The Sprint 8 Cardio Protocol can be used by anyone at any age. Just because older adults have quit using their fast-muscle fiber, those cells haven’t disappeared. They are just small and wimpy because they don’t get used. Begin recruiting all three muscle fiber types with Sprint 8, and you’ll do great things for your body, including looking and feeling younger.
Sprint 8 is great for your chromosomes — specifically, the ends of your chromosomes, which are called telomeres. Telomeres deter the degradation of your genes, protecting your cells from aging too quickly. They are somewhat like the caps on the end of shoelaces that protect them from fraying. In fact, research show telomeres appear to measure biological aging (as opposed to chronological aging). As telomere length becomes shorter, the structural integrity weakens, and the cells age and die more quickly. Shorter telomeres are associated with a broad range of aging-related diseases, including many forms of cancer, stroke, vascular dementia, cardiovascular disease, obesity, osteoporosis and diabetes.
The length of telomeres are important indicators of the body’s condition. Long telomeres are associated with health and longevity. The Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s study of centenarians concluded telomere length is associated with exceptional longevity. Conversely, short telomeres point to premature aging. They are in effect cellular timekeepers, and they are a more accurate gauge than your biological age. More importantly, we now know that telomere length is modulated by the insulin-like growth factor (IGF, or growth hormone) system, and telomere shortening and decline in IGF levels are features of aging.
So how do you ensure your telomeres are long? And what can you do to lengthen them?
Recent research on telomeres shows telomere length is preserved in healthy older adults who perform vigorous aerobic exercise. To be specific, telomere length is positively related to maximal aerobic exercise capacity. Researchers note that this may represent a novel molecular mechanism underlying the anti-aging effects of maintaining high aerobic fitness. So, vigorous, hard and fast cardio exercise releases growth hormone and in turn positively affects telomere length. In this way, Sprint 8 can be a valuable tool to improve health at the cellular level and a life-long weapon to fight the symptoms of aging at the cellular level.
In their book, The Immortality Edge, authors Michael Fossel (M.D., PhD), Greta Blackburn and Dave Woynaroski (M.D., CPT) conclude:
Even more impressive, from our point of view, is some recent research in Italy that found that high levels of HGH correlate with longer telomere. Measurements for both were taken from 476 healthy people (both men and women) between the ages of 16 and 104, and after the effect of age was factored in, it was determined high HGH levels accounted for a 10 percent increase in telomere length.
Woynarowski, D. (2001) The Immortality Edge: Realize the Secrets of Your Telomeres for a Longer, Healthier Life (Wiley, p. 88).
As research continues, even more proof pours in about the positive impacts of high-intensity exercise like Sprint 8. Researchers at the University of Colorado report in the study, Leukocyte telomere length is preserved with aging in endurance exercise-trained adults and related to maximal aerobic capacity, the following conclusion:
Our results indicate telomere length is preserved in healthy older adults who perform vigorous aerobic exercise and is positively related to maximal aerobic exercise capacity. This may represent a novel molecular mechanism underlying the “anti-aging” effects of maintaining high aerobic fitness.
LaRocca, T.J., Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Mechanisms of Aging and Development (2010) (131(2): 165–167).
In a 2017 study reported by BYU News, researchers analyzed data from 5,823 adults who participated in the CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey that captured a segment on telomere length. The study shows sedentary people had the shortest telomeres. Researchers also learned there was no significant difference in telomere length between those who did moderate and low-intensity exercise and sedentary people. According to research spokesperson Dr. Larry Tucker, “If you want to see a real difference in slowing your biological aging, it appears that a little exercise won’t cut it,” Tucker said. “You have to work out regularly at high levels,” (https://news.byu.edu/news/research-finds-vigorous-exercise-associated-reduced-aging-cellular-level).
While the NIH didn’t categorize the level of “sprint intensity,” it clearly takes high-intensity exercise to impact telomere length. So while moderate-intensity exercisers are better off than those who don’t exercise, they may be falling significantly below their potential in getting results for time spent. With Sprint 8, exercisers can take on short, intense workouts that will produce the growth hormone necessary to lengthen telomeres, helping people of any age look and feel younger.