of their VO2 max over the next 10 years.
There are further scientific arguments to support Friel’s views. I had not heard of telomeres before, but they are apparently the caps on our DNA strands, which get shorter every time a cell in our body divides to produce a new cell. Once the telomeres reach a minimal length they can no longer divide and we start to lose cells. Telomeres are used as predictors of longevity, and the key question is whether we can slow their shortening with exercise. At the University of Colorado, scientists looked at groups of young (18-32) and old (55 to 72), splitting them into sedentary and endurance-trained. They found that telomeres of older sedentary subjects were 16 per cent shorter than those of the sedentary young, but the old athletes telomeres were only 7% shorter than the young endurance trained subjects. So, while there does not yet seem to be a coherent scientific explanation of how this happens, it does seem that exercise can significantly slow the aging process.
So what training regime should we adopt to counter the aging process? Friel looks at what he calls the “big three” aging limiters: decreasing aerobic capacity, increasing body fat and shrinking muscles. I will not labour the training regimes that he recommends (I’m sure he would prefer that you buy his book!), but it essentially involves organizing a 9-day exercise cycle (that would include at least 2 days “resting”) with sessions to build stamina (longer workouts), aerobic capacity (short interval training) and increase lactate threshold (longer interval training), as well as some weight-training to help counter muscle loss.
We are then left with the debate about the right diet and here it seems that the arguments (like how much alcohol we should drink) change very frequently, and the right balance will differ depending on your individual genetic make-up. As we age and our metabolism slows, it is likely that we will build up more body fat, but the arguments seem to be more in favour of getting more sleep and adopting the right exercise regime, rather than a big change in diet to address this.
As a result of reading this article (or Friel’s book) you may decide that gentle exercise, fresh air and the moderation of your calorific intake are the ways in which you wish to maintain your health. If you are a little more serious about your sport, and particularly if you are a runner, cyclist, swimmer or a triathlete, you may find that this high-intensity training process can help you continue to compete well into your old age. Apart from repeating the importance of not overdoing your exercise regime, I will leave the final word to Joe Friel who says “You aren’t old until age becomes your excuse”.
