Old Man Strong

More than once in recent years, someone (usually a lot younger than me) has referred to me as being “old man strong.” I don’t really think of myself as old, but I realize that I am currently closer to age 80 than I am to age 30, so I guess I won’t complain about the “old man” thing too much!

But old man strong doesn’t just happen. Unfortunately, for most people, the opposite is true – they become weaker with age. The average person loses 1 to 2% of their muscle mass each year after 50, and then 3% after age 60. By the age of 75, it’s up to 4% loss of muscle mass per year if they aren’t engaging in some sort of regular strength training.

If you’re well below 50, don’t tune out just yet, because building and maintaining muscle mass when you’re younger is a good way to prevent problems when you’re older. The more strength and muscle mass you have in youth, the less impact the losses of aging will have – not that it isn’t important to continue to work on strength and muscle mass throughout life.

This loss of muscle associated with aging results in significant reductions in mobility, independence, and quality of life. Diminished strength and muscle is a big risk factor for falls and fractures in older individuals, and a fracture of a major bone, such as in the hip, can be devastatingly difficult to recover from.

The good news is, contrary to popular belief, you can build muscle and strength at any age.

Yes – ANY age!

One study of people aged 90 or older found that after 8 weeks of strength training the subjects had an average of over 170% increase in strength and a nearly 50% increase in the size of their leg muscles! Again – the test subjects were 90 or older!

There are two main keys to maintaining and building strength and muscle mass – strength training and getting adequate protein in the diet.

As we age we develop a tendency for what’s known as anabolic resistance. Older individuals tend to have lower muscle protein synthesis in response to dietary protein intake. An older person needs about twice as much dietary protein daily to maintain muscle mass – about 3 to 4 grams per kilogram of body weight, which is about 30 grams for a 175 pound man, preferably split up in a few meals to maximize absorption and utilization.

Higher protein intake may be needed to build significant muscle and for certain individuals, while some may need to reduce that amount if they have underlying health issues such as kidney disease.

So, making sure you have adequate protein is one way to overcome anabolic resistance and maintain muscle mass as you age, but physical exercise is probably the more significant factor for the majority of people.

Even after just a few weeks of reduced physical activity, anabolic resistance can rise significantly, resulting in noticeable losses of muscle mass and strength. Fortunately, age does not appear to be a significant factor in reducing anabolic resistance with exercise – improvements in older adults in are essentially the same in response to exercise as they are in younger adults.

There are a lot of options for how to do resistance training, and I think one of the most important considerations is finding a type of exercise you like (or at least don’t hate) and that you have relatively easy access to, in order to make it as easy as possible to stick with it long-term (for life).

Body weight resistance exercises such as pushups and squats are a good place to start, but you can add resistance a number of ways with the use of weights, resistance machines, elastic straps and tubing, and even exercising in water.

Whatever you choose to do, the keys to maximum results are consistency and keeping things challenging. You don’t need to use maximum resistance to get good results and an injury can set you back, so my suggestion is to start slowly if you’re new to strength training and gradually build up from there. Use good form and don’t try to increase the intensity of your workouts too quickly.

Slow and steady increases will add up and you may be surprised at how much stronger you get and how much better you feel!

Until next time…

George F. Best, D.C.