HIIT Training isn’t Just for the Young!
Shin Ohtake
Fitness & Fat-Loss Coach
Somatopause is the gradual decline of growth hormone secretion that occurs as you age.
Sometime around middle-age (as young as 30-35 for some of us!), your body begins to slow down growth hormone secretion.
What does growth hormone do?
It keeps you looking young and feeling young.
As somatopause happens, your body goes through a number of changes:
Adipose Tissue (Fat) Increases
LDL (bad) Cholesterol Levels Increase
Lean Body Mass (Muscle Mass) Decreases)
Bone Density Declines
Energy Levels Go Down
And More…
Have you felt any of these changes as your calendar age ticks up?
Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Can Turn-Back the Clock on Age
If you want to fight back against somatopause, keep your growth hormone levels high, and stay young on a biological level, you have two choices:
You can get Growth Hormone injections – These are expensive but they work ($1,000+ per month and getting cheaper). The problem is that you have to find an anti-aging doctor willing to give you the injection. Many people who start to experience the symptoms I’ve listed above (weight gain, lower energy levels, wrinkles, LDL increase, less lean body mass) don’t have low enough Growth Hormone levels (yet) to really qualify for injections as a medical necessity. Most doctors think of aging as an inevitability—making these treatments unnecessary.
Change the way you exercise – The right type of exercises increase Growth Hormone secretion.
One of the reasons I made High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) one of the building-blocks of MAX Workouts is because it can help your body fight against somatopause.
But one question I always get, especially from women and men who are already feeling the symptoms, stresses, and frailty of getting older is this:
But Is It Safe?
Are MAX Workouts (and HIIT-style workouts) safe for older people?
University at Buffalo researchers recently answered this question in a study published in the June issue of the Journals of Gerontology Series A.
According to the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, “the study is the first to investigate whether a novel, short-session regimen of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) can be safe and effective in older populations.”
What researchers found is that “high-intensity interval training can help enhance quality of life and capacity to be healthy” in older populations.
Groundbreaking Study Addresses Much More than the “Safety” of HIIT-Style Workouts
The University at Buffalo study was not just about the safety of HIIT-style workouts in advanced (over 65 years old) age populations.
Researchers also want to determine if HIIT-style physical activity can help reverse frailty.
What they found in this initial study is promising.
Dr. Bruce R. Toren, a lead researcher conducting the study said, “We know that being frail or being at risk for becoming frail puts people at increased risk of dying and comorbidity,” continuing, “these results show that it’s possible that high-intensity interval training can help enhance quality of life and capacity to be healthy.”
When commenting on the reason HIIT-style physical activity is so effective—and why older populations can benefit from HIIT—Dr. Toren stated:
“We believe that the intensity of individualized HIIT provides a more significant but manageable stress, so the body responds more robustly to these short, vigorous periods of exercise…in other words, you get more bang for your buck.”