Is strength training and toned muscle only for young people? Think again. Especially in the second half of life, when muscle mass naturally decreases, you particularly benefit from strengthening exercises. Find out why strength training after 50 is especially important and how to get started.
How much muscle mass does the body lose per year?
Biologically, a person is at their peak muscle strength at about 25 years of age. In the following years, muscle strength, especially explosive power, gradually declines. By the age of 80, about 50 percent of muscle mass has disappeared. Between the ages of 25 and 45, the body loses about five percent of its strength per decade. From the age of 45, it is already ten percent every ten years: the body therefore loses around 1 percent of its muscle mass per year. This loss of muscle mass is called sarcopenia.
This can certainly have an impact on quality of life. Whether shopping, doing household chores, manual labor, or leisure activities: fit muscles make many things easier. The good news: muscles can be trained at any age. A large part of youthful performance can be maintained through strength training. Even people over 90 can still build muscle mass.
Why should strength training be an integral part of life as you age?
The older you get, the more intensely you have to train to keep your muscles in their familiar form. That is why seniors, in particular, should ensure an active lifestyle and, in addition to sufficient exercise in the fresh air, also train their strength in a targeted manner. Many experts see it as a problem that older people prefer to take it easy instead of challenging their muscles. Yet, muscles and bones renew themselves from the ground up every twelve to 15 years. If they are challenged through targeted strength training, they retain a good portion of their performance capacity. Of course, endurance training is also great, as it has good effects on general fitness and the cardiovascular system. However, only strength training reduces the loss of muscle mass and promotes strength and bone density.
What should you keep in mind during strength training?
Regardless of whether you are 25 or 55: untrained muscles should first get used to the new types of strain. At the beginning, you can train with a small weight or just your own body weight. If you find the movement easy, you can move on to higher weights and do three sets of 15 to 20 repetitions each. This will increase your so-called strength endurance. For "proper" strength training, i.e., the targeted building of muscle mass, one uses even higher weights with fewer repetitions.
Especially for beginners, it is advisable to train with a trained personal trainer at the beginning and to learn the basics of strength training. Otherwise, improper technique can easily lead to injuries, especially when using high weights. You should also ensure a sufficiently long recovery phase after exertion: incorporate two days of rest for more intensive training. The same muscle groups should not be trained consecutively. Listen to your body and to how much rest you need!
What strength training exercises can be done at home?
In addition to targeted training with a personal trainer at the gym, muscle strength can also be trained at home. Additional equipment such as kettlebells, dumbbells, resistance bands, and a training mat are available online and from specialist retailers. Yoga can also contribute to building muscle strength. What are some simple basic exercises for training at home?
- Squats
- Lunge
- Plank
- Wall sit
- Sit-ups
How do you support your muscles with nutrition?
Proteins are an important building block for muscles. About 20 percent of muscle consists of protein. They are not only involved in building muscle and maintaining muscle mass, but also in their regeneration. Especially in old age, a higher protein intake of 1.0 - 1.2 g of protein per kilogram of body weight is advisable. For an 80 kg body weight, this would correspond to 80 g to 96 g of protein intake per day.
One way to add extra protein if you cannot manage it through a normal diet is protein powder. Plant-based protein sources should be mentioned here in particular. In addition to soybeans, nuts, or legumes, hemp seeds are good sources of protein. The hemp protein powder obtained from hemp seeds is suitable for taking in valuable omega-3 fatty acids in addition to proteins and all nine essential amino acids. It is also versatile and can be incorporated into numerous recipes. Recipes can be found in the article Hemp protein: Collection of recipe ideas.
Conclusion
The bad news: the body loses 1 percent of its muscle mass annually from the age of 45. The good news: with the right strength training exercises, you can still build muscle well into old age. You can also maintain or build muscle mass through nutrition. This includes proteins. Why? 20 percent of muscle consists of protein. A good protein source is plant-based protein from hemp protein powder and omega-3 fatty acids, which contribute to muscle formation and regeneration. The omega-3 fatty acids from krill oil concentrate are particularly bioavailable.
Learn why strong muscles are good for the joints, as well as their use in prophylaxis before and after knee and hip operations, in our expert interview.
Here you can find health products to support your joints.
