The role exercise plays in keeping us healthier and younger is indisputable.

What many people don't appreciate yet, however, is how different kinds of exercise play different roles in your skin looking younger.

A recent study done in Japan looked at how resistance training compares to aerobic training.

(Aerobic training generally refers to exercise that is not intense but lasts a long time. Walking for an hour is aerobic training.)

(Resistance training generally refers to exercise that pushes your muscles to perform at an intense but brief level. It especially applies to making your muscles work against resistance. Lifting weights is resistance training.)

The scientists looked at data from 56 healthy middle-aged women. The study lasted sixteen weeks. The two groups of women (those who exercised with resistance training and those who did aerobic training) started out with no significant differences in terms of health and skin appearance.

The study measured the circulating levels of over 1480 factors. They include: serum hormones, cytokines and plasma metabolites. They were drawn from blood before and after each training session. (All the women did two workouts per week with a personal trainer.)

The researchers discovered that many factors went down during the exercise periods, and many of them rose. 

The changes in levels of the factors during exercise were generally positive.  

The Good News

Both resistance training and aerobic training reduced skin inflammation. Both forms of exercise improved skin elasticity and upper dermal structure.

However, the women who got resistance training also saw their skin grow thicker. (In general, thinning skin is an indicator for both skin aging and Extracellular Matrix (ECM) degradation.)

Both kinds of exercise alter the levels of hormones and inflammatory cytokines in your blood and skin. Certain factors produced by your muscles -  myokines  -  are induced mainly by exercise.

(Myokines are biochemicals much like cytokines.)

Resistance Training Encourages Key Skin Structure Components

Resistance training reduces inflammatory factors such as CCL28 and CXCL4.

These inflammatory factors, and others, generally inhibit biglycan and other glucose and mineral glycogen (GAG). GAGs are essential to you maintaining the structure and integrity of your skin.

With GAGs reduced because resistance training lowers inflammatory factors, biglycan, glucosamine and other GAGs build up the strength of your skin. 

GAGs interact and work with collagen fibers to stabilize and organize them into stronger, more youthful-looking skin.

With a stronger infrastructure, your skin is thicker yet flexible. The top layer of your skin looks younger. It's more like the skin we had in our 20's, but didn't appreciate.

Study's Conclusion

Resistance training rejuvenates aging skin. It does so by:

* Reducing the number of circulating inflammatory factors

* Enhancing your skin's extracellular matrices

However, this doesn't mean anybody should stop working out on an aerobic basis. 

Aerobic training did reduce inflammation in the skin of the women who performed such workouts.

Resistance training not only reduced inflammation, but, it thickened the women's skin, so they appeared more beautiful and youthful.

Thicker skin is more flexible and fresh-appearing. It holds fewer wrinkles.

So you want both aerobic and resistance training.

Both types come with unique, important benefits for the health of your entire body.

To carry out a resistance training workout, you don't need weights, an expensive machine or a gym membership.

Just find or clear floor space, drop down, and start doing pushups.

Lower Your Stress

Reducing stress is another proven good reason to exercise.

Yes, exercise increases your body's stress response while you're actually performing a workout.

But, as you sleep repair the damage. And that includes increasing your body's tolerance for the stress of exercise.

Less stress = few signs of skin aging.

We know chronic stress contributes to signs of skin aging. It can even exacerbate acne and psoriasis.

Expert Tips to Protect Your Skin During Exercise

1. If you're going outdoors - or even to a sunlit gym, wear clothes that block excess sun.

Never use toxic sunscreens unless you have done the research and found sunscreens with ONLY natural ingredients that are good for the skin.

2. Don't take time to remove your makeup before the workout.

You can wait until it's over.

However, don't apply a heavy moisturizer to your face before you exercise. That blocks your skin from releasing moisture by sweating. Normally, you do want moisturizers to block skin moisture from evaporating. However, when you're working out, you want the cooling-down effect of sweat on your skin.

A moisturizer could also clog your pores.

3. After the workout, wash your face if nothing else.

Removing all that sweat and dust in a traditional hot shower is fine.

But, if you don't have time, make sure you do wash your face. 

Use a gentle, mild cleanser or fast facial wipe.

Then apply a lightweight moisturizer. Now and for the rest of the day, unil you wash or bathe again, you want that moisturizer to retain the water in your skin - especially your face.

4. Use chilled water to cool your face.

Too much heat can damage your skin by stopping the restorative processes.

Therefore, your facial skin needs a cool-down as well as your muscles. This applies not only to running, biking or lifting weights, but to exercise associated with intense heat, such as hot yoga.

At home, just apply a cooling mask.

If that's inconvenient, rinse your face gently with cool water.

Conclusion

For optimal skin health and beauty, you need plenty of moderate, regular exercise.

A new study demonstrates resistance training and aerobic training both reduce skin inflammation and protect the skin's inner structure.

However, only resistance training actually increases the thickness of skin, so it displays fewer signs of aging.

Therefore, complete both resistance and aerobic workouts every week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40W9PO-z2vU

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10290068/

https://www.everydayhealth.com/skin-beauty/skin-care-musts-before-after-your-workout/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eEOTTJytdM

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4531076/