Muscles Weaken with Age, But You Can Stay Fit

It doesn’t really come as much of a surprise to many of us to hear that muscles weaken with age. This is true even if you exercise regularly. You just don’t get the same results later in life as you would have when you were in your teens or twenties.  That said, just because there is a difference between a senior body and a teenaged one, it doesn’t mean that it is impossible to stay fit.  It’s very possible, and it is neither complex nor expensive to achieve.

Why Do Muscles Weaken with Age?

While we all accept that muscles weaken with age, have you ever wondered why it happens?  Researchers have taken care to examine this for many reasons, including everything from improving medical outcomes to enhancing quality of life for seniors.  What they have determined is that in younger muscle, a small amount of exercise will result in a powerful signal to the body to begin the many different processes that result in muscular growth.  This doesn’t occur in the same way among older people.  The signal is still there in seniors, but it’s fainter even with the same amount of exercise. As a result, it’s easier to lose muscular bulk but more difficult to build it.

It's Important to Remain Fit Throughout Your Life

While researchers have accepted that muscles weaken with age, they have still examined what this entails.  They have looked into which genes are associated with the response to exercise using techniques tracking thousands of genes.  What they determined is that there are over 150 genes expressed in response to exercise in younger men. However, in older men, only 42 genes expressed.  This helps to explain the variation in how bodies respond to strength training and why it’s easier for muscles to weaken with age.

Since this is a risk that only increases with each passing year, it’s a good idea to start as early as you can in building great fitness habits.  While older people may not gain muscular mas as easily as their younger counterparts, it’s still possible to do it and, more importantly, to preserve it.

The challenge may be greater, but it should not discourage anyone from exercising.  Regardless of whether it will build huge amounts of bulk, it’s still extremely important to overall health, injury and illness prevention, longevity and quality of life.

Strength Training as Muscles Weaken with Age

The key to overcoming the issues associated with muscles weakening with age is to strength train.  While it’s important at all times in our lives, it’s particularly important as seniors. This doesn’t imply that you need to take on intense bodybuilding routines. Instead, it means that strength and mass can be maintained to promote better balance, to make it easier to go about your daily routine, and to make sure the right habits are in place to keep up for years to come.