Can You Avoid Muscle Loss As You Age?

Truth bomb: People lose muscle as they get older. But does that mean you’re helpless to stop it? The loss of muscle tissue is called sarcopenia. It’s considered a natural part of the aging process. From birth to age 30, your muscles grow larger. But after you hit your thirties (yes, 30!), you can start to lose muscle – anywhere from .5% to 1.5% of muscle mass per year. It doesn’t sound like a lot but that averages out to 10% of muscle gone in a decade. To make things worse, there are several things that can accelerate muscle loss:

1. Being sedentary.
2. A poor diet, with not enough protein.
3. Inflammation from health conditions.
4. Stress.

Of course, any loss of muscle will lessen your overall strength and mobility. As you grow older, it becomes almost a spiral effect because, when you’re feeling weak, it will affect your stamina and your balance. It’s reported that people with sarcopenia have 2.3 times the risk of falling and suffering fractures. University of Florida researchers said that “declining muscle mass is one of the most important causes of functional decline and loss of independence in older adults.”

So, how can you combat this?
The main treatment for sarcopenia is exercise, especially resistance training. That’s because resistance training can help your hormones and neuromuscular system to think younger. It can improve your ability to convert protein to energy. There is even evidence that you can reverse this trend of muscle loss!

University of Florida researchers compared individuals who were aerobically active to sedentary counterparts. The active participants were running 10k’s and half-marathons and they still lost muscle mass at the same rate as those who were sedentary. They also measured adults who participated in an eight-week program of strength training who met twice a week for one-hour sessions. The result: 76% showed improvement in muscular strength and flexibility. Their conclusion: “Strength training is one of the most effective preventive measures to delay the onset of sarcopenia.” Even Dr. Thomas Storer of the Harvard-affiliated agrees, “It takes work, dedication and a plan, but it’s never too late to rebuild muscle and maintain it.”

With X-Force Body’s resistance training, you gradually amp up your strength. It’s constantly challenging your major muscle groups with progressive load, negative resistance and – equally important – rest, so your muscles have time to repair and endurance improves. The expert trainers ensure you work out safely and sustain progress.

Another plus is that negative training works and strengthens the entire joint structure to increase your range of motion. When muscles become stronger, it benefits the bones, ligaments, tendons and cartilage that surrounds them. We know that weight-bearing exercise is important to bone health and staving off osteoporosis, too.

As we mentioned above, diet can be critical to the process. That’s why X-Force Body emphasizes the one-two punch of resistance training partnered with a diet rich in protein. It’s truly muscle food! Fuel your body with protein throughout the day to maximize muscle growth and improve muscle recovery.

So, yes, you have a choice when it comes to aging well. Let X-Force Body inspire you to become leaner, stronger and healthier to live your best life at every age!

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