What’s your favorite hand? Foot? Eyeball? Nostril?
When it comes to longevity and exercise, aerobic exercise gets all the publicity. Aerobic exercise is great – we love it. We’ve collaborated with Aerobic Exercise a number of times and have had great experiences. And yet, resistance training is equally important.
Like most of our body (hands, feet, eyeballs, etc.) the good things come in pairs. With exercise, aerobic and resistance training form a dynamic duo. Long ago, I read the excellent phrasing of this concept in the popular book Younger Next Year: “aerobic training might save your life, but resistance training makes it worth living.”
What good is living if you can’t do things and move stuff? Strength training gives you that literal ability to do things and move stuff.
For those that like a little how with their wow, let’s talk about FGF21.
A little over 20 years ago, a new human hormone was discovered called FGF21. (Named because it was the 21st version of fibroblast growth factor.) One other member of the FGF family, Fibroblast Growth Factor-2 (FGF2) helps in the formation of new blood vessels. It is also involved in improving some brain functions such as improving synaptic efficiency and affinity between neurons to facilitate learning and retention.
These fibroblast growth factors are some F-ing Good Factors. FGF21 has been recognized as key to the promotion of metabolic and arterial health, leanness, and longevity.
FGF21 gets metabolized quickly in your body so we can’t just rely on hormone therapy for this. (Read: there’s not going to be a drug, pill, or injection that will be able to replace regularly boosting it through your actions.) One thing that boosts FGF21 is exercise. And in an interesting development, some recent research found that resistance training increased FGF21 42% while aerobic training boosted it 25%. (Keihanian, 2019)
Exercise improves brain circulation, especially in the hippocampus, the memory hub in the brain.
All exercise is good for the brain, but certain elements make it better. And this is just as true for certain hormones. Resistance training removes sugar from the blood without needing insulin and boosts irisin. Aerobic training enhances insulin sensitivity and increases BDNF. Together all of this combines to improve nutrient delivery, fuel use, reduce inflammation, and enhance neurogenesis. (Babaei, 2022) Yet another reason why we don’t want to be overdoing one form of exercise in our efforts at fitness. This is another tick in the box in the voting for complete fitness – a concept explored in detail in the Alzheimer’s Disease Fitness Specialist Course.
Additionally, the course details how to enhance aerobic and resistance training by performing them with appropriately chosen reactivity and coordination challenges, which create a kind of “moving brain game” that optimizes the physical and brain fitness opportunities available through exercise.
There has been decades of research into aerobic training. Resistance training is now finally becoming an increasing area of research and this will only expand the opportunities to enhance vitality with exercise. No need to pick – do both resistance and aerobic training.
Who knows, you just may become one of those people they interview who is turning 100. When they ask what your “secret” is, you can answer “resistance training!”
Article originally printed on funtensity.com. Reprinted with permission.
His “800 Pounds of Parents” directly inspired Jonathan’s prolific fitness career. He is a multiple Personal Trainer of the Year Award-Winner (ACE, IDEA, and PFP Magazine), master trainer for the American Council on Exercise (ACE), creator of Funtensity, brain fitness visionary, blogger, international speaker and author.
References
- Keihanian A, Arazi H, Kargarfard M. (2019) Effects of aerobic versus resistance training on serum fetuin-A, fetuin-B, and fibroblast growth factor-21 levels in male diabetic patients. Physiol Int. 106(1):70-80. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30888221
- Babaei, P., & Azari, H. B. (2022). Exercise Training Improves Memory Performance in Older Adults: A Narrative Review of Evidence and Possible Mechanisms. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 15, 771553. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2021.771553
