No matter your age 2022 can be your strongest year ever. I’ve been in the health and fitness business for nearly three decades and over that time I’ve have heard many myths about aging. Most of these myths concern the negative impact aging has on your health and fitness.
In my research and personal experience I’ve found that most of the degenerative conditions generally associated with aging is due to poor diet, inactivity, and muscle loss. All these factors lead to strength loss, frailty, and loss of independence. Good news is you can slow and even reverse muscle loss and thus increase your level of strength no matter your age. Let me explain.
Muscle loss associated with age is called sarcopenia and this process can begin as early as your mid to late thirties. Left unabated muscle loss accelerates over time to the point of losing approximately 1 to 1.5 lbs of muscle each year by the age of 50. This Muscle loss is directly responsible for functional impairment with loss of strength, increased likelihood of falls, and loss of autonomy.
Good news is you can slow down and even reverse muscle loss over time by daily consuming the proper amount of high quality protein, and strength training, also known as weight lifting two to three times each week. Studies have shown that these two activities are the most effective ways to combat age related muscle and strength loss and here’s why.
Protein
Most of us learned in biology class the simplified definition of protein as an important building block of bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood. However, your body’s uses of protein is much more complex than that. Proteins are large, complex molecules that play many critical roles in the body. They do most of the work in cells and are required for the structure, function, and regulation of the body’s tissues and organs. Because protein is used in so many of your body’s vital functions the building and repair of muscle tissue doesn’t automatically happen if you’re not consuming enough protein daily.
Additionally, as you age you need more protein to maximize muscle growth and repair as compared to when you were younger. Protein intake greater than the daily recommended amount improves muscle health, prevents sarcopenia and helps maintain energy balance, weight management and cardiovascular function. Benefits of increased protein intake includes improved muscle function and the prevention onset of chronic diseases, which can increase quality of life in healthy older adults.
Traditionally, protein recommendations have been based on studies that estimate the minimum protein intake necessary to maintain nitrogen balance, i.e. the minimum amount of protein required to building and repair muscle tissue. However, the problem with relying on these results is that they do not measure any physiological endpoints relevant to healthy aging, such as muscle function. While the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for protein intake is 0.8 grams per kg of body weight per day, experts in the field of protein and aging recommend an intake between 1.2 and 2.0 grams per kg of body weight per day or higher for older adults (1.5 to 2.5 times more). Thus, the goal of daily protein consumption should be the optimization of muscle health and function as you age.
Strength Training
Strength training, also known as weight lifting is the other proven method of maintaining muscle and strength as you age. Strength training is the use of resistance to muscular contraction to build the physical strength and endurance. The resistance used in strength training causes your body to adapt to a load that is greater than your body weight forcing your muscles to recruit additional muscle fibers in order to lift the load. This recruiting of extra muscle fibers causes your muscles to become larger and stronger.
When properly performed, strength training can provide significant functional benefits and improvement in overall health and well-being, including increased muscle, bone, tendon and ligament strength. Improved joint function, reduced potential for injury, increased bone density, temporary increase in metabolism, and improved cardiac function.
It’s never too late to start strength training. Studies have shown that people well into their nineties gain muscle and improve strength when they weight lift two to three times a week. People in nursing homes have been known to get rid of their wheel chairs and put down their walkers as a result of strength training regularly.
Thus, with a combination of increased protein consumption daily and strength training two to three times each week 2022 can be your strongest year ever no matter your age. I know this for fact, I’m in my sixties and I’m stronger than I’ve ever been. Watch as I set a New World Record with a 529 lb deadlift at age 62.
