In a controlled human study published in Frontiers in Public Health, Iranian researchers have demonstrated that resistance training and creatine supplementation are effective in helping older people retain their strength.
Strength training isn’t just for athletes
It is widely known that weightlifting and other resistance training activities become less effective with age, a phenomenon known as anabolic resistance [1]. However, oxidative stress, a known contributor to multiple aspects of aging [2], has been demonstrated in previous studies to be lowered by resistance training [3].
Similarly, creatine, a popular supplement in the bodybuilding world, has been found to decrease oxidative stress in both rats [4] and young people [5]. However, these researchers note that its effects on older people, particularly in combination are not well-studied. Therefore, they sought to determine whether a combination of resistance training and creatine could overcome age-related anabolic resistance and help older people build muscle strength.
Three groups
45 volunteers with an average age of 61.7 years were placed into three different groups: 15 people performed resistance exercises, 15 people performed these exercises and took creatine, and 15 people were in a control group. While it is impossible to have a placebo control for resistance exercises, the creatine was placebo controlled between the two training groups.
For 50 minutes a session, the participants performed seven common resistance exercises: leg extensions, leg curls, bench presses, arm curls, lateral pulldowns, overhead presses, and triceps extensions. These sessions were conducted three times a week for 10 weeks.
BMI decreased slightly but significantly only in the training plus placebo group, not the creatine or control groups. The researchers’ initial hypothesis was correct: two biomarkers of oxidative stress were strongly affected by resistance training. One of these biomarkers was unaffected by creatine, and the other seemed to be slightly affected, although not to the level of statistical significance.
Glutiathione, a known antioxidant, was increased in the training and placebo group and further increased in the creatine group. Total antioxidant capacity was increased by training but seemed to be largely unaffected by creatine. Creatine was effective in increasing creatinine levels in this study.
As expected, the muscle strength of participants in both training groups was greatly increased in all seven of the resistance exercises tested, with creatine increasing the effectiveness of this training by a significant margin. Reported quality of life measurements were significantly increased in both of the training groups, although it is still impossible to measure the placebo effect in this case.
Valuable but limited results
The participants in this study were in relatively good health and were relatively younger than in many other studies, which makes this study’s results valuable but limited. People who are biologically older, who have corresponding deficiencies in stem cell proliferation and other age-related conditions, are likely to have greater anabolic resistance and benefit less from resistance training. However, this study provides solid evidence that strength exercises are valuable for people who are approaching retirement and want to retain their quality of life for longer.
Literature
[1] Meng, S. J., & Yu, L. J. (2010). Oxidative stress, molecular inflammation and sarcopenia. International journal of molecular sciences, 11(4), 1509-1526.
[2] Görlach, A., Bertram, K., Hudecova, S., & Krizanova, O. (2015). Calcium and ROS: A mutual interplay. Redox biology, 6, 260-271.
[3] Bloomer, R. J., Schilling, B. K., Karlage, R. E., Ledoux, M. S., Pfeiffer, R. F., & Callegari, J. (2008). Effect of resistance training on blood oxidative stress in Parkinson disease. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 40(8), 1385-1389.
[4] Stefani, G. P., Nunes, R. B., Dornelles, A. Z., Alves, J. P., Piva, M. O., Domenico, M. D., … & Lago, P. D. (2014). Effects of creatine supplementation associated with resistance training on oxidative stress in different tissues of rats. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 11(1), 11.
[5] Rahimi, R. (2011). Creatine supplementation decreases oxidative DNA damage and lipid peroxidation induced by a single bout of resistance exercise. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 25(12), 3448-3455.
