As a result of its proven ability to prevent and treat several chronic diseases at low cost, doctors have called exercise a drug-free “polypill” that can benefit nearly everyone.

Scientists hope that a better understanding of how exercise rejuvenates aged muscle at a molecular level will provide clues for future anti-aging therapies.

The results suggest that exercise reprograms muscle fibers to a more youthful state through increased expression of the genes that make Yamanaka factors, in particular Myc.

In their paper, the researchers also note that drugs that are gaining a popular reputation as “life-extending” may actually block some of the beneficial effects of exercise on muscle.

“Evidence suggests that ‘life-extending’ drugs such as metformin and rapamycin interfere with the positive benefits of exercise specifically in skeletal muscle.”

“For individuals over 70 I would highly recommend low-impact, full-body workouts with a focus on lower body and core,” advised John C. Loges, an exercise physiologist at eVOLV Strong.