Is the fountain of youth at your local gym?

Going to the gym helps us keep fit, lose weight and feel better. Now, according to scientists, pumping iron can also reverse the effects of ageing.

In a study, published in the journal PLoS One, tissue samples were taken from 25 healthy older adults, with an average age of 70, who had undergone six months of twice-weekly resistance training at a gym. They were compared to similar samples taken from younger healthy participants aged 20-35.

Before exercise training - which used standard gym equipment and a programme of 30 contractions of each muscle group - the older adults were almost 60 per cent weaker than the younger adults. But after the training, they were only 38 per cent weaker.

The researchers conclude that energy-producing "mitochondria" in skeletal muscle cells can be revitalised with weight-training exercise, returning them to a state closer to those found in younger people.

"The main, novel finding is that we could bring that ageing mitochondria pattern back towards a younger person, almost reversing the ageing signature, pretty much by 40, 45 years with six months of weight training," said Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky of McMaster University in Canada, who co-led the study.

"The vast majority of ageing studies are done in worms, fruit flies and mice; this study was done in humans," said co-author Dr Simon Melov. "It's particularly rewarding to be able to scientifically validate something practical that people can do now to improve their health and the quality of their lives, as well as knowing that they are doing something which is actually reversing aspects of the ageing process."

In a follow-up study, most of the older adults had stopped going to the gym, but were still doing resistance exercises at home by lifting soup cans or using elastic bands. "They were still as strong, they still had the same muscle mass," Dr Tarnopolsky said. "This shows that it's never too late to start exercising and that you don't have to spend your life pumping iron in a gym to reap benefits."

Take a look at the New You video Gym fatigue about how to stay motivated at the gym.