Why Muscle Matters For Every Body At Any Age
The pursuit of a muscular physique is still regarded as a vanity project by the vast majority. Nothing could be further from the truth. Read on to find out why it is, in fact, one of the best insurance policies for your long-term health - especially as you age.
For decades, emphasis has been placed on weight loss as the path to good health and longevity. “Success” stories of people who have “beaten the bulge” are rife in print media, TV shows and the internet.
Don’t get me wrong. Weight loss is a Herculean feat that requires immense willpower, dedication and strategic planning, not to mention navigating confusing advice. It also demands the rejection of societal norms that can actively sabotage efforts to maintain a healthy weight.
The rapid evolution of the world we live in today has far outpaced the evolution of the human race even though it has made valiant efforts to adapt to its new environment. Traits that served us in our old environment are now maladaptive in the current one.
We are still hard-wired for potential scarcity (hence the strong inclination to gorge when food is in the vicinity) and yet, never has food been more abundant. We used to hunt and forage for food because not doing so meant certain death. Today, a variety of cuisines can be delivered to any doorstep and humans are more sedentary than they have ever been.
As a result, we have an obesity crisis and an NHS struggling to cope with the downstream effects. Many, quite rightly, do everything in their power to achieve an optimal weight. Unfortunately, no-one ever really stops to consider what exactly is lost in the process and whether it should have been lost in the first place.
A lot of the fitness (and dietary) advice given to the general population simply isn’t fit for purpose - the purpose of preserving muscle.
In the fitness realm, overprescription of aerobic/cardiovascular exercise turns it into a blunt instrument that hacks away at both fat and muscle. For this and many other reasons (more of which later), cardiovascular exercise should only ever be an adjunct to resistance training and not the main focus of any fitness regime. Having said that, it is important to acknowledge that cardiovascular exercise is essential for overall cardiovascular and respiratory health. These benefits increase exponentially, however, when appropriately combined with resistance training.
Resistance training (also known as strength training) is vital for maintaining muscle mass, strength and power - especially as we age - and there is no substitute for it. Throughout human history, our very lives have depended on our ability to move or flee when necessary. Optimal muscle health gives us this freedom (and the independence) to do what we want. This includes - but is not limited to:
Getting on or off the toilet (or in and out of a car) with ease
The ability to stow your luggage overhead on a plane or train
Carrying your own shopping
All of the above are routinely taken for granted and are just a few of the many functions you will lose if you do not invest in the health of your muscles over time.
Muscle is built from birth, peaks at the age of 30 or so, then begins to decline. Decline in muscle mass typically occurs at the rate of 3 to 5 percent per decade until one’s sixties or seventies when it accelerates to 10 percent per decade. These percentages needn’t be set in stone - depending, of course, on what each individual does or doesn’t do to optimise muscle mass. Studies show that general physical activity is not protective against the muscle loss I have described in young adulthood, nor does it guard against age-related muscle loss.
In addition to muscle loss, changes relating to the structure and composition of muscle occur as we age. Muscle is made up of slow-twitch (or Type I) fibres, which are designed for endurance and fast-twitch (or Type II) fibres, which are associated with strength and power. Movement begins with the recruitment of Type I fibres and the body switches to Type II fibres to generate more power if required. When people stop moving quickly (and lifting heavy weights) past the age of 30 or so, Type II muscle fibres experience a reduction in stimulation. Once stimulation is reduced, motor neurons sending signals to these fibres may be lost - hence the phrase “use it or lose it”.
Changes in muscle composition are visible on CT scans and show that connective tissue and fat seep in amongst muscle fibres as we age, causing them to become less able to contract. To put this into even greater context, muscle fibres make up 70 percent of the volume of a twenty-five-year-old’s muscle and 50 percent of an eighty-five-year-old’s. Again, none of this is inevitable. It only occurs with prolonged lack of appropriate fitness and dietary intervention (or the prioritisation of other less successful interventions like cardiovascular exercise) throughout the course of a person’s life.
Progressive resistance training is designed to gradually increase the external resistance placed on muscles over time. This slows the losses described above and can even halt them for decades. It can also correct the ratio of muscle to fat better than any exercise you care to mention. There is no reason why we cannot remain strong, active and independent no matter how old we get. Muscle is best visualised as our armour and, without it, we leave ourselves vulnerable to a myriad of undesirable states. There is nothing more pivotal than muscle for overall health.
Once appropriate steps are taken to shift the focus from fat loss to muscle gain, people start to experience better blood sugar regulation, better appetite control and increased mobility - in as little as two weeks. Over time, cumulative benefits include:
Greater strength overall
Stronger bones
Protection against diseases relating to metabolic dysfunction (including Type II diabetes) and disease in general
Improved mood
Optimal body composition
Increased energy
Protection from age-related dysfunction and disease
In summary, to protect and optimise muscle health:
Deprioritise cardiovascular exercise. It plays an important role but can literally sabotage your health if you do not use it as a strategic supplement to resistance training. For a beginner, I recommend 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise a week OR 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise a week OR an equivalent combination of moderate and vigorous aerobic exercise a week.
Prioritise resistance/strength training. Two to three hour-long full-body sessions a week are surprisingly effective for beginners. Exercise is a skill. Consistency and the maintenance of proper form at all times are of the utmost importance. Start with light weights and (when these pose less of a challenge) gradually progress to heavier ones.
Do not skimp on rest. I cannot stress this enough. It is absolutely vital to intersperse your workout days with rest days for optimal recovery and to avoid injury. Optimal sleep and stress management will boost your efforts in this regard.
Work with a professional for all of the above. This way, you can have a comprehensive plan tailored to your unique physiology and goals.
Incorporate non-gym movement into your daily routine. This includes gardening, housework, breaking up long periods of sitting with stretching breaks and aiming for 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day.
Pair fitness regimes with appropriate nutrition. I have provided dietary guidelines (and the rationale behind them) here.