Two Years of Exercise

2 Years of Exercise Reversed 20 Years of Aging in the Heart: Longest-Ever Randomized Trial on Exercise 

Exercise was in the news recently for being found in an epidemiological study to reduce the risk of colon cancer.

But what should be in the news is that a study published 7 years ago is going somewhat viral on the internet. The study found middle-aged adults could reverse 20 years of age-related decline in their heart muscles through a 2 year exercise program, and that it effectively turned sedentary 55-year-olds into 30-year-olds when viewed through heart activity monitoring equipment.

Being that heart disease is the leading cause of death for most people in the United States, and cardiac strength is inversely correlated with heart disease, it’s probably one of the most significant studies on exercise ever carried out.

To wit, the authors describe their trial, which took 61 people and put them on an exercise regimen for 2 years, as the longest, randomized controlled trial documenting the physiological effects of supervised, structured exercise on cardiovascular health ever performed.

The results were mentioned above: 2 years of work created a heart capable of working as hard as a 30-year-old’s, as if 20 years of aging had been reversed.

The training program started light and gradually grew in intensity and duration, with months 6-10 representing peak output. The second year was characterized by a “maintenance period” of moderate intensity.

A key point the authors made is that a measurement of fitness in middle age is the strongest predictor of future heart failure, and men and women of middle age who have had a lifetime of exercise behind them enjoy heart health closer to that of a 30 year old. But their study showed this could still be achieved in middle age even without a lifetime of exercise—in fact, just 2 years were required!