Hang on to your hats fitness fans! There was more “breaking news” last week as ABC World News reported on what some of us learned in basic exercise physiology some 50 years ago. This “finding” comes from none other than the paragon of research, Harvard University. Here goes:
Men who participated in weight training for 2.5 hours per week showed an increase in metabolic activity that reduced the risk of type II diabetes.
The role of vigorous and regular exercise in the prevention and rehabilitation of diabetes has been well established for decades. The specific focus on “weight training” is curious since its role in enhancing resting metabolism is not news either (except, apparently, at Harvard).
The influence of muscle mass was thoroughly reviewed in a classic two-volume work of Ancel Keys, MD, and associates: The Biology of Human Starvation, (University of Minnesota Press, 1950). Keys et al intended to study the effects of long-term starvation through a carefully controlled caloric restriction and exercise program. Volume One examined the biochemical aspects of imposed starvation including morphology, biochemistry and physiology. Volume Two considered the psychological aspects of starvation and various “special problems” such as attendant diseases and rehabilitation, including diabetes.
One of Keys' medical students was Dr. Lawrence Lamb, who later served as a Special Advisor and Lecturer for the President’s Council on Physical Fitness & Sports (1972-82). During that time, the PCPFS conducted a series of a half-dozen or so regional fitness clinics around the country targeting health and physical education teachers.
As the PCPFS' Director of Program Development, my specialty was resistance training with a special emphasis on older adults. Dr. Lamb, an exquisite speaker, enjoyed coming to my presentations to add his two bits. It was delightful, because he was one of the first highly regarded medical researchers who understood both biomechanics, exercise physiology and, most important, the essential nature of resistance training.
We had a standing agreement he could come into my session about 15 minutes before its conclusion in order to make his plea regarding the essential role of strength training as it relates to fat-loss and future obesity and type II diabetes rates. Remember, this was in the 1970’s, when many physicians and coaches thought resistance training was unnecessary and perhaps harmful. Aerobics was king and running was the queen.
Dr. Lamb’s major point was always the same: Strength training would become increasingly more essential to future health and well-being because of ever-increasing levels of muscle atrophy due to sedentary living.
He'd tell his audience: “In a relative short period of time, we are going to see a sudden and dramatic increase in obesity levels, first among our children. Because unless they get the training in your physical education classes, they will never experience the threshold for sustained and effective muscular development sufficient for healthy living.
"Without the strength and muscular endurance to play, run, climb, jump, they will sit and live vicariously through TV and other emerging sedentary technologies. There will be an inclination by public health officials and researchers to focus on disease prevention through drugs and medical intervention. But the key in all chronic disease control—including heart disease, diabetes, hypertension—is regular and sustained levels of exercise and, most certainly, strength training.”
Strength training can be a little imposing, especially for a person who has never been properly instructed. Stay tuned to this site because we are preparing some material that will introduce you to some simple strength-enhancement activities that will be fun, effective and free!
We are going to begin focusing on 49 and the older crowd, but you can “sneak” in if you’re under 49. No one is going to ask to see your driver’s license.