The benefits of strength training for MS patients

It was once believed that exercise was bad for those with Multiple Sclerosis (MS); a recent study concluded otherwise.  A quote from the study1:

“Physical training can relieve many of the symptoms, including the excessive fatigue and mobility impairments that are often seen. New research now shows that resistance training may protect the nervous system and thus slow the progression of the disease.”

And this:

"Among persons with multiple sclerosis, the brain shrinks markedly faster than normal. Drugs can counter this development, but we saw a tendency that training further minimizes brain shrinkage in patients already receiving medication. In addition, we saw that several smaller brain areas actually started to grow in response to training,"

There is a long list of benefits from proper resistance training; for those with MS the list is even longer and more vital.  At our Austin Personal Trainers and New Orleans Fitness Training locations we have worked those with MS since we first opened our doors.  We use MedX exercise equipment.  With its medical rehab features, we are better able to work with those with compromising conditions.

One of our trainers, Glenn, has MS and has been training with us for 10 years.  He had this to say about the workout:

“Our workout is high intensity, but short in duration, so it's a perfect routine for MSers (especially with heat intolerance - a very common symptom).  And unlike standard workouts, you get through a full body workout before your MS symptoms can flare due to a rise in core body temperature.”

“Perfect routine of MSers”, it is beneficial for a number of other conditions as well – arthritis, diabetes, osteopenia, back problems, stroke 

To Age with Grace

As we age we become weaker, slower, less agile, less physically attractive…  While some accept this fate with poise and a positive outlook, for others, it is a difficult transition.

In the business of personal training I occasionally run across young people consumed with their bodies and how well they perform. In the “poker game of life”, they are holding aces. How they manage their hand when the cards they are holding are no longer aces depends on their outlook. They cannot stop the dissipation of the body over time, but there is a bright side.

When comparing younger and older exercisers, those who are older can produce far greater improvements in strength, increases in energy, bone density, and the abatement of pain.  After all, a 20 year old is not going to increase her bone density a standard deviation or increase mitochondrial capacity by 49% but a 60 year old can.  This does not require hours in the gym each week. 

With proper exercise you can significantly increase your health span, the length of time that you are healthy—not just alive.  At Austin Personal Trainers and New Orleans Fitness Training locations our trainers can help you increase your health span and age with grace.

Exponentially increasing the amount of an anti-inflammatory agent produced by the body

Inflammation can heal you, debilitate you, or it can ultimately kill you.  The endocrine system releases molecules that are chemical signalers that work to keep your inflammation in check. Wouldn’t it be great if there were a way to increase those chemical signalers - maybe even increase their numbers exponentially?   There is.

Inflammation has a positive role in healing wounds and fighting infection.  The swelling, redness, and warmth are signs that your immune system is sending white blood cells, immune cell-stimulating growth factors, and nutrients to the affected areas 2. After an ailment is resolved that inflammation should go away.  If the inflammation persists it can lead to a number of inflammatory conditions including heart disease, cancer, arthritis, skin conditions, plus respiratory and gastrointestinal problems.  It makes weight loss more difficult, and it can interfere with sleep.  

Cytokines are chemical signalers that are released by the cells affected by the stress of a wound or infection; they trigger inflammation.  Not all cytokines trigger inflammation. There is a subgroup of cytokines called myokines; they reduce inflammation.  One of those myokines is Interleuken 6. In a Bulletproof podcast Doug McGuff, Body By Science author, had this to say about Interleuken 6:

“Interleukin 6 has an anti-inflammatory effect but it also has neat bio chemical effects. It very aggressively up regulates the uptake of glucose into the muscle cell and glucose utilization and glycogen mobilization. It also ramps up lipolysis. Mobilization of fatty acids from stored body fat and it’s ramping through the cell, through the mitochondria to do beta oxidation of fatty acids all of that is augmented and ramped up by Interleukin 6. Other things that it does, is it stimulates the release of nitric oxide which causes vessel dilation. Increasing blood flow into the skeletal muscle but it has the more long term effect with modulating blood pressure towards more optimal levels and it actually accesses a lepton surrogate to increase insulin sensitivity so it has just this one myokines has so many beneficial effects that we’re looking for."

 How do we get more Interleukin 6?  Dr. McGuff again:

“Interleukin 6 is liberated from contracting skeletal muscle particularly when it’s doing high intensity work but pretty much in any sort of muscular activity. It is released to some degree and it increases as the intensity of exercise rises, it’s released in exponentially greater degree.”

 At our Austin Strength Training and New Orleans Strength Training locations with our clients we use a high intensity strength training protocol, a protocol that exponentially produces more anti-inflammatory myokines.

With inflammatory conditions such as arthritis the wrong exercise can inflame joints even more. The trick is to work the muscles without inflaming the joints.  We have an extensive line of MedX equipment with medical rehab features that are gentler on the joints.  We also employ a low-impact exercise protocol that minimized forces place on the joints.  This allows us to safely work the muscles intensely.  For arthritis pain sufferers this results in stronger muscles, increased mobility, and decreased inflammation, and protection of the joints to facilitate a life uncompromised by pain.  For arthritis pain sufferers the positive results can be surprising, sometimes well beyond anything you would expect.

Study finds elevated metabolism 21 hours after exercise session with certain types of exercise

You can maintain an elevated metabolism long after your exercise session is over – even into the next day – with certain types of exercise.  After exercising it takes a period of time for your resting metabolism to return to normal. The type of exercise you do is a determining factor in how long your metabolism will remain elevated.  

In an exercise study, ten young men performed three different exercise routines one week apart. Each session burned the same number of calories.  The first week was resistance training, the next week was steady-state aerobic exercise, and the last week was high-intensity intermittent aerobic training.

The subjects’ resting metabolic rate (RMR) was measured at 12 hours and 21 hours after each session.  The results from the study1:

“The steady-state trial did not influence RMR at either 12 hour or 21 hour post-exercise.  Both resistance training and intermittent aerobic training increased excess post exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) to a greater degree than did steady-state work, indicating that either mode may be more effective at increasing total daily caloric expenditure than steady-state aerobic exercise.”

The study reported that resistance training produced more EPOC than the other two modes of exercise at both the 12 hour and 21 hour mark.  The type of resistance training is also a factor.  High intensity resistance training (HIT) produces more EPOC than any other form of resistance training.  HIT is what we do at our Austin Strength Training and New Orleans Strength Training facilities. 

 The study demonstrates that in the short-run resistance training can temporarily raise your metabolism up to 21 hours after your workout.  In the long-run as you become stronger your body will have a permanently higher RMR. While a higher metabolism helps, it is important to note that studies show that exercising is not the key to weight loss.  Eating less is.