Need To Exercise? Take A Pill?
August 4, 2008
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The pill that mimics exercise seems to have been all over the media in the last few days. Sounds too good to be true. How to get trim and buff with an exercise pill or two.
Guess there are 2 types of pills, one where you need to exercise and one that you don’t. I looked at the website of the journal where the research is being published but it was not up yet (the press gets the info ahead of the public). So I am relying mainly on the NYT for the basic info.
One drug (GW1516) makes mice that are exercising have a rapid increase in endurance. The mice on the drug for 4 weeks had 77% more endurance than mice that were not taking the drug.
Treatment with the second drug (AICAR) increased the endurance of mice that were not exercising by 44%. So even with no exercise there was an improvement in muscle structure.
Theoretically, you could take the second drug and sit at home and get more endurance as if you were exercising. It is unknown whether actually doing the exercise has all the major benefits that the pills would not have. Plus one of the drugs need exercise to be effective.
Of course if these drugs are found to consistently build muscle, and not have any serious short or long term side effects, would be very useful for degenerative diseases, after injury and in aging.
In aging it could help build up muscle in those who are frail. A strong musculature not only makes it easier opening jars, picking up groceries, and other things, but also lessens the number of falls and helps protect against injury when a fall occurs.
Even if these drugs can only be used for a short time, the hardest part of any exercise program is the first part, when very out of shape and weak. These exercise pills may provide a good way to get started and see quick results.
photo credit: Brooks Elliott
Technorati Tags: pill, exercise, aicar, endurance, aging
Popularity: 17% [?]
Low Intensity Exercise May Relieve Feelings of Fatigue
March 2, 2008
At the moment I am feeling relatively energized. I have a number of new projects, and spring, my favorite season, actually looks like it might be coming. In the late fall, my least favorite season, it was not the same story. I felt like I had no energy. In the evenings I would get home from work and become a vegetable. I am sure that I will hit another lull next fall. When you descend into that tiredness pit, it seems like too much effort to get out.
Today I read about a study (Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 77:167-174, 2008) that has just been published looking at the effects of exercise on general fatigue. At first the results sound counter intuitive. Feeling tired, the last thing you want to do is some exercise and get even more tired. However, the study demonstrated that both low and moderate intensity exercise reduced the feeling of fatigue and the subjects felt more energetic. Low intensity exercise was as effective as moderate intensity exercise. Interestingly, this increased feeling of energy was not due to an increase in aerobic capacity.
So what did this study class as low intensity exercise? It was an easy walk, a leisurely bike ride or some yoga. Here in the evenings, it is still getting dark way too early, and it gets cold pretty quickly, so for the time being perhaps yoga is a better option. I have a couple of DVDs from Gaiam that I think would work well. I like AM/PM Yoga For Beginners and Stress Relief Yoga For Beginners. (Checking out the Gaiam website to get the links; I see that they have Free Shipping – no minimum order. Use coupon EASTER. Expires 3/31/08).
So next time when in that fatigue pit all that is needed is to actually muster enough energy to get off the couch and get the DVD into the player.
photo credit: SuperFantastic
Technorati Tags: exercise, intensity, fatigue, walking, yoga, energy
Popularity: 54% [?]
The Pedometer Challenge
February 23, 2008
For Christmas I gave pedometers, as part of their presents, to four people at work. Included were some inspiring articles about walking, and some challenges with “really bad” prizes. The challenges were, 1) who could do the most steps in one week, 2) who could do the most steps in one week, and 3) who had the greatest percentage improvement. I thought if I set up a friendly competition, it would be encouraging.
All four of the recipients are carrying more weight than they are happy with, and two have recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Three are women and one is a guy, who has one of the recent diagnoses for diabetes. The group opened the presents at the same time in the department office.
The guy said, “S***, now Vera [wife] is going to make me go walking and do something about the diabetes”. My immediate thought was, “Well the next present I give you is going to be donuts”.
The three “girls” really got into it, after they had put in the batteries and set up the calibration. Of course nobody read the instructions, so it took a while to set them up. At one point, Carol wailed, “I’m too tall”. She was trying to enter her height as the stride length. The pedometers do not go up to a 5 ft 10 inch stride! When the pedometers were set, the girls were doing as many errands as they could think of, and comparing numbers of steps. They were all over the department.
As you might anticipate, the initial enthusiasm wore off. However, the girls are still using the pedometers some of the time, and one of them was inspired to join the gym. We never did bother with the challenges.
I got one for myself, but unfortunately lost mine yesterday, while walking the dog. I was in a park with narrow paths between chest high sagebrush and it must have got snagged. Now it is snowing so even if I find it, I think it may be ruined. The pedometers I gave were Omron HJ-112 Digital Premium Pedometers.
Technorati Tags: pedometer, steps
Popularity: 63% [?]
Weight Training Revs Up The Body Metabolism
February 9, 2008
When weight training there is an increase in the proportion of type II fibers. A recent study showed that when there was a boost in the numbers of type II fibers in mice, that they had higher metabolic rate. The interesting thing about the finding is that the metabolic rate was not just increased in the muscles used in the weight training, but in other tissues in the body. The metabolism of fat cells and the liver was revved up too, and insulin resistance was improved in obese mice that had become diabetic.
This finding suggests that weight training will be of great benefit for anyone trying to lose weight. One of the problems for people on a diet is that the metabolism slows down, and remains at a lower level for quite a long time even after the goal weight has been achieved. It is likely with a restricted food intake that the body goes into starvation/survival mode and lowers the metabolic rate to conserve energy. Adding regular weight training sessions may well be the way to boost the metabolism at least back to the pre-diet level, if not higher. Therefore, weight training should both help with weight loss, and then maintaining the weight loss.
So yesterday, I decided to start weight (resistance) training. Today my triceps and abs, in particular, are sore. It was pretty pathetic how little weight I could lift and how few reps of the abs exercises I managed to do. I wonder if I will be inspired to keep it up this time. The book I used for the exercises (from a previous burst of enthusiasm) was Strength Training for Women by Joan Pagano.
For more information about the study, Weight Training Reduces Fat and Improves Metabolism in Mice, see Science Daily.
Technorati Tags: muscle fiber, weight training, metabolism
Popularity: 100% [?]
Continuing to stay in shape may slow aging
February 2, 2008
As we age, we lose muscle mass and strength. However, an article in the New York Times discusses a study that suggests that if we can stay active, we can significantly slow the rate of loss. The study compared those who continued to train and those who stopped training. Those who continued to train, and keep active, showed less deterioration, than those who stopped.
There are two take home messages, from this and other studies. The first is that it is never too late to start moving more. In the article, a man who took up running at 62 years is now running marathons. Not that is what most people, including me, are going to do; my days of running were short and are long gone. However, we can all increase our activity. Not only can you slow down the rate of decline, but also if you are very out of shape you can improve muscle mass and strength. Secondly, is to try to increase the relative intensity several times a week. I am planning to try to increase my walking speed for short distances, every so often. At least until I forget all about the article.
Technorati Tags: aging, exercise, muscle mass, muscle strength
Popularity: 52% [?]
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