July 2000
Question: I am aware that exercise has positive effects on the aging process, but could you please delineate some of the scientific findings regarding exercise and aging with specific relevance to the sport of tennis? I have several community members with whom I want to share this information.
Answer: Exercise will add years to your life and, through the added release of hormones such as endorphins, add life to your years. From two standpoints, job performance and longevity, it’s vital to be at least moderately active throughout your lifetime. If you’ve been fighting it – making excuses, not finding time, or being resentful about its necessity – stop, and stop now, not tomorrow. Reconsider.
The body will adapt physically and mentally at any age. As long as you’re still breathing, it’s not too late to make significant progress at boosting your stamina and extending your life. This has been proven by studies conducted among people in their 90s. One group exercised with weights, while the control group did nothing new. After a year, the exercisers had increased their mobility, strength and mental alertness significantly compared to the control group – at 90 years old!
At the Tufts University Center for Aging, researchers identified a number of markers related to the aging process, and many of these same variables are influenced by exercise stress. Their general conclusion was that exercise, when done properly, slows the aging process. In particular, the research I’m familiar with suggests that the type of activity this report refers to definitely includes tennis. In just about all areas of stress exposure, the aging process is significantly slowed when the hormones and forces exerted by stress are intermittently stimulated.
Some of the markers used to determine aging are things such as lean body mass, overall strength, basal metabolic rate, body fat, aerobic capacity, blood pressure, blood sugar tolerance, cholesterol levels, bone density and body temperature regulation. Lean body mass and strength are considered to be the most important of the entire group, and it’s noteworthy that all of these aging markers can be influenced in a significantly positive way by regular exercise.
The familiar notion that the older you are, the less you should do, can have tragic consequences. More appropriate advice is that the older you get, the more important it is to use it or lose it. Clearly, exercise is one of the most powerful anti-aging agents we’ve ever discovered.
People who exercise regularly experience the following improvements in their cardiovascular systems:
• A decrease in resting heart rate. The heart responds to training by also increasing in strength and size. This means that with each heartbeat, the heart is able to eject more blood out to the body. This increased stroke volume means that a lower heart rate is possible to get the same amount of blood to the body.
• An increase in maximal oxygen uptake. With exercise, the body is able to use more oxygen when you are involved in physical activity. Therefore, you can exercise for longer durations. Respiration is responsible for moving oxygen to the lungs and replenishing the blood, while circulation is important for transporting oxygen and nutrients to the cells. Metabolism then utilizes the oxygen in the cells to produce energy.
• An increase in capillarization. These small vessels feed the cells of the body. It has been observed that with exercise there is an increase in the number of capillaries that will accelerate the rate at which waste products from exercise metabolism can be removed. This same process is also seen in the heart, which assists the lungs in oxygen delivery to the heart itself.
• An increase in the ability of blood to carry oxygen. The more fit you become, the more oxygen you can transport because there is an increase in your red blood cell count. The red in the blood is actually iron in the form of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin transports oxygen throughout the blood.
• Lower blood pressure. As you become fitter, your blood pressure will lower, decreasing your risk of cardiovascular disease.
• A decrease in blood lipids. A regular aerobic exercise program will help control fats such as cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood. This reduces the risk of atherosclerosis, which can create mass obstructions in the arteries; it also reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.
• An increase in fat-burning enzymes. As you reach higher levels of fitness, the body’s metabolism increases and necessitates an increase in enzymes that can burn more body fat and dietary fat.
• An increase in the number and size of mitochondria, the energy building blocks of the body. These small structures are required for all cells in the body to function properly. As they get larger and increase in number, you are able to do more work.
• A lower heart rate at given workloads. A higher level of fitness will allow you to work with greater efficiency. The cardiovascular system, due to stroke volume and the amount of blood sent out to the body per minute, causes the heart to beat at a much lower rate as a person becomes more trained.
Pound for pound, muscle burns fat faster than fat burns fat. For every pound of muscle you gain (not much due to its density), you will burn an extra 30 to 50 calories per day. When you exercise, your muscles work while your body fat just goes along for the ride.
Some fat does get burned when you exercise, but only a tiny amount. Mainly you burn carbohydrates. Your next meal replaces those carbohydrates, and most likely, the fat you just burned, too.
Exercise is essential to weight loss, in a roundabout way and over the long haul. Muscle burns more fat 24 hours a day, and you burn most of your calories and fat when you’re not exercising. The more muscle you have, the more fat you burn. You do not have to lift heavy weights, nor do you have to bulk up with your strengthening program.
The exercise machines and charts reporting how many calories are burned per hour with a particular exercise often grossly overestimate the amount of calories burned during the workout, but they also underestimate the effect of physical training. The higher rate of calorie burning continues long after the exercise stops. Active bodies have a higher metabolic rate than sedentary bodies; they not only burn more fat by expending more energy, they also burn it faster, and keep on burning it faster, even during sleep.
So don’t take the “It’s too late for me” cop-out. At the same time, don’t say “I’ll start tomorrow.” Get moving today, because you – your body, your mind, and your spirit – need it!
