New research has revealed that strength training exercises may play a crucial role in activating the body’s cellular detoxification process, which is vital for maintaining organ and tissue health and promoting healthy aging.
Muscle cells endure constant stress and damage, especially during exercise. To combat this, the body has developed an internal recycling system to remove damaged cellular components, a process known as autophagy. This process involves collecting worn-out cellular machinery in an autophagosome, where these components are broken down into basic building blocks that can be repurposed elsewhere in the body.
A key protein in this process is BAG3, which identifies damaged components and ensures they are directed into autophagosomes for breakdown. According to the study, strength training exercises effectively activate BAG3, thereby enhancing the body’s ability to detoxify cells.
“The World Health Organization suggests strength training for people aged 65 years and older for healthy aging,” said Jörg Höhfeld, a professor at the University of Bonn Institute of Cell Biology, in an interview with Newsweek. “Our work explains, at least in part, why strength training is so important. Resistance exercises activate BAG3, enabling it to efficiently recognize and dispose of cellular waste through autophagy.”
The study, published in the journal Current Biology, demonstrated that mechanical stress from strength training triggers a cellular signal that activates BAG3 in human muscle. Remarkably, these effects can be observed after just a few repetitions, provided the exercises are performed near maximum capacity.
“An activation of the BAG3 system is already observed after 20 to 30 high-intensity muscle contractions in a single training session,” Höhfeld explained. “It is important to achieve maximum intensity contraction to induce micro-damage of the muscle.”
For optimal BAG3 activation, Höhfeld recommends targeting larger muscle groups such as those in the legs, chest, and back through exercises like weightlifting, squats, and pull-ups. Adding weights to these exercises can help achieve the necessary muscle overload.
Autophagy has become a buzzword in the anti-aging industry, but the type of cellular recycling mediated by BAG3 differs from the more commonly discussed form of autophagy, which is induced by caloric restriction or intermittent fasting. While starvation-induced autophagy breaks down surplus cellular material during nutrient scarcity, BAG3-mediated autophagy specifically degrades damaged or aggregated proteins.
“Aging cells produce more BAG3 to counteract the accumulation of damaged and aggregated proteins, contributing to healthy aging,” Höhfeld noted.
The research team hopes that a deeper understanding of these biochemical processes could lead to new therapeutic approaches for conditions such as muscle weakness and heart failure, which are often caused by the buildup of damaged particles in muscle tissue.