Lifting Weights May Reduce Wrinkles, Study Suggests

• A small new study found that lifting weights twice a week made women’s skin cells look more youthful.
• After 16 weeks, the women’s skin had characteristics associated with younger skin.
• This study added further evidence to suggest that exercise has positive effects on the skin.

Weightlifting may be the missing step in your anti-aging skin care routine, new research suggests.

small study The paper, based on a study by co-authors at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, based on research that found that exercising twice a week in middle-aged women made their skin “more youthful at the cellular level.” Mr. Satoshi Fujita, who is a researcher, says as follows. told the Washington Post. and resistance training It refers to the lifting, pushing, and pulling exercises that had the greatest effect.

The study didn’t look at whether women’s skin looked altered, but Fujita said, “Theoretically, these changes could help reduce wrinkles, improve appearance, and make people look younger. has potential,” he said.

Skin naturally becomes less elastic and brittle with age. It begins to produce less natural oil, looks drier, and loses deep fat, leaving the skin loose and flabby. mayo clinic.

At the cellular level, skin aging is associated with the deterioration of the middle layer of the skin, the dermis, and the top layer, the epidermis.

Previous studies have suggested that aerobic exercise has anti-aging benefits, so the researchers wanted to compare its benefits to strength training.

Fifty-six participants (all sedentary Japanese women aged 41 to 59) underwent 30-minute training sessions twice a week for 16 weeks. 27 given aerobic exercise, the remaining 34 were given resistance. Each session was supervised by a certified trainer.

The aerobic group cycled on electric bikes, while the resistance group performed sets on machines for leg curls, leg extensions, arm curls, rows, shoulder presses, and chest presses.

Women’s skin elasticity, dermis thickness, and skin tone were measured before the first training and within one week after the last training. Blood samples were also taken before and after to allow researchers to assess changes in blood composition after 16 weeks.

Studies Show Exercise Is Beneficial for Skin

Both types of exercise seem to have a positive effect on the skin. Participants in both groups confirmed increased resilience. This means that the skin tightens and stretches back faster. The upper dermal structure of their skin is also denser, collagen Production became more active.

However, only those who underwent resistance training experienced the additional benefit of a thickened dermis layer, a characteristic that accompanies younger skin. This is explained in research by increased activity of specialized genes that produce proteins designed to strengthen connective tissue.

Mark Tarnopolski, a professor, physician, and director of the Neuromuscular and Neurometabolic Clinic at McMaster University in Hamilton, said the study provides a body of evidence to suggest that exercise “benefits skin health.” He told The Washington Post that the number has increased. Tarnopolski was not involved in the study.

The study was short-lived and limited because it included only a small number of Japanese women, and the results are not necessarily replicated in others.