Ageing fast twitch fibers

[Pegasus AdministratorPE Gym EditorPEGym Hero ☺ Admin of the Month Mar 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Pegasus]

Hmm so it seems as you age the nerves feeding the fast twitch muscles fibers die which in turn die .
Now it has allways seemed to me that this would be increased by the way mature people train and act .
Of course this causes a loss of strength and power which is a bad health outcome increasing the likelihood of slips ,trips ,falls.

[Pegasus AdministratorPE Gym EditorPEGym Hero ☺ Admin of the Month Mar 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Pegasus]

Limb muscles from older men and women are 25-35% smaller and have significantly more fat and connective tissue than limb muscles from younger individuals. Comparisons of muscle biopsies from younger and older individuals reveal that type 2 (fast-twitch) fibers are smaller in the old, while the size of type 1 (slow-twitch) fibers is much less affected. Studies of whole muscle cross sections also show a significantly smaller number of muscle fibers, a significantly lower relative type 2 fiber area, and a significant increase in fiber type grouping with increasing age. These results indicate a gradual decrease in size/volume with advancing age, accompanied by a replacement by fat and connective tissue. This aging atrophy seems to be due to a reduction in both number and size of muscle fibers, mainly of type 2, and is to some extent caused by a slowly progressive neurogenic process.

[Dangler Senior Administrator☼ Wizard ☼ White Tiger Award 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Dangler]

And some like me with diabetic neuropathy, suffer an even greater degradation. I have very high arches in both feet. I now seem to have chicken feet,

[burtybasset Retired Moderator Member of the Month May 2014PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close burtybasset]

I think this is why fast intense training would help keep this at bay. I think generally as we get older we tend to lift heavier stuff and move it about or do weight lifting or physical jobs etc hence why slow twitch fibres aren't as affected. I think if we ran around like crazy very quickly when we were kids we would retain more of the fast twitch. Combat arts may be of benefit keeping not only the fast twitch fibres firing, but also the reflexes, synapse and grey cells sharp.

[WIItard Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close WIItard]

I think this is why fast intense training would help keep this at bay. I think generally as we get older we tend to lift heavier stuff and move it about or do weight lifting or physical jobs etc hence why slow twitch fibres aren't as affected. I think if we ran around like crazy very quickly when we were kids we would retain more of the fast twitch. Combat arts may be of benefit keeping not only the fast twitch fibres firing, but also the reflexes, synapse and grey cells sharp.

True but I'm 47 and I just can't run around like a child. No one can as you age. The only thing that would save you is HGH but that is a proposition filled with unknowns. Sly Stallone is all hopped up on HGH and I'm watching to see what happens to him. For the moment he seems to be in good shape for his age.

In the end you can't beat father time, he is undefeated.

By the way what goes is your sight, balance and endurance first. I took my 12 year son to a ropes course and he ran around it like a spider monkey being shoot at. His only limitation was his size, as far as his reach. My limitation was after an hour and a half my arms started to shake on the ropes so I quit. I'm not going to be the old guy that they have to get a crane to get me down. To give you an idea this is where I went. We didn't do the zipline. Aerial Adventure Hilton Head - Great Thing to do for Outdoor Enthusiasts!

[Pegasus AdministratorPE Gym EditorPEGym Hero ☺ Admin of the Month Mar 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Pegasus]

I have been looking a strength training with some explosive stuff thrown in .

[Pegasus AdministratorPE Gym EditorPEGym Hero ☺ Admin of the Month Mar 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Pegasus]

Thing is, the normal thing I mature person gets if he goes to a gym is light weight done slowly . This will not do it .
For that matter nor will traditional bodybuilding style weight training, where the reps are usually kept high enough not to stress the fast twitch and likewise the speed is kept "controlled ".

[Pegasus AdministratorPE Gym EditorPEGym Hero ☺ Admin of the Month Mar 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Pegasus]

For many years one of the main focuses of training older individuals has been on
developing muscle strength to combat sarcopenia and enhance function. These
standard RT protocols have demonstrated that they can be used to increase muscle
strength, but with equivocal effects on muscle power and on the ability to perform
ADL, in older adults (Latham et al., 2004). With the recent indication that muscle
power is more closely related to the ability to perform ADL than strength, research
initiatives are beginning to focus on increasing muscle power in order to improve
function. To date, training programs that intend to increase muscle power through
high-velocity movements have yet to determine the most appropriate training
protocol, yet the limited research with varying training programs suggests that
when the concentric portion of a contraction is executed as fast as possible, muscle
power increases and this enhances ADL-outcomes measures. These early studies,
only one of which made a direct comparison between resistance and high-velocity
Power Training for Older Adults
357
training (Miszko et al., 2003), indicate that power training might be a useful tool
for rehabilitation and prevention of age-related declines in function. There is no
dispute that a progressive RT protocol will increase an older individual’s strength;
however, a training program that focuses on concentric high-velocity contractions
might be a more optimal regimen to elicit positive and consistent results wit

[burtybasset Retired Moderator Member of the Month May 2014PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close burtybasset]

True but I'm 47 and I just can't run around like a child. No one can as you age. The only thing that would save you is HGH but that is a proposition filled with unknowns. Sly Stallone is all hopped up on HGH and I'm watching to see what happens to him. For the moment he seems to be in good shape for his age.

In the end you can't beat father time, he is undefeated.

By the way what goes is your sight, balance and endurance first. I took my 12 year son to a ropes course and he ran around it like a spider monkey being shoot at. His only limitation was his size, as far as his reach. My limitation was after an hour and a half my arms started to shake on the ropes so I quit. I'm not going to be the old guy that they have to get a crane to get me down. To give you an idea this is where I went. We didn't do the zipline. Aerial Adventure Hilton Head - Great Thing to do for Outdoor Enthusiasts!

No, I hear what you are saying, your obviously not going to be able to compete with your 18 year old self, but the point I was making is you might be able to build them by training them or retain them by continued exercise from a young age. Supply and demand, we were built to adapt and evolve.

[burtybasset Retired Moderator Member of the Month May 2014PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close burtybasset]

Thing is, the normal thing I mature person gets if he goes to a gym is light weight done slowly . This will not do it .
For that matter nor will traditional bodybuilding style weight training, where the reps are usually kept high enough not to stress the fast twitch and likewise the speed is kept "controlled ".

I find simple skipping is great, start training rhythmically and increase and decrease tempo over a sustained period. Good for endurance, explosiveness, cardio, coordination and puts spring back into the step. Seems to train all of the body too, but it can take a while to get it right in order to practice it efficiently.

[Pegasus AdministratorPE Gym EditorPEGym Hero ☺ Admin of the Month Mar 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Pegasus]

I find simple skipping is great, start training rhythmically and increase and decrease tempo over a sustained period. Good for endurance, explosiveness, cardio, coordination and puts spring back into the step. Seems to train all of the body too, but it can take a while to get it right in order to practice it efficiently.

Yes it is great exercise but I doubt it is explosive enough to build fast twitch beyond a moderate level.

[Pegasus AdministratorPE Gym EditorPEGym Hero ☺ Admin of the Month Mar 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Pegasus]

I was thinking more in terms of training Bompa might describe for strength /power ,or Westside style strength training.
Or perhaps just some basic oly lifts.

[Pegasus AdministratorPE Gym EditorPEGym Hero ☺ Admin of the Month Mar 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Pegasus]

Here is a great book .

Periodization of Strength: The New Wave in Strength Training by Tudor Bompa

[Pegasus AdministratorPE Gym EditorPEGym Hero ☺ Admin of the Month Mar 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Pegasus]

This from an exercise physiologist friend of mine.

Quote Cate
your first comment I was referring to specific movements such as a bench press at 50-60% 1RM with increased velocity. The use of oly lifts within an over 50 population group would really depend on the clients history and current strength. Oly lifts are a great way to develop power but the client needs the necessary stability, mobility and base strength. Generally speaking over 50's will lack these elements for the exact reasons we discussed earlier (hormonal decline, muscle decline and stiffening of the muscles). With regards to Bompa et al's view I haven't read the associated literature
Unquote

[WIItard Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close WIItard]

No, I hear what you are saying, your obviously not going to be able to compete with your 18 year old self, but the point I was making is you might be able to build them by training them or retain them by continued exercise from a young age. Supply and demand, we were built to adapt and evolve.

What I do is heavy weight training for a while with some cardio then I'll go endurance mode and do high reps with more explosive cardio. I have always believed in changing up your exercise routine about every 3 months or sometimes I'll do different exercises every day I walk into the gym.

Example is right now I'm doing high reps. I'll rep out 135 lbs squats,20 reps by 5 sets. I'll do curls and run the rack, no rest start high and drop the weight as you go. 50-60 reps in one shot maybe higher if I'm get use to it. I'll do high reps for a month then change to something else. Same with cardio. I can't do outdoor running any more unless I get foot surgery and that may not work so I do cycling for high rep cardio. I'll go out and pedal like crazy at times or do hills, trails whatever. Object is to force my heart rate up to about as high as I can keep doing something.

I do try to change things up to keep in shape but you can only stay in so good of shape as you age. BTW for my age I run into few others that can physically do what I can. Like the ropes course I posted early in this post, lots of guys may age wouldn't even try to do the easy ones let alone the hard courses. Stuff like that is great because that's what older guys don't get the younger ones do. My kids and the kids on the street are always hanging off of trees, flipping around off of stuff. Their world is balance and strength training all the time. I'm not going to do cart wheels through the back yard on the way to wrestle the kid next door and then on to a who knows what for the next few hours. LOL. The energy just isn't there and adult life doesn't work like that. I coach a couple of baseball teams and one of the reasons I do it is to keep in shape. You would be surprised how much it takes to go throw 150 pitches for batting practice then hit 50 fly balls, etc. etc. all muscles in combination that an adult would not normally use.

I know what you're after and you can keep yourself up but only to a point.