Posted on 01/17/2026 7:32:06 PM PST by ConservativeMind
Scientists have uncovered how exercise helps aging muscles regain their ability to repair themselves, shedding light on why physical activity remains one of the most effective ways to preserve strength and mobility later in life.
The team found that exercise helps restore a critical balance in muscle cells that is disrupted with age.
Strong, healthy muscles are essential for movement, metabolism, and overall vitality. From midlife onward, muscle function gradually declines.
At the center of muscle health is a growth pathway known as mTORC1, which regulates protein production and muscle tissue maintenance. As muscles age, this pathway can become overactive, prioritizing new proteins building, while slowing the removal of damaged proteins. The accumulation of these damaged proteins places stress on muscle cells, contributing to gradual weakening.
The researchers identified a gene called DEAF1 as a key driver of the protein imbalance in aging muscles. They found that rising DEAF1 levels in aging muscles push the growth regulator mTORC1 into overdrive, disrupting normal protein turnover and accelerating muscle decline.
DEAF1 is usually kept in check by a group of regulatory proteins called FOXOs. However, FOXO activity declines with age, allowing DEAF1 to rise unchecked. This loss of control appears to tip the balance away from muscle repair and towards deterioration.
Importantly, the study showed that exercise can reverse this imbalance but only when this regulatory system remains responsive.
However, researchers also found that when DEAF1 levels remain too high or FOXO activity is severely reduced—as can happen in older muscles—exercise alone may not fully restore muscle repair. This helps explain why some older adults may not see the full benefits of exercise.
Priscillia Choy Sze Mun said, "Exercise tells muscles to 'clean up and reset.' Lowering DEAF1 helps older muscles regain strength and balance, almost like hitting the rewind button."
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
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Exercise!
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2 hours a day, 5 days a week, 23 machines at Planet Fitness, plus yoga stretches in between.
Weight lifting, walking and squats will ensure you can do for yourself until the day you drop.
That’s the way most want to go.
Sitting in that Lazy Boy will ascertain you’ll be an invalid.
Recently realized I can no longer fit in my Dress Blues...arms won't fit in the sleeves :) and I'm okay with that! Trousers still fit, tho...
And it's nice at my age standing up from a seated position on the floor with the dog without using two hands.
“And it’s nice at my age standing up from a seated position on the floor with the dog without using two hands.”
At your age? You are just a spring chicken!
I am 79. Age really hits after 70 but I can still get up off the floor without using my hands.
hahahah...I’ll take the spring chicken thing. I actually work as a country club Gen Mngr in a very old and large 55+ community. I hear that often - the sweat old gals tell me I’m just a baby and pinch my cheeks!
“I hear that often - the sweat old gals tell me I’m just a baby and pinch my cheeks! “
How about the unsweaty ones?
Half hour walk a day except weekends to play golf and walk 9 or 18. Great exercise and fun doing it.
Sweat/Sweet...Don’t fault me - I’m a product of public education...
New!
Late 70s, home gym 20+ different exercises, 3/4 days/week, I'm usually finished in less than an hour. Biking, skiing, hiking, running. I love it all.
I'll run four-ish 5ks per year, sometimes more, sometimes less. I still have a few 10ks in me, but no more half marathons.
I had surgery this past year from a fall-related injury. The nurses concluded from my heart graphs that I was a runner.
That said, I'm not special. Are you over 50?
You can do this. Start slowly, increase gradually, eat with the new nutritional pyramid guidance in mind. Don't let yourself talk you out of hitting the gym or bike path.
Excellent...we all have our routines that work for us. Me, I’m not a runner. When I got out of the Corps, I think I subconsciously talked myself out of running, because I swore the day I discharged I would never run again. No more ten mile “fun runs” for me, I said...
Agreed. And it is a bittersweet acknowledgement.
I have spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, and arthritis in my spine.
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to simply walk.
I’m 60 years old.
It’s really pissing me off.
What did you do while you were in Israel? IIRC, they kept you real busy.
I’m 74. Lots of hiking year-round. Jan ‘26 so far 7 hikes, 21 miles, 13 hours, 8,000 calories, 3,645 vertical feet climbed.
In 2025, 250 miles, 138 hours, 64,000 calories, 98 hikes, 32,200 vertical feet climbed.
It’s been a mile winter here in North Idaho so far, so it’s been easy to get out. Only a couple of the hikes have been through serious snow and ice. The trails today were all clear except for a few patches here and there.
I supplement with floor stretches and weights on non-hiking days.
I got real serious about weight, diet and metabolic health at the end of July 2025. Even with the hiking, I lost control of those things and hit 201 pounds, an all-time high for me. Since then I’ve shed 28 pounds by cutting carbs, cutting out as much added sugar as possible, stopping all alcohol, eating a lot more salad (10 or 12 different veggies), focusing on low glycemic index foods, more protein. All my numbers are looking good. Working on the last 5 pounds now. Expect to hit 169 pounds some time in February. No signs of muscle loss!
I became an ACE and NASM fitness trainer at 52. I’m 70 now and not as active as I once was, but I still walk a 5K every other day and do weight training at least twice a week. Running for years did a number on my spine, so I can no longer run and planks do me more harm than good. But I have to say that I am in great shape otherwise, and feel wonderful. I am a novelist, so the danger for me is sitting eight hours a day at my keyboard. Since I have been writing seriously, I really have to force myself to keep to a good physical regimen.
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