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Those old triathletes

Ken Hutchins of Renaissance Exercise makes a good point about that study about the incredible old triathletes  .

"There are amazing CAT scans contrasting the muscularity of triathletic and sedentary elder men. It is apparent that destroying your body in a triathlon can, at least, maintain your muscularity. Or, perhaps the difference is completely due to a genetic aberration whereby the above-average muscularity of the elder man merely enables him to destroy his body in the triathlon. Of course, it is also true that such activities are sarcopenic. "

I had not thought of that when I saw the study but logically he is right. There may be survivor bias going on.   Those still training at 70 are those that have survived....how many have not managed to make it that far through injury or whatever?  What can we really conclude from that study?
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Comments

Anonymous said…
Hutchins is wrong. Again. I suppose these 70 YO athletes had huge amounts of muscle when they were younger and lost it doing all that hated cardio stuff. Nonsense.
To some HIT people, anybody doing mainstream peer reviewed research is a fraud, and only they have it all figured out. Strength training is important and needed as we age especially, but a little humility is called for. No one has all the answers yet, but to write off all studies as fraud or incompetence is simply dishonest or delusional.
February 17, 2012 at 7:39 AM
Anonymous said…
True, Anonymous1. And Chris just makes himself look like a fool agreeing with Ken.
February 17, 2012 at 9:54 AM
Chris said…
Ha ha. Yes I am now a fool for agreeing with Hutchins.

Did I agree or was I pointing out that logically he may have a point?

Good grief
February 17, 2012 at 10:14 AM
Chris said…
Reading it again I really don't know what your problem is with the quote. He is saying that PERHAPS there is a genetic element is this preservation of muscle.

Perhaps there is.
February 17, 2012 at 10:21 AM
Chris said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
February 17, 2012 at 10:21 AM
Anonymous said…
You know darn well that even if there is a genetic element to preservation of muscle it wouldn't be that dramatic. I call bullshit.

Plus, Ken wouldn't have said anything if the leg in question was of, oh, Clarence Bass.

Nobody disputes that weight bearing exercise of any kind be it "chronic" or not maintains and/or increases muscle mass with relation to the opposite which is sedentary, great genetics or not.
February 18, 2012 at 11:19 AM
Chris said…
Anon. No one is denying the value of exercise in fighting sarcopenia. However that was not the point. Do a google search on "survivor bias"
February 18, 2012 at 2:09 PM
sifter said…
I'd love to see Pavel vs Ken H. on a panel discussion, the King of Swing vs HIT Yoda. That'd be fascinating!
February 22, 2012 at 1:15 PM
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