A very cool new study showed that old-timers can turn on their genes.  Researchers compared the muscle tissue from old men versus young men.  They found that the old men were much weaker and had “differently expressed genes”.  They found that this difference in genetic expression resulted in dysfunction of the part of the cell that creates energy (the mitochondria).

The researchers than put the geezers through a 6 month weight training program.  At the end of the program they had made significant strength gains in comparison to their younger comrades, and, they actually turned their genes back on!  This means greater strength, but also greater vigor and energy!

The authors concluded “We conclude that healthy older adults show evidence of mitochondrial impairment and muscle weakness, but that this can be partially reversed at the phenotypic level, and substantially reversed at the transcriptome level, following six months of resistance exercise training.”

Read the study here.