A new study from the University of Texas shows that older adults who have never participated in a sustained exercise program have the same ability to build muscle mass as athletes of the same age who train over time.

Studies show that even people who don't exercise at all can benefit from resistance training such as weight training.

Researchers at the University of Texas School of sports and exercise science compared the muscle-building abilities of two groups of older men. The first group were athletes who were lifelong exercisers; the second group was healthy individuals of a similar age who had never had exercise training.

Each participant will receive an isotopic tracer and then participate in an exercise program, including weight training on an exercise machine. The researchers examined muscle biopsies taken 48 hours before and after exercise for signs of how the muscles responded to exercise. Isotope tracers show how proteins develop in muscles.

The researchers had expected athletes to have more muscular capacity than those who did not train. In fact, the results showed that both groups had the same muscular capacity for exercise.

"Our research clearly shows that if you are not a regular exerciser, you can benefit from exercise whenever you start," said Dr. W. Larry Kenney of the University of Texas. Clearly, a long-term commitment to physical fitness and exercise is the best way to achieve overall health, or to start exercising later, which can also help stave off weakness and muscle weakness in older people.