Real Age: All About Men

RealAge Tip of the DAY for August 30, 2007

•All About MEN: Fountain of Youth for Your Muscles

Your hair may thin and your jawline may seem determined
to move south, but there's one thing you never have to give
up as you grow older: young muscles.

Strength training affects muscle DNA on a cellular level,
giving it the profile of much younger muscle tissue.
The result? Pump some iron and you'll considerably narrow
any natural strength gaps that exist between you and those
still-wet-behind-the-ears younger men.

Push-Up Power

Remember when 73-year-old Jack Palance did one-handed
push-ups on stage at the '92 Oscars? That could be you.
Well, maybe not the Oscar part. But any guy can be fit past
50 if he strength-trains regularly.
(Try these on-the-go workouts and kiss withered-
old-man muscles goodbye.)

Here's how a recent study proved it. Before going through
a resistance-training program, the older men in a study
were nearly 60 percent weaker than the younger guys.
But after 6 months of chest presses, leg extensions, and
other resistance exercises, the senior group's muscle
strength doubled! They closed the gap to just 40 percent
less strong. Imagine what a whole year of push-ups could
do . . ..
(Start toning your trunk with these abdominal
exercises.)

Turning the Clock Off
Muscles get weaker as you get older for lots of reasons --
and most of those reasons boil down to the natural aging
process. But strength training halts much of that -- right
down to changing the rate at which muscle cells are
programmed to expire.

Now, which protein powder can help pump you up?
Here's your answer.

RealAge Benefit: A physical activity program that builds
stamina, strength, and flexibility can make your RealAge
as much as 8.1 years younger.

RealAge Smart Search: Don't forget to stretch!
Stay limber -- and safe -- by adding stretching to
your workout.