It's the exercise that will help you age better

A group of researchers has discovered indications that aerobic and resistance exercises, such as run, swim, ski or bikeIt will help you age better than anaerobic exercises, such as strength training with weights.

The study was published in European Heart Journaland analyzes how cells age in the human body.

Anti-aging and telomere exercises

Our DNA is organized into chromosomes in all the cells of our body. At the end of each chromosome, there is a repetitive DNA sequence, telomere call, which covers the chromosome and prevents its extremities from deteriorating. As we get older, telomeres get shorter and it is an important molecular mechanism for cellular aging, which eventually leads to cell death when the telomere is no longer able to protect chromosomal DNA. The process of shortening telomeres is regulated by several proteins. Among them is the telomerase enzyme, which can thwart the process of shortening and can even add length to the telomeres.

Researchers led by Ulrich Laufs, from the University of Leipzig, Germany, recruited 266 healthy but previously inactive young volunteers, and randomly assigned them to six months of resistance training (continuous running), high intensity interval training ( warm-up, followed by four races of different intensities), endurance training (circuit training on eight machines, including seated paddling, bending and stretching of the leg while seated, chest pressure in position sitting and pressure in supine position), and a way of life unchanged).

Participants randomly assigned to all three types of exercises completed three 45-minute sessions per week, and 124 people completed the study. Researchers analyzed telomere length and telomerase activity in white blood cells extracted from volunteers at the start of the study.

Volunteers who performed resistance training and high intensity increased telomerase and telomere length activity, which are important for cellular aging and regenerative capacity, implying aging well. health. Interesting, resistance training did not exert these effects.