TMC PULSE

10 T M C » P U L S E | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 8 "People think of muscles as reacting to stress— like if I do a bunch of bicep curls, eventually my biceps are going to perform better, and then if I keep going and I eat enough, they're actually going to grow in size, or what we call hypertro- phy," Duncan said. "Our bones and our cartilage react in a somewhat similar manner. Your bone doesn't hypertrophy, but it becomes more dense, and cartilage and tendons become better at handling a load, so they are less likely to rupture or fail." After completing her physical therapy, Hoepfel wanted to begin her weightlifting journey with a trainer whose expertise could safely guide her through the gym. Her goal was to maximize benefit without injuring herself. As a lifelong run- ner and professional exercise epidemiologist, she knew the importance of doing it right. Hoepfel engaged the help of Chris Slocum, a senior performance coach with Athlete Training and Health and Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Sports Medicine Institute. "I wanted to work with somebody who was really well-qualified, who had their master's degree in exercise science and all the top-tier certifications," Hoepfel said. "It's got to be under supervision, that's the only safe way to do it, and here you have physical therapists and athletic trainers, so it really is the ideal situation." For the past two years, she has shown up at the Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Sports Medicine Institute's Human Performance Lab three times a week for bench presses, sled pushes, bent over barbell rows, pull-ups, battle ropes, triceps pushdowns and medicine ball slams. She has even worked up to a 190-pound deadlift, a powerlift- ing exercise in which an individual lifts a loaded barbell off the ground to her hips, then slowly lowers it. "She doesn't go that heavy all the time, but she was very proud of that; I was very proud of that," Slocum said. "It was a big statement." An even bigger statement? Hoepfel's dual- energy X-ray absorptiometry scan—known as a DXA scan—which measures bone mineral density. Her measurements have improved since she started lifting. "The bending and compressing forces tell your bones, 'Hey, we need to be stronger, we need to stay dense,' and we see those changes over the span of a year in the DXA scans, particularly with women," Duncan said. By using free weights under the supervision of a trainer rather than simply engaging machines at a gym, Hoepfel is also maintaining her balance, which becomes increasingly important as individ- uals age. "With free weights, we're also training the nervous system, so our ability to react and our reaction time improves," Duncan said. "What's particularly important is that when you stumble going up the curb or hit a crack in the sidewalk, can you get your foot out in front of you in time to maintain your balance? And then if you do, are you strong enough? Can you initiate a rapid mus- cle contraction and develop force rapidly enough so that you don't collapse? Falls are very danger- ous, especially the older people get." Free weights, Duncan added, help an aging body expect the unexpected. "As we age, a lot of times we don't go out and kick a soccer ball, we don't do things that are somewhat unpredictable and so when something unpredictable faces us in life, we struggle to react to it," Duncan said. "When training with free weights, while it's not unpredictable, there's a little more of that unpredictable nature to it." In addition to launching a new exercise routine, Hoepfel met with a sports dietitian at the Human Performance Lab to discuss the impor- tance of eating adequate protein. While it won't build muscle or strengthen bone on its own, the diet will complement the weightlifting as she works to stave off osteoporosis. Her main goal, she said, is to embrace exercise and nutrition over medicine. "I don't take any drugs at all," she said proudly. "Why would you want to take a drug with side effects when you can prevent doing that by chang- ing your lifestyle?" It's a good question—and one many patients, especially those marching past middle-age, should ask their doctors. "Exercise is something you have to do the rest of your life," Hoepfel said. "We all have 24 hours in a day, and in my age group, a lot of women may not be gainfully employed outside the home anymore, so we have the time. If you have time to go to book club or to start quilting or knitting, you have time to go to the gym." If you have time to go to book club or to start quilting or knitting, you have time to go to the gym. — JEAN HOEPFEL Hoepfel works out with her trainer, Chris Slocum, a senior performance coach with Athlete Training and Health and Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Sports Medicine Institute. VISIT TMCNEWS.ORG TO WATCH AN ORIGINAL VIDEO FEATURING JEAN HOEPFEL.

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