- Lifting weights twice a week made women's skin cells more youthful in a small new study.
- After 16 weeks, the women's skin had more characteristics associated with younger skin.
Lifting weights could be a missing step in your anti-aging skincare routine, a new study suggests.
The small study based on middle-aged women found that working out twice a week made their skin "more youthful at a cellular level," co-author Satoshi Fujita, an exercise scientist at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, Japan, told The Washington Post. And resistance training — which is any exercise that involves lifting, pushing, or pulling — had the most profound effect.
While the study didn't look at whether the women's skin looked different, Fujita said: "Theoretically, these changes may reduce wrinkles, improve appearance and help people look younger."
Skin naturally becomes less elastic and more fragile as we age. It starts to produce less natural oils, giving it a dryer appearance, and fat in the deeper layers diminishes leading to looser, saggier skin, according to the Mayo Clinic.
On a cellular level, skin aging is associated with the deterioration of the dermis, which is the middle layer of the skin, and the epidermis, which is the top layer.
After previous research suggested aerobic exercise had anti-aging properties, the team wanted to compare its effects with resistance training.
The 56 participants – all sedentary Japanese women aged between 41 and 59 – did two 30-minute workouts a week for a 16-week period. 27 were given aerobic exercises, while the other 34 were given resistance exercises. Each session was supervised by a certified trainer.
The aerobic group cycled on an electronic bike, while the resistance group did sets on leg curl, leg extension, arm curl, rowing, shoulder press, and chest press machines.
The women's skin elasticity, dermal thickness, and skin tone were measured before their first workout and within a week of their final one. Blood samples were also taken before and after so that researchers could evaluate any changes in blood composition after the 16 weeks.
Research suggests that exercise is beneficial for your skin
Both types of exercise appeared to have a positive effect on the skin. Participants in both groups saw increased elasticity, meaning the skin was tighter and bounced back quicker after stretching. The upper dermal structure of their skin was also denser, and genes involved in collagen production became more active.
However, only those who did resistance training experienced the additional benefit of a thicker dermal layer, a characteristic associated with younger skin. This was explained in the study by an increase in the activity of specialized genes that produce proteins designed to strengthen connective tissue.
Mark Tarnopolsky, a professor, physician, and director of the Neuromuscular and Neurometabolic Clinic at McMaster University in Hamilton told the Washington Post that this study adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting that exercise "is beneficial to skin health." Tarnopolsky was not involved in the study.
The study was limited because it was short-term and only included a small number of Japanese women, meaning the results may not necessarily be repeated in other people.