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Life is too short. Whether you’re looking to have more time to watch kids or grandkids grow up, or to extend your position as an elite athlete everyone would like a few extra moments in life.

For the first time researchers were able to show that the epigenetic age can not just be slowed down but be reversed in humans. Scientists at Intervene Immune and Stanford Medical Center provided 1 year of treatment to their subjects resulting in an epigenetic age that was 1.5 years younger than when they started (a “−2.5‐year change compared to no treatment at the end of the study”1).

The original purpose of the study was to “reverse signs of immunosenescence in a population of 51‐ to 65‐year‐old putatively healthy men”1. The trial, named Thymus Regeneration, Immunorestoration, and Insulin Mitigation, or TRIIM, reveals its aims. Their hope was to regenerate the thymus gland which sits between your lungs and is responsible for your T cells which is a central part of your immune system. The thymus gland is largest when you are only about 1 year old and shrinks and becomes replaced by fat as you age especially after puberty. As its size declines, there is an associated decline in your immune system. By the time someone is 75 their thymus is mostly turned to fat leaving little or no function left. By regenerating the thymus they could regenerate their immune system providing greater longevity.

Enter The Drugs

The main thought behind the study was to investigate the possibility of regenerating the thymus using recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH). In the TRIIM trial, rhGH was dosed at ~3 IU for a 75 KG person, 3-4 times per week. Commonly known in the performance enhancing drug realm, higher levels of rhGH has a common side effect of having higher circulating insulin (hyperinsulinemia). To managed this they added in 50 mg of DHEA after 1 week which may have some beneficial glucose management properties2. A week after that they added in 500 mg of metformin which is well used in the diabetes community and periodically used amongst longevity researchers. Vitamin D33 and zinc4 were also used to help prevent cancer and create thymulin which is used in T-cell differentiation and enhances several functions of the various T-cell subsets. The dosages of the various drugs and supplements were personalized to each individual based on their responses in periodic blood tests.

To put the rhGH dosage into perspective, competitive athletes will tend to use higher doses ranging from 3-10+ IU daily. Longevity clinics will tend to prescribe in the range of 1-2 IU daily.

Study Negatives

The largest negative in this study is that there were only 9 men used from age 51 to 65 years old and lacked a control group. It would also be interesting to see the study over a longer period of time. Likely the issue for both of these is a lack of monetary resources. It’s also possible there were some issues with personalizing the protocol used on each man as the dosages would be subjective. It’s also possible the Hawthorne effect could be playing a role. With each person knowing they are being analyzed they could have altered their behavior or eating habits to be better.

Final Thoughts

As a rough guideline, improving your immune system should improve your longevity. What was most interesting about the outcome was that not only did they slow down or stop their epigenetic age, they actually reversed it. This absolutely makes it news worthy and should provoke further research to backup the findings. Looking at different combinations, dosages, or the individual supplements to see if and what was contributing most to the results.

As we know, one study showing results doesn’t mean everyone should be jumping on a similar protocol. It was a small, short, and uncontrolled study that showed a positive outcome but further research needs to be done. I for one will be looking forward to more research in this area.

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No this article isn’t about hormone cycling but since we are discussing athletic performance, hormones will come into play.

When it comes to getting exercise and trimming the waistline there are many options available. There are many aspects of each type to consider but a major concern with one form could be putting sexual organs at risk which should be of major interest to any alpha.

The Olympics are the highest level of international sports competition and cycling is one of those sports. With any extreme level of sport there are always detriments but with cycling there is a concern that sexual organs could be taking unpleasant abuse with detrimental effects. When men sit on a seat for a long period of time they are putting pressure on an area filled with arteries and nerves that supply blood and sensation to one of their most important organs. If the nerves or arteries are compromised you end up with erectile dysfunction.

One doctor claimed there are two types of cyclists, those who are impotent and those who will be. You don’t have to subscribe to that but one interesting study came out of Boston University School of Medicine comparing erectile dysfunction in age-matched men doing 3 different forms of cardio1:

  • Runners 1.1%
  • Swimmers 2%
  • Cyclists 4.2%

Another study showed similar issues by having occurrences of urethral stricture, genital numbness and sores2. It’s safe to say that no male reading this has an interest in experiencing any of that.

With all of this potential trauma to a delicate area another male consideration is the prostate. It has been shown with a small group of cyclists that after a long distance their PSA levels were significantly raised which only adds confirmation that at least in some circumstances there are some negatives to cycling. If you have an upcoming PSA test, you may consider avoiding cycling before the blood draw3.

Reducing the Risks

The big question that leaves us with is can these negatives be overcome or at least managed to minimize negative consequences. A meta-analysis performed in March 2014 concluded that it was the type of seat and position of the rider that played more of a role with dysfunction than the act of cycling itself4. Since we know this all comes around the seat contact area it’s just about managing that:

  • A seat without a nose could be used. A great option for stationary bikes in the gym but may have steering limitations for trails. Why don’t we see this more?
  • Use a wider split bicycle seat.
  • Adjusting handlebars to be lower than the seat will tend to cause the rider to lift up off the seat limiting pressure.
  • Wearing padded bike shorts will take pressure off of everything.
  • If cycling on the road a recumbent bike will completely change the angle of where pressure sits.
  • Taking breaks or limiting your time will allow more blood flow.

We don’t want to completely talk down cycling and certainly not cardio in general. There was a meta-analysis that found a 24% reduction in all-cause mortality and 25% reduction in cancer mortality among cycling commuters5. It could also be easily argued that if direct nerve and blood flow damage is taken out of the equation the cardio aspect of cycling alone would promote proper systemic blood flow.

The best form of cardio is the kind that you will do. No matter which type of activity you do, learn about it and train optimally.