Looking this good in your 60s should be a crime!

I think most people agree that fitness is important at any age, but especially after 40. When clients prioritize their health, they truly thrive. Investing your time and energy in exercise pays dividends far beyond a longer, healthier life.

Muscle loss begins around age 35. Adults who don’t engage in regular strength training can lose 4–10% of muscle mass per decade. While this might not sound like much, these changes add up quickly in your 40s and 50s. By your 70s and 80s, muscle loss can accelerate to 30% or more, according to researchers at Harvard Medical School.

Similarly, bone strength starts to decline at an average rate of 1% per year after age 40. Women can lose up to 20% of their bone density during menopause, significantly increasing the risk of fractures.

Learn how to counteract muscle and bone loss to stay strong and active well into your 80s and 90s.

Muscle Loss

On average, adults who don’t engage in regular strength training lose 4 to 6 pounds of muscle per decade. Unfortunately, this lost muscle is often replaced with fat around the body and waistline, as muscle loss slows metabolism. A slower metabolism burns fewer calories, leading to increased fat storage. If you’re trying to lose weight by cutting calories alone, the problem worsens—studies show that 27% of weight lost through dieting alone is muscle. However, combining dieting with resistance training ensures all weight lost comes from fat, according to a review in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness.

Muscle loss also impacts daily activities, making tasks like standing from a chair or climbing stairs harder. This weakness can lead to avoiding activities, creating a downward spiral of inactivity and further muscle loss. Stronger muscles not only make everyday tasks, like carrying groceries or walking upstairs, easier but also enhance cognitive health. A study published in Gerontology found that, among 324 British twin pairs aged 43 to 73, those with greater muscle strength had better memory, cognitive function, and larger brain volumes over a 10-year period.

Bone Loss

Like muscle mass, bone strength begins to decline at an average rate of 1% per year after age 40, with women losing up to 20% during menopause, significantly increasing the risk of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis affects about one in five women over 50 but only one in twenty men.

The National Institute on Aging identifies key risk factors for osteoporosis, including physical inactivity, poor diet, heavy alcohol use, family history, and low body mass index (being underweight). According to a study published in the National Library of Medicine, strength and power training can slow osteoporosis or even build bone density in postmenopausal women and middle-aged men. While it may seem counterintuitive, strength and power training helps by placing stress on bones, stimulating calcium deposits to create stronger, denser bones.

Strength and Power Training

It’s never too late to build muscle and improve bone health. A well-rounded, progressive strength and power training program targeting all major muscle groups can be beneficial at any age. Studies show improvements in sports performance (among athletes), body composition (in those who are overweight), and overall well-being across all ages. These benefits continue well into your 80s and 90s, with research even showing that strength training helps individuals as old as 98 maintain independence.

Strength training also has a significant impact on metabolism. It can increase your metabolic rate by up to 15%, meaning you burn more calories—even while sleeping. This is due to “excess post-exercise oxygen consumption,” where your body burns extra calories as it recovers. One study found that on non-exercise days following strength training, participants burned an additional 240 calories—a much higher amount than after cardio sessions.

Research from the University of Sydney also found that six months of strength training can protect brain areas vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease in older adults with mild cognitive impairment. The stronger your muscles, the more benefits you gain, and these benefits extend throughout life. Considering that just one to two hours of strength training per week can yield these results, it’s an investment worth making.

“The message is clear: resistance exercise needs to become a standard part of dementia risk-reduction strategies.” Professor Michael Valenzula ~

Protein Intake

Strength training and proper nutrition can significantly impact muscle mass and bone density. Increased protein intake is often recommended as an effective strategy to combat age-related muscle and bone loss. According to the Institute of Medicine, the daily protein requirement for people over 60 is 0.5g/lb/day. However, some researchers suggest this may not be sufficient. Individuals engaged in regular fitness activities can increase their protein intake to 0.7g/lb/day or adjust it based on their activity level.

That said, changes in protein intake alone aren’t enough to see significant improvements. Studies show that combining strength training with a balanced diet is essential to counteract muscle and bone loss. The good news? With the right diet and a progressive strength training routine, you can maintain muscle and bone mass well into your 80s and 90s.

How Do You START?

Your strength and power training should be tailored specifically to your age, goals, and fitness level. The aim is to create a progressive plan that includes targeted exercises, focusing on load, repetitions, and rest periods. It should challenge you without overwhelming you. Researchers at the University of Michigan found that just 20–30 minutes of weight-bearing exercises, three days a week, is enough to build muscle and bone density.

Before starting any strength-training routine, consult your family doctor. Then, work with a qualified coach and nutritionist to develop a detailed and progressive plan suited to your individual needs.

A typical strength training program may include:

• A fitness assessment to determine your fitness level and posture
• A diet assessment with a certified nutritionist
• 10 to 12 exercises targeting all major muscle groups
• Sets of 12–15 reps at an effort level of 5–7 on a 10-point scale
• Two or three strength training workouts per week

References:

Goodpaster, B.H., Park, W.W., Harris, T.B., Kritchevsky, S.B., Nevitt, M., Schwartz, A.V., Simonsick, E.M., Tylavsky, F.A., Visser, M. and Newman, A.B.(2006). The Loss of Skeletal Muscle Strength, Mass, and Quality in Older Adults: The Health, Aging and Body Composition Study. The journals of Gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 61(10), pp. 1059-1064.

Harvard Medical School (2020). Strength and Power Training for All Ages. Four complete workouts to tone up, slim down, and get fit. Harvard Health Publishing. Boston.

Lang, T.F. (2011). The Bone-Muscle Relationship in Men and Women. Journal of Osteoporosis.

Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter (2014). Protein Plus Exercise Equals Less Muscle Loss with Aging. Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter, 32(4), pp. 7.

University of Sydney (2022). Strength Training can protect the brain from degeneration. Clinical trial for older people at high risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Available at: https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2020/02/11/strength-training-can-help-protect-the-brain-from-degeneration.html (Accessed 14 May 2023).

Vopi, E., Nazemi, R. and Fujita, S., (2010). Muscle tissue changes with aging. Current opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care,7(4), pp. 405-410.