Our Muscles Degrade as We Age. Here Are 3 Strategies to Prevent It

Strength is a hallmark of health.

You don’t have to compete in athletics for strength to be vital for your health and wellness. Low muscle strength is independently associated with an elevated risk of all-cause mortality.

What’s the best way to get strong? Build muscle.

What’s the best way to lose strength? Allow muscles to atrophy.

Muscle atrophy (the decline of muscle mass) is associated with aging and inactivity. This recent research review article provides demonstrates how much we atrophy throughout our lifespan.

The study focused on healthy older individuals, limiting the effect of cofounders such as disease. The researchers assessed the rate of muscle atrophy per year for each muscle group. The final review included data from 47 studies, totaling 982 young and 1,003 old individuals.

No muscle group was safe.

Here is the breakdown of atrophy over a 50-year period (comparing 25 and 75 year olds):

• Elbow extensors (triceps): -20%, -0.39%/yr
• Elbow flexors (biceps): -19%, -0.38%/yr
• Paraspinals (long back muscles): -24%, -0.47%/yr
• Psoas (hip flexor): -29%, -0.58%/yr
• Hip adductors (groin): -13%, -0.27%/yr
• Hamstrings (back of thigh): -19%, -0.39%/yr
• Quadriceps (front of thigh): -27%, -0.53%/yr
• Dorsiflexors (front of shin): -9%, -0.19%/yr
• Triceps surae (calf): -14%, -0.28%/yr

The largest declines were in the back muscles, quadriceps, and hip flexors. That’s a problem as the quadriceps are the primary muscle for standing up and sitting down (e.g., squatting).

Previous research demonstrates quadriceps strength is a primary predictor of mortality, while another study suggests hip flexor strength is a primary determinant in the progression of functional capacity decline.

The hamstrings aren’t far behind in atrophy rates and they pair with the back as primary muscles for picking things up off the ground (e.g., deadlifting).

The rate of atrophy accelerates as we age. Here are the differences in the 50-year average and the final 10 years for the large muscle groups:

• Paraspinals: −0.47%/yr vs. −0.79%/yr
• Psoas: −0.58%/yr vs. −0.83%/yr
• Hamstrings: −0.39%/yr vs. −1.22%/yr
• Quadriceps: −0.53%/yr vs. −1.32%/yr).

The other issue was the preferential decline of type II muscle fibers. Your type II fibers are fast twitch and primarily responsible for strength and power. Power is how fast you can produce force, a vital action for preventing falls.

So, how can you minimize or potentially reverse atrophy?

Building muscle can occur at any age

This systematic review compiled data from 22 studies to examine the effects of resistance training on muscle size and strength in people over the age of 75. The study showed resistance training can increase muscle size and strength. The exercise volume and frequency were not aggressive either.

For enhancing strength, the exercise programs lasted 8 to 18 weeks with a training frequency of 1 to 3 days per week. For hypertrophy (muscle growth), the programs lasted 10 to 18 weeks, with a training frequency of 2–3 days per week.

This data suggests meeting the physical activity guidelines — at least 2 days a week of resistance training — is sufficient for building muscle, regardless of age.

How long should the sessions be? Which exercises should you focus on?

3 strategies for developing muscle

Here are a few strategies backed by research.

1. Keep the exercise intensity moderate to high.

There are several ways to measure moderate or high intensity. For the purpose of building muscle, you want your resistance exercises (bands, body weight, machines, or free weights) to be pushed close to failure.

Researchers have defined muscular failure as “when an individual cannot complete the concentric portion of a given repetition with a full range-of-motion without deviation from the prescribed form of the exercise.”

The goal of training close to failure is to maximize mechanical without overtaxing the body — which may happen with repeatedly training to failure. Overtraining will cause your body to use all available resources to recover, not having anything left over to help build muscle.

Injury risk increases as well.

You can use a strategy known as reps in reserve. The ultimate goal is to perform each st at 1–4 reps short of failure for each set. Your rep scheme should be between 6–20 reps. You can successfully build muscle with higher or lower reps and a higher reps in reserve. I’m simply relaying what most studies show is optimal.

2. Aim for 12–20 sets per muscle group per week

If you are new to resistance training, you can see strength improvements and muscle gain with lower volume. Once you have a few weeks of training under your belt, aim for a minimum of 12–20 sets.

For example, you may perform 3 sets of squats, knee extensions, lunges, and step-ups for quadriceps development. These could be completed in a single ‘leg day’ or spread out over 2–3 sessions.

3. Focus on compound lifts.

Compound lifts, or multi-joint lifts, are superior for muscle development as you are able to lift more weight and involve more muscles. Examples include squats, deadlifts, rows, and presses. There are many variations for each one as well.

• Squat — front squat, split squat, goblet squat, zercher squat, leg press
• Deadlift — stiff leg deadlift, single leg deadlift, sumo deadlift, trap bar deadlifts
• Press — bench press, overhead press, incline press, pushup (a lot of varieties here)
• Row — Mid rows, pull ups (also, many variations), lat pull downs. bent over rows

If you are new to the gym or uncomfortable with those exercises when using a barbell or dumbbell, stick to machines. They are safe and effective for muscle development. There is nothing inherently dangerous in squatting or deadlifting.

Feel free to add cardiovascular exercises. They won’t blunt your muscle development.

The most important thing is consistency. There are many ways to train and get strong.

Building muscle and developing strength is one of the best things you can do for your health and wellness, regardless of your fitness goals or age.

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