Dr Sam Howe

Exercise is about more than just fitness or aesthetics. It’s what it means for our ability to stay independent for longer. Here’s the cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2peak) needed for common daily activities. Once our fitness drops below these thresholds, we can no longer “afford” the metabolic cost of tasks needed to remain independent. One of the many reasons to stay active for as long as possible. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3821…

An intriguing question: What’s the minimum “dose” of resistance training needed to build muscle or strength? This study (pre-print) delivers new insights on whether higher training volumes or frequencies provide more benefit. The minimum effective dose of resistance training was: - 4 weekly sets (per muscle group) for muscle hypertrophy - 1 weekly set for strength With more weekly sets, both hypertrophy and strength tended to increase, with greater diminishing returns for strength. Higher training frequencies had little impact on hypertrophy, but meaningful benefits for strength (with diminishing returns). Key take homes: - Small doses of resistance training can improve muscle mass or strength - More volume (sets) benefit muscle hypertrophy more than strength - Higher frequencies are more important for strength

The “best” exercise for health: Any type you enjoy. Despite common belief, the benefits of aerobic and resistance training are more similar than different. It’s best to do both, but either provides more benefits than many expect.

Sarcopenia: the progressive age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass and/or function. Prevalence: estimated 10-16% of elderly worldwide Risk factors: include physical inactivity, malnutrition, smoking, extreme sleep duration, and diabetes Consequences: increased risk of a wide range of adverse outcomes including falls and fractures, metabolic disorders, functional decline, cognitive impairment, and mortality metabolismjournal.com/articl…

Aerobic versus resistance training: how do they stack up for health benefits? Sure, there are some unique benefits to aerobic and resistance training. But - the overall health benefits are more similar than once thought. So, do both if you can. But just getting started (and being consistent) with either probably gets you most of the way there. journals.lww.com/acsm-esm/fu…

Muscle and brain health are closely linked. New data suggests: Males (aged ~67) who lost more muscle over a 4-year period had faster declines in cognitive function: link.springer.com/article/10… Older adults aged 65+ with sarcopenia had 2.4x greater risk of dementia: link.springer.com/article/10… Figure from: link.springer.com/article/10…