Episode 105
Muscle, Mitochondria, and Healthspan
Muscle is Medicine: Why Lifting Weights is Your Best Longevity Investment
Clearly, your body changes as you age. I learned this lesson years ago when my son was three years old. We started him skiing, and he loved every minute of it. When he fell, he tumbled onto his behind, jumped right back up, and skied down the hill like nothing had happened. He was pure rubber and resilience.
However, I was 53 years his senior that year. I did an inadvertent 360-degree twirl on the slopes myself. His mother saw me and immediately asked if I had broken my wrist, wondering when I could return to surgery. The difference between a flexible young body and an older body is critical. Consequently, I retired from skiing that season and now enjoy the lodge, where I write and make them great dinners.
Indeed, your older body desperately needs work to stay flexible, strong, and balanced as time goes on. I have seen too many independent seniors lose everything after a simple fall in their own home. They go from living on their own to spending their last days in a care center, sometimes never leaving bed. This outcome is not healthspan. Instead, you want a fall to be like my son’s—just on your butt and back up. Sadly, too many fall and cannot get up. This isn't a commercial for a safety pendant, but a sincere plea for you to start working your muscles.
Section 1: The Enemy is Muscle Loss (Sarcopenia)
Specifically, we talk frequently about heart health and clear arteries in longevity. Those things are unquestionably crucial. Nevertheless, the biggest threat to functional independence as we age is a condition called sarcopenia. This is the medical term for age-related muscle loss.
Unfortunately, we start losing about 3 to 8 percent of our muscle mass every decade after age 30. That loss accelerates quickly once you hit 70. This problem is not just about looking less toned; fundamentally, it is about losing the ability to stand up from a chair, carry groceries, or, most importantly, catch yourself when you trip. The falls that result are often catastrophic.
Section 2: Big Things Help Small Things—The Cellular Connection
Amazingly, resistance training is effective at the microscopic level, too. We have talked extensively about the tiny, complex mechanisms of the cell, but here is the key takeaway: small things benefit from big things.
In fact, increasing muscle mass through training has direct, positive effects on two major microscopic drivers of aging: mitochondrial function and telomere health.
To elaborate, when you challenge your muscles, you signal your cells to create more energy. This signal forces your mitochondria—the cellular powerhouses—to become both more numerous and more efficient. Better mitochondrial function equals more energy and less cellular stress.
Moreover, studies show that resistance training actually increases the activity of the enzyme telomerase in some cells. Telomerase helps maintain the protective caps on your DNA called telomeres.
Therefore, you don’t need to buy fancy, expensive supplements like NAD or telomere boosters. Picking up a dumbbell costs less money but yields more results. You gain muscular strength, better metabolism, stronger bones, and the cellular benefits all at once.
Section 3: Muscle is Your Metabolic Powerhouse
Let's consider how muscle mass influences your diet. Your muscle is actually your body’s largest organ for glucose disposal. Think of it like this: when you eat, your body releases glucose (sugar) into your bloodstream. Insulin then works to escort that glucose out of your blood and into your cells for energy. The vast majority of that glucose gets parked in your muscle cells.
Clearly, if you have more muscle mass, you automatically have a bigger parking lot for that glucose.
Consequently, more muscle means your body gains better insulin sensitivity. It becomes more efficient at regulating blood sugar. This effect is the absolute bedrock of preventing and managing Type 2 diabetes. Ultimately, resistance training is a powerful pharmaceutical intervention for your metabolic health.
Section 4: Building an Iron Skeleton
However, the benefits don't stop at the muscles. Let's talk about bone density, which is crucial for everyone, especially women. We know calcium and Vitamin D are important, yet they are only one part of the solution.
Remember that bone is living tissue; it responds to stress. When you lift a weight—even if it is just your own body weight in a squat—the mechanical force signals to your bones that they must get stronger. This process is known as the Mechanostat principle. Conversely, without that heavy, high-intensity mechanical load, bone density naturally declines, leading to osteoporosis.
In conclusion, if you only do low-impact cardio, you are helping your heart, but you are not sending the signal needed to maintain or increase bone mineral density. Specifically, you must load your bones to strengthen them.
Section 5: The Importance of Balance and Quality Coaching
Beyond pure strength, true independence depends on mobility and balance. This is where functional training, including Yoga, plays a huge role. My favorite Yoga classes are a combination of bodyweight resistance and cardiovascular movement. I look for the physics—the movement, the resistance, and the balance—and keep the "woo" out of it. Furthermore, a Yoga mat costs far less than some supplements, but it will make a fall much easier to recover from.
Therefore, if you are getting started, please get professional help! Having a great gym coach to help with proper form is paramount—shout out to my friends Jeremy the Hulk and the Zeigler Monster! Additionally, it is equally important to enlist a private Yoga instructor to ensure you are not malaligned and that you know what to look for. A special shout-out to my yogi Xuan—and yes, I will be doing more classes this year!
Section 6: The Ultimate Goal: Getting Back Up
Ultimately, the reason we train is not just to be strong; rather, it is so that if you fall when you are 65, 75, or 80, you possess the strength, stability, and awareness to get up by yourself. This ability is the true mark of functional longevity.
Let me give you two examples of why this ability matters so much. A fellow was admitted to a facility after he broke his hip. Before he fell, he lived alone, was a champion bowler, and enjoyed his life. He simply slipped on a rug, fell, and was found a day later. After his hip was fixed, he spent the next year of his life mostly in bed, eventually dying of COVID-19 in a long-term care facility. One single fall that he couldn't get up from changed his life and his outlook completely.
Contrast that with my own dad. He took a fall at age 96 trying to trim a tree. It took a bit of effort, and he received a stern warning from his son and the EMTs, but he got up. He lived independently until age 98.
Consequently, this kind of preparation matters because the statistics are sobering: falls are the leading cause of injury death for people over 65. Tragically, studies show that up to 30% of seniors who fracture a hip lose their independence entirely.
Conclusion and Call to Action
Finally, resistance training, combined with functional movement, is the macroscopic lever that pulls all those microscopic switches. It is the closest thing to a fountain of youth that doesn’t require a prescription. It just requires effort.
Remember that you must continually increase the demand on your body—this is called progressive overload. Most importantly, remember that resistance training is the stimulus, but protein is the building material. Aim for a high protein intake daily, and definitely enjoy that protein smoothie right after your workout!
On that note, we’re even taking this training on the road this year with our Mediterranean Cruise, where we’ll have an instructor to help you with simple movements—things so that if you fall, you can get up by yourself.
References
- Dao T, Green AE, Kim YA, Bae SJ, Ha KT, Gariani K, Lee MR, Menzies KJ, Ryu D. Sarcopenia and Muscle Aging: A Brief Overview. Endocrinol Metab (Seoul). 2020 Dec;35(4):716-732. doi: 10.3803/EnM.2020.405. Epub 2020 Dec 23. PMID: 33397034; PMCID: PMC7803599.
- Sun L, Zhang T, Luo L, Yang Y, Wang C, Luo J. Exercise delays aging: evidence from telomeres and telomerase -a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Front Physiol. 2025 Jun 26;16:1627292. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1627292. PMID: 40642293; PMCID: PMC12241061.
- Massini DA, Nedog FH, de Oliveira TP, Almeida TAF, Santana CAA, Neiva CM, Macedo AG, Castro EA, Espada MC, Santos FJ, Pessôa Filho DM. The Effect of Resistance Training on Bone Mineral Density in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Healthcare (Basel). 2022 Jun 17;10(6):1129. doi: 10.3390/healthcare10061129. PMID: 35742181; PMCID: PMC9222380.
- Jeon YK, Jeong J, Shin SD, Song KJ, Kim YJ, Hong KJ, Ro YS, Park JH. The effect of age on in-hospital mortality among elderly people who sustained fall-related traumatic brain injuries at home: A retrospective study of a multicenter emergency department-based injury surveillance database. Injury. 2022 Oct;53(10):3276-3281. doi: 10.1016/j.injury.2022.07.036. Epub 2022 Jul 23. PMID: 35907679.
- McKendry J, Lowisz CV, Nanthakumar A, MacDonald M, Lim C, Currier BS, Phillips SM. The effects of whey, pea, and collagen protein supplementation beyond the recommended dietary allowance on integrated myofibrillar protein synthetic rates in older males: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2024 Jul;120(1):34-46. doi: 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2024.05.009. Epub 2024 May 16. PMID: 38762187; PMCID: PMC11291473.
Transcript
>> Dr. Terry Simpson: When my son was three years old, we started him
Speaker:skiing. He loved it. When he fell onto his behind,
Speaker:onto his butt, he jumped back up and would ski
Speaker:down the hill like nothing happened. Pure rubber.
Speaker:Now I am 53 years his senior. That same year, his
Speaker:mom watched me do an inadvertent 360 degree twirl
Speaker:on the slopes. She asked me, if you broke a wrist,
Speaker:when could you go back to work? I replied that I
Speaker:could probably, uh, have some surgery and go back
Speaker:to work if I didn't have a complex fracture in
Speaker:about six weeks. The difference between a flexible
Speaker:young body and an older body is key here. And yes,
Speaker:I retired from skiing that year and now stay in
Speaker:the lodge, write and make them great dinners. The
Speaker:point is this, your older body needs more work to
Speaker:keep flexible, strong and balanced as time goes
Speaker:on. I've seen too many independent seniors lose
Speaker:their independence after a fall in their own home.
Speaker:Sometimes they never recover. They go from living
Speaker:on their own to spending their last days in a care
Speaker:center, sometimes never leaving bed. And that is
Speaker:in health span. You want a fall to be like my
Speaker:son's on your butt and back up. But too many fall
Speaker:and can't get up. This isn't a commercial for that
Speaker:pendant around your neck. This is a plea for you
Speaker:to begin doing something with your muscles. We've
Speaker:talked a lot about the microscopic world of
Speaker:longevity. The tiny powerhouse of the
Speaker:mitochondria, the caps on our DNA called
Speaker:telomeres, and even those fascinating molecules
Speaker:like NAD and urolithin A that keep our cells
Speaker:humming. It's all highly technical and it's all
Speaker:incredibly important. But today I want to get you
Speaker:out of the lab and into the gym. Because there is
Speaker:one single accessible and non prescription
Speaker:activity that is arguably more potent than any
Speaker:supplement on the shelf when it comes to living a
Speaker:long healthy life. I'm talking about resistance
Speaker:training, lifting heavy things, pushing against
Speaker:something that pushes back, not just your
Speaker:significant other. It is the single best defense
Speaker:we have against frailty, metabolic disease, and
Speaker:the inevitable slowing down that comes with the
Speaker:decades. And that's exactly what we're going to
Speaker:break down today. How, uh, muscle is your
Speaker:metabolic savings account, how lifting weights
Speaker:changes your bone structure and the absolute best
Speaker:way to get started, regardless of your age. I am
Speaker:your Chief Medical Explanationist, Dr. Terry
Speaker:Simpson, and this is Fork U Fork University, where
Speaker:we make sense of the madness, bust a few myths and
Speaker:teach you a little bit about food and medicine.
Speaker:When we talk about longevity, we focus on
Speaker:cardiovascular health. A, uh, strong heart, clear
Speaker:Arteries. And that's critical, no doubt. But the
Speaker:single greatest threat to functional independence
Speaker:as we age isn't heart disease. It's sarcopenia.
Speaker:Now, that's a fancy medical term for age related
Speaker:muscle loss. After about age 30, we start losing 3
Speaker:to 8% of our muscle mass per decade. By the time
Speaker:you hit 70, that loss accelerates dramatically.
Speaker:This isn't just about looking less toned. It's
Speaker:about losing the ability to stand up from a chair,
Speaker:to carry groceries, to open a jar, or more
Speaker:critically, to catch yourself when you trip. The
Speaker:resulting falls are often catastrophic. So where
Speaker:does the food and medicine part come in? It's all
Speaker:about metabolism. Your muscle is your single
Speaker:largest organ for glucose disposal. Think of it
Speaker:this way. When you eat, your body releases glucose
Speaker:or sugar into your bloodstream. You, your pancreas
Speaker:releases insulin to, uh, usher the glucose out of
Speaker:the blood and into your cells for energy. The vast
Speaker:majority of that glucose is parked in your muscle
Speaker:cells. More muscle means better insulin
Speaker:sensitivity. It means your body is more efficient
Speaker:at regulating sugar. This is the bedrock of
Speaker:preventing and managing type 2 diabetes. This is
Speaker:why resistance training is not just a gym
Speaker:activity. It's a powerful pharmaceutical
Speaker:intervention for metabolic health. But here's the
Speaker:real kicker and the reason we connect the big,
Speaker:heavy dumbbell to the tiny, microscopic cells.
Speaker:Small things are benefited by big things. It turns
Speaker:out that increasing muscle mass, resistance
Speaker:training has a direct positive effect on two of
Speaker:the biggest microscopic drivers of aging we've
Speaker:discussed. Mitochondrial function and telomere
Speaker:health. When you challenge your muscles, you
Speaker:signal your cells that they need more energy. This
Speaker:stimulates your mitochondria, those cellular
Speaker:powerhouses, to become more numerous and to become
Speaker:more efficient. Better mitochondrial function
Speaker:equals more energy and less oxidative stress. Even
Speaker:more fascinating, studies show that resistance
Speaker:training actually increases the activity of the
Speaker:enzyme telomerase. Telomerase is the same enzyme
Speaker:responsible for maintaining those protective caps
Speaker:on your DNA, the telomeres, so you don't have to
Speaker:take a fancy expensive NAD or telomere boosting
Speaker:supplements. Picking up a dumbbell costs less, but
Speaker:yields more. You get your muscle strength, the
Speaker:better metabolism, stronger bones, and the
Speaker:cellular benefits all at once.
Speaker:But let's talk about bone density, especially for
Speaker:women, but really for everyone. We know calcium
Speaker:and vitamin D are important, but they are only a
Speaker:part of the equation. Bone is living tissue. It
Speaker:responds to stress. When you lift a weight, say a
Speaker:heavy kettlebell, or even your own body weight in
Speaker:a squat, the mechanical force of that stress
Speaker:signals your bones that they need to grow
Speaker:stronger. This Process is called the mechanostat
Speaker:or the mechanostat principle. Without that heavy,
Speaker:high intensity mechanical load, the bone density
Speaker:naturally declines, leading to osteopenia and
Speaker:osteoporosis. If you're only doing low impact
Speaker:cardio like swimming or walking, you're doing
Speaker:great things for your heart, but you are not
Speaker:sending the signal to maintain or increase bone
Speaker:mineral density. To strengthen bone, you have to
Speaker:load it. You have to lift heavy enough to make
Speaker:your body say, whoa, I need to reinforce the
Speaker:structure. But let's do some myth busting here, a
Speaker:couple common myths, and let's dive into some
Speaker:practical, actionable tips. Myth 1 I'm too old to
Speaker:start lifting weights. This is patently false.
Speaker:Studies, including those focused on people in
Speaker:their 80s and 90s, consistently show that body
Speaker:retains the remarkable ability to build muscle and
Speaker:increase strength. Even well into advanced age.
Speaker:You have nowhere to go but up. I need to work out
Speaker:every day. In fact, you absolutely need to do not
Speaker:rest is where the magic happens. Two to three
Speaker:times a week is often sufficient, provided those
Speaker:sessions are challenging enough. Here's a
Speaker:practical Focus on compound movements. Don't waste
Speaker:your precious time on isolation exercises like
Speaker:bicep curls. Focus on compound movements that
Speaker:involve multiple joints and multiple large muscle
Speaker:groups simultaneously. Think squats, deadlifts,
Speaker:overhead presses, rows and lunges. These movements
Speaker:mimic daily life and train your body as a unit,
Speaker:which is key for fall prevention. Speaking of
Speaker:which, comprehensive tips beyond the barbell.
Speaker:While pure resistance is key, true independence
Speaker:hinges on mobility and balance. This is where
Speaker:functional training, including yoga, plays a huge
Speaker:role. My favorite yoga classes are a combination
Speaker:of bodyweight resistance and cardiovascular
Speaker:movement. I look for the physics, the movement,
Speaker:the resistance and the balance. And I try to keep
Speaker:the woo of yoga out of it. And a yoga mat isn't
Speaker:nearly as expensive as some supplement, but it
Speaker:will make a fall easier to recover from. Now, if
Speaker:you're getting started, get help. Having a great
Speaker:gym coach to help with form is paramount. Shout
Speaker:out to my friends Jeremy, the Hulk and the Ziggler
Speaker:Monster. But it's equally important to enlist a
Speaker:private yoga instructor to ensure you are not
Speaker:misaligned and that they know what you are looking
Speaker:for. Now a shout out to my yoga instructor, Swan.
Speaker:And yes, Swan, I'll be doing more classes this
Speaker:year. Practical tip number three Master
Speaker:progressive overload and protein. Your body adapts
Speaker:quickly, so you must continually increase in
Speaker:demand. Remember, resistance training is the
Speaker:stimulus, but protein is the building material.
Speaker:Aim for a protein intake of around 0.5 to 0.7
Speaker:grams per pound of body weight per day. And let's
Speaker:not forget that smoothie with a protein to
Speaker:facilitate things right after the workout. The
Speaker:reason we train is not just to be strong. It's so
Speaker:that if you fall when you're 65 or 75 or 80, you
Speaker:have enough strength, stability and awareness to
Speaker:get yourself back up. That's the true mark of
Speaker:functional longevity. Now let me give you two
Speaker:examples of why this ability matters. A fellow was
Speaker:admitted to a facility after he broke a hip before
Speaker:he fell. He lived on his own, was a local champion
Speaker:bowler and enjoyed life and community. He simply
Speaker:slipped on a rug and fell and was found a day
Speaker:later brought to the hospital and had his hip
Speaker:expertly fixed. He spent the next year of his life
Speaker:mostly in bed, getting up a few times to try
Speaker:rehab, but ultimately died of COVID 19, in a long
Speaker:term care facility. One fall that he couldn't get
Speaker:up changed his life, his outlook, and sadly, it
Speaker:was not a fun year for him. I want to contrast
Speaker:that with my own dad. He took a fall at age 96
Speaker:trying to trim a tree. Yes, trimming a tree at age
Speaker:96. It took a bit of effort and he received a
Speaker:stern warning from his son, me, a neighbor and a
Speaker:few EMTs who came along when the neighbor saw him
Speaker:take the spill. But he got up. Uh, he lived
Speaker:independently until age 98, except thankfully, he
Speaker:couldn't cook a lick and he stopped driving at age
Speaker:96, for which the state of Oregon thank Tim. But
Speaker:this kind of preparation matters because the
Speaker:statistics are sobering. For people over 65, falls
Speaker:are the leading cause of injury death. Breaking a
Speaker:hip especially, is a life changing event.
Speaker:Tragically, studies show that up to 30% of seniors
Speaker:who fracture a hip lose their independence
Speaker:entirely and about 20% die within a year. Training
Speaker:for strength, balance and fall recovery isn't just
Speaker:wellness, it's literally life assurance. It
Speaker:literally is healthspan. We're even taking this
Speaker:training on the road this year with our
Speaker:Mediterranean cruise, which we hope to have in
Speaker:August of 2026, where we will have an instructor
Speaker:to help you with some simple movements. Not just
Speaker:to get big biceps, but things so that if you fall,
Speaker:you can get up by yourself. Not this year, but
Speaker:maybe in 10 years or 20 years. You want to start
Speaker:building muscle now. Resistance training combined
Speaker:with functional movement is the macroscopic lever
Speaker:that pulls those microscopic switches. It's the
Speaker:closest thing to the fountain of youth and it
Speaker:doesn't require a prescription, it just requires
Speaker:effort.
Speaker:Thanks for listening. Please check out my
Speaker:blog@yourdoctorsorders.com or forkdue.com for full
Speaker:reference to and more information about the topic.
Speaker:This was written and researched by me, Dr. Terry
Speaker:Simpson. And while I am a board certified
Speaker:physician, I am not your physician. Before making
Speaker:any changes to your diet, supplements or physical
Speaker:activity routine, please check with your board
Speaker:certified doctor and registered dietitian. Not a
Speaker:chiropractor, some functional holistic salesperson
Speaker:of supplements and scams. All things audio were
Speaker:done by my friends at Simpler media and the pod
Speaker:God, Mr. Mr. Evo. Tara producer girl Productions
Speaker:made me more interesting than I really am in real
Speaker:life. Have a good week everybody. Hey Evo. I'm
Speaker:thinking about those compound movements. What's
Speaker:heavier? A squat rack full of plates or the weight
Speaker:of a producer's deadline? Yeah, there's so many
Speaker:places I thought you were going to take that. Uh,
Speaker:uh, I'm happy with that. Right there. Hey man.
Speaker:Resistance training for the wind. In fact. Shit.
Speaker:I've got about 45 minutes before he gets here.
Speaker:Damn.
