A friend recently told us that the most surprising thing to her about retirement has been that she needs to exercise more. Why is that,  I wondered?

The answer is sarcopenia, the loss of muscle tissue due to aging. Muscle mass rises until about age 30, after which it declines 3-5% per decade. Starting around age 60, not only is the absolute mass declining, but also the amount of work needed to maintain muscle mass is proportionally greater. That’s because older people may have fewer motor neurons, fewer muscle fibers, atrophied muscle fibers, reduced hormones, less efficient protein-to-energy conversion, and/or lower protein intake.
The good news is, you can reverse this process and even build muscle at any age.
The bad news is, you have to do weight-bearing exercises, both progressively and frequently.
Someone with extremely low muscle mass may be able to make progress simply by lifting his or her own body weight: stand, sit, repeat! When you’re ready for weights, use the heaviest ones you can handle with low reps, and increase the reps over time. When you master that, return to lower reps using a higher weight. Rinse and repeat. For different exercises, these may be hand weights, resistance bands, larger free weights, medicine balls, kettlebells, weight-lifting machines, filled two- or three-liter bottles, fire logs, or anvils.
Note: I am not qualified to give this advice. Consult your trainer before proceeding!
Is it worth it? In addition to the obvious, more energy and better balance, benefits may include
  • fasting wound-healing,
  • greater infection resistance,
  • delay or prevention of chronic diseases,
  • reduced likelihood of falling,
  • better fatty acid metabolism,
  • reduced depression, and
  • increased bone and joint health.
The good results accrue relatively quickly, so long as you are consistently working out, progressing, and consuming enough protein to build that mass. Beans, nuts, and soy work as well as meat.
I had done two to three low-weight, high-rep workouts per week that have not changed for years. Over the past few months, based on advice from my husband, I have switched to higher weights and am keeping notes so I can progress, but I still only lift twice a week. After doing this research, I am seriously considering emphasizing weights over aerobic exercise.
At 85 years old, RBG* continues to inspire! If you’ve only seen her exercising that one time with Stephen Colbert, I recommend you get the book.
========================================================================
 * Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose trainer, Bryant Johnson, wrote The RBG Workout.

Leave a comment