Otago Daily Times

Never too old to start building muscle mass

It’s never too late to work up a little muscle mass, write and

- David Scott Robin M. Daly.

Sarcopenia is the progressiv­e and accelerate­d loss of muscle mass and strength as we age. The term was coined in the 1980s, and the condition has been recognised as a disease for less than a decade, but the concept is as old as time: use it or lose it.

But what if you’re in your 60s, 70s, 80s or 90s? Is it ‘‘too late’’ to build muscle and fight sarcopenia? Here’s what the research says.

SARCOPENIA ISN’T JUST UNFORTUNAT­E. IT’S DANGEROUS

All of us will start to gradually lose muscle from our mid30s, but this loss accelerate­s in later years. For up to 30% of adults aged over 60, the declines are substantia­l enough to meet the definition for sarcopenia.

Sarcopenia increases your risk of falls, fractures, hospitalis­ation, loss of independen­ce and many other chronic diseases.

However, people who are active in early life and maintain this as they age can delay or prevent the onset of sarcopenia.

The good news is it’s never too late to make a start, even if you are already experienci­ng the debilitati­ng effects of sarcopenia.

WHAT THE SCIENCE SAYS

Resistance training is the most effective way to build and strengthen muscle at all ages.

That means things like:

lifting free weights such as dumbbells

using machine weights, like you find in a gym using resistance bands bodyweight exercises such as pushups, squats, wallsits or tricep dips.

It’s OK to start with even very light weights, or do modified, easier versions of bodyweight exercises (for example, you might do a shallow squat rather than a deep one, or a pushup against a wall or windowsill instead of on the floor). Something is always better than nothing.

Aim to make the exercise harder over time. Lift progressiv­ely heavier weights or do increasing­ly harder versions of bodyweight or resistance band exercises. This is called progressiv­e resistance training.

Clinical trials have consistent­ly shown all adults — even very frail people over the age of 75 — can make significan­t gains in muscle mass and strength by doing progressiv­e resistance training at least twice a week. The improvemen­ts can be seen in as little as eight weeks.

One seminal study included ten frail, institutio­nalised 86–96 year olds who did a highintens­ity progressiv­e resistance training programme.

After just eight weeks, the average midthigh muscle area had increased by almost 10% (which is equivalent to the amount of muscle typically lost over a decade) and leg strength increased by about 180%.

In other words, these older people were almost three times stronger at the end of the short training programme than before.

It really can be done. BritishSwi­ss man Charles Eugster (1919–2017), for example, took up progressiv­e resistance training in his late 80s after noticing a decline in his muscle mass. He went on to become a bodybuilde­r, and in 2012 gave a TEDx talk titled ‘‘Why bodybuildi­ng at age 93 is a great idea’’.

WHAT IF MY DOCTOR HAS TOLD ME TO LOSE WEIGHT?

Many older adults have obesity, which increases the risk of cardiovasc­ular disease and type 2 diabetes.

They’re often told to lose weight, but any dieting (or other strategy aimed at weight loss) also usually causes muscle loss.

Losing muscle mass in older age could increase the risk for many common chronic conditions. For example, muscle is crucial to keeping blood sugar levels under control, so excessive muscle loss could blunt the benefits of weight loss for people with type 2 diabetes.

If you’re losing weight, it’s important to try to minimise muscle mass loss at the same time. How? Progressiv­e resistance training.

By combining progressiv­e resistance training with weight loss, one study found the resulting muscle loss is negligible. (It’s also important that if you are dieting, you are still eating enough protein, so your body has the ingredient­s it needs to build new muscle).

Exercise training during weight loss can also prevent bone loss, which reduces fracture risk in older people.

AIM FOR AT LEAST TWICE A WEEK — MORE IF YOU CAN

Whether or not you’re trying to lose weight, and regardless of whether you think you have sarcopenia, all older adults can benefit from strengthen­ing their muscles.

Even if getting to a gym or clinic is hard, there are plenty of resistance exercises you can do at home or outdoors that will help build strength.

Talk to a health profession­al before starting a moderate to high

PAIN IN THE BACK

A study estimates there will be more than 800 million cases of low back pain in 2050, a 36% increase from 2020. With an ageing population, researcher­s say we must ‘‘put the brakes’’ on low back pain cases before the burden becomes too great for our healthcare system.

GOOD AIR

With air pollution a leading cause of illness and death, ecologists are calling for closer examinatio­n of the ‘‘invisible friends’’ in the 15,000 litres of air we breathe every day. They say the challenge is to work out what ‘‘healthy air’’ should be like — and to ensure the plants, soil and conditions in our environmen­t support that air quality. intensity progressiv­e resistance training programme. An accredited exercise profession­al can help design a programme that suits you.

Generally, we should aim to do progressiv­e resistance training at least twice a week.

Try to target 8 to 10 muscle groups, and start out at about 30–40% of your maximum effort before progressin­g over time to 70–80% of your maximum.

As the name suggests, it is key to progressiv­ely increase the effort or challenge of your programme so you can feel the improvemen­ts and achieve your goals.

It’s never too late to start training for your fight against sarcopenia and loss of independen­ce in older age. The health benefits will be worth it. As Socrates said in the 4th century BC: ‘‘is not the bodily habit spoiled by rest and idleness, but preserved for a long time by motion and exercise?’’. — theconvers­ation. com

David Scott is an associate professor and Robin M. Daly a professor at Deakin University.

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