Inspire Seniors with Interval Training

Physical exercise of any sort, as long as it’s not punishing, helps maintain health in senior citizens. But high-intensity interval training, in which pushing hard alternates with not pushing hard, holds promise for actually improving health.
     Mayo Clinic researchers assigned sedentary men and women at least age 65 to exercise on a stationary bicycle. For some of these seniors, the instructions were to pedal hard for four minutes, rest for three, and then repeat that sequence three more times. This took about half an hour and was to be done three times a week. Participants in another exercise condition were instructed to peddle at a moderate pace for thirty minutes a few times a week and lift weights lightly on the other days. Twelve weeks into the program, the interval training group showed superior gains in endurance even down to the cellular level. Nearly 400 genes associated with muscle cell health were functioning better, while in the moderate exercise group, it was only 19.
     Participants in both groups, as well as in a group that was assigned to do vigorous weight training, showed improvements in physical fitness and blood sugar regulation to a degree not seen in a group assigned to not exercise. Still, pushing hard paid off for the seniors as long as they had an opportunity to pull back periodically. The researchers even described it as reversing the effects of aging.
     Parallel effects can occur with mental exercise. Challenging the older brain activates plasticity—the ability of the brain to physically change as a result of learning—and brain flexibility—the ability of the brain to use its current physical structure to meet novel challenges by rearranging tasks. The effects are stronger when there are intervals of rest which allow the changes to take hold.
     Interval training also makes the activity more engaging. Interruptions increase enjoyment. It’s an example of what psychologists call habituation. Massage therapists report that the client generally likes the massage better when they’re rubbed for a while, pounded for a while, kneaded for a while, and then rubbed again than if there’s no change. Inserting a commercial break in a nature documentary stimulates willingness to donate.
      Younger adults are more susceptible to habituation than older adults. But the relative advantages of high-intensity interval training are more compelling for older than for younger participants.

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