Like it or not, muscle loss is something that we all face as early as our early thirties. This loss of muscle seems to be most evident once an individual reaches the age of 50 and gains even more momentum in an individual’s mid-seventies. When loss of muscle is related to aging, it is referred to as sarcopenia and it is one of the main contributing factors to frailty. Unfortunately, if you are in your fourties or fifties chances are you have experience this muscle loss even if you are relatively fit and healthy, you might just not know it yet. There are a variety of different reasons why certain individuals experience more loss of muscle than do others. For instance, having a sedentary lifestyle is one of the main reasons why an individual would experience sarcopenia. It can also lead to a decrease in independence. Luckily, there are different things that you can do in order to slow down muscle loss and loss of strength. Some research shows that it is actually possible to reverse muscle loss once it has occurred.
Strength training
Without a doubt, the number one way to combat muscle loss is to strength train. Strength training helps to build muscle and allows for the connection between nerves to strengthen. This allows for the maintenance of the muscle an individual has. It can also help in other ways, such as by aiding the body in responding to dietary protein. The sad reality is that the majority of people do not exercise in a way that allows them to fully benefit from this phenomenon. In order to increase the amount of muscle that you have, it is important to know your own body and what your body can do. More specifically, the general rule is to choose the weight/level of resistance that you find hard to perform more than 10 to 15 times straight.
