Strength training does more than bulk up muscles

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Good article on Strength Training here for all.

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-adv-strength-training-20110213,0,6613489.sto\

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Strength training does more than bulk up muscles

By Jeannine Stein, Los Angeles Times

February 13, 2011

Strength training has strong-armed its way beyond the realm of bodybuilding.

A growing body of research shows that working out with weights has health

benefits beyond simply bulking up one's muscles and strengthening bones. Studies

are finding that more lean muscle mass may allow kidney dialysis patients to

live longer, give older people better cognitive function, reduce depression,

boost good cholesterol, lessen the swelling and discomfort of lymphedema after

breast cancer and help lower the risk of diabetes.

" Muscle is our largest metabolically active organ, and that's the backdrop that

people usually forget, " said Kent , director of the exercise physiology lab

at Cal State Monterey Bay. Strengthening the muscles " has a ripple effect

throughout the body on things like metabolic syndrome and obesity. "

Historically, strength training was limited to athletes, but in the last 20

years, its popularity has spread to the general public, said Potteiger,

an exercise physiologist at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids,

Mich., and a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine. " One can argue

that if you don't do some resistance training through your lifespan, you're

missing out on some benefits, especially as you get older or battle weight

gain, " he said.

When we hit middle age, muscle mass gradually diminishes by up to about 1% a

year in a process called sarcopenia. Women also are in danger of losing bone

mass as they age, especially after the onset of menopause. Some studies have

shown that moderate to intense strength training not only builds skeletal muscle

but increases bone density as well.

Strength training often takes a back seat to cardiovascular training, but it can

benefit the heart in ways that its more popular cousin can't.

During cardio exercise, the heart loads up with blood and pumps it out to the

rest of the body: As a result, Potteiger said, " the heart gets better and more

efficient at pumping. "

But during resistance training, muscles generate more force than they do during

endurance exercises, and the heart is no exception, Potteiger said. During a

strength workout, the heart's muscle tissue contracts forcefully to push the

blood out. Like all muscles, stress causes small tears in the muscle fibers.

When the body repairs those tears, muscles grow. The result is a stronger heart,

not just one that's more efficient at pumping.

Another big advantage of working out with weights is improving glucose

metabolism, which can reduce the risk of diabetes. Strength training boosts the

number of proteins that take glucose out of the blood and transport it into the

skeletal muscle, giving the muscles more energy and lowering overall

blood-glucose levels.

" If you have uncontrolled glucose levels, " Potteiger said, " that can lead to

kidney damage, damage to the circulatory system and loss of eyesight. "

The benefits don't end there. A 2010 study in the Clinical Journal of the

American Society of Nephrology suggested that people on dialysis can benefit

from building muscle. Researchers found that kidney dialysis patients who had

the most lean muscle mass — a measurement derived from the circumference of the

mid-arm muscle — were 37% less likely to die than the patients who had the

least.

" This is something that has an impact on survival, " said Dr. Kamyar

Kalantar-Zadeh, a principal researcher at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research

Institute and coauthor of the study. " It's not just about having more muscle and

looking better — we're talking about life and death. "

Even people who already have chronic kidney disease could benefit from strength

workouts. Germany began to incorporate modified exercise equipment into dialysis

treatment centers in 1995, and a 2004 study in the American Journal of Kidney

Diseases examining that policy found that exercise may improve the efficiency of

dialysis by increasing blood flow through the muscle and improving phosphate

removal.

The brain may get a boost from the body's extra muscle as well. A 2010 study in

Archives of Internal Medicine found that women ages 65 to 75 who did resistance

training sessions once or twice a week over the course of a year improved their

cognitive performance, while those who focused on balance and tone training

declined slightly. One reason for the improvement, researchers believe, may be

that strength training triggers the production of a protein beneficial for brain

growth.

This study was triggered by another that looked at resistance training as a way

to reduce the risk of falls in older people, said coauthor Liu-Ambrose, a

researcher at the University of British Columbia's Centre for Hip Health and

Mobility in Vancouver. As the study progressed, she said she noticed that

participants " were able to take on new tasks, like taking the bus by themselves.

They were able to prepare and plan for things and execute them. "

Strength training could be easier for people with mobility problems who might

find it easier to navigate a stationary weight than a moving treadmill.

" It's never too late to start, " said. " The benefits are great. "