Looking for the Fountain of Youth? Try the gym and weight-resistance training

Here's the message from Dr. Marcas Bamman, a physiologist with decades of research into aging who preaches the benefits of weight-resistance training for those who are getting up there.

Here's the message from Dr. Marcas Bamman, a physiologist with decades of research into aging who preaches the benefits of weight-resistance training for those who are getting up there

We're talking 60-plus — women and men. And we're talking about hitting the gym and weight training. Don't be put off, Bamman says.

“Resistance training is in many ways the true fountain of youth,” Bamman said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I like to say the fountain of youth is the water cooler in the gym.”

Of course, there are biological limits. But Bamman says the bulk of age-related decline in strength, flexibility and endurance is behavioral — putting too few demands on the body, not too many.

“When I tell somebody that in four to six months your strength and muscle mass and overall muscle function is going to elevate to the levels of people 30 to 35 years younger, that hits home," he said.

So you know you're too sedentary and the birthdays keep piling up. You suspect resistance training would be beneficial. But perhaps you're intimidated. Don't be.

Getting started