Login | May 11, 2025
Muscle building and the older adult
PETE GLADDEN
Pete’s World
Published: February 26, 2024
Contrary to popular belief, aging doesn’t necessarily mean that the ability to gain lean muscle mass gradually becomes a relic of the past.
Indeed, there’s literally hundreds of scientific studies which validate the thesis that muscle growth is possible no matter what your age.
The only hitch here is that it’s harder for older individuals to build muscle than it is for younger individuals. T
his means older people have to be way more cognizant than they were in their younger days when it comes to addressing the key variables necessary to mitigate the body’s muscle building process.
Now having just said that, I’ve still got to temper my optimistic tone with a large tinge of reality.
Namely that sedentary men and women over the age of 50 can typically loose up to 0.4 pounds of lean muscle tissue per year - nearly a 5 pound loss of muscle tissue per decade - and that such decrements in lean muscle tissue can actually begin in our 30s and 40s if we’re not engaged in resistance training activities.
That means decades of physical inactivity coupled with decades of corresponding muscle loss can lead to devastating physical outcomes, more precisely fall-related accidents, which are statistically the leading causes of injury and death among older individuals.
But that scenario isn’t manifest destiny.
Thus, if you don’t want to end up as another casualty amongst the plethora of fall-related statistics, you can choose to build and strengthen your musculature.
So with that said, let’s take a look at how an older individual might approach gaining lean muscle mass - and consequently strength.
To do this we’ll need to examine several key resistance training variables that absolutely have to be addressed by the older adult.
As previously noted, older adults must engage in some form of resistance training in order to gain muscle mass and strength, a training protocol that could entail resistance bands, weights, machines, body weight, med balls, kettle bells etc., anything that provides a resistive force against the muscles.
And as an aside, I typically advocate my clients use a combination of several of the above resistance modalities such that they can enjoy variety in their routines.
Now in addition to the standard resistance variables used for muscle building - intensity/load, volume/reps and sets, and frequency - there’s a far less scrutinized variable which happens to be crucial for the older individual the consumption of adequate amounts of quality proteins. Therefore we’ll start here.
Protein intake
So due to numerous factors related to the aging process, muscle loss is higher for older adults, which means that protein intake should be higher for older adults. This higher amount of protein, around 25–30 additional grams per day, is needed to counteract age-related muscle loss. Rule of thumb is that protein intake for an older adult should be at least 1 gram of protein/kilogram of body weight/day. Remember though that an exact amount should be determined by your health care professional because it depends on your nutritional status, level of physical activity, and the existence of any underlying physical/metabolic ailments.
Intensity/load
Load entails the necessary weight/resistance needed to stimulate muscle growth and accentuate muscle tissue quality. Here studies have shown that the muscle mass of individuals >60 years of age can be increased by training intensities of app. 60% to 85% of the individuals 1 RM (one repetition maximum). This means you must continue to challenge yourself with harder/heavier resistances/weights.
Volume/reps & sets
Volume is the total number of reps and sets in any one particular exercise session. Again, research has determined that two to three sets of 6-12 reps per exercise yields the best results for older adults who aspire to gain lean muscle and strength.
Frequency
This refers to the total number of workout sessions per week. Two or three resistance sessions per week for the older adult appears to induce the most muscle size and strength when compared to fewer or more sessions.
Now having provided you with what exercise science has determined to be the optimum workout parameters to achieve muscle growth in seniors, remember: It takes time for those muscles to grow and for strength to improve. So be patient, persistent and pugnacious.
And finally, know that true muscle/strength gains require more than a few token, “going-through-the-motions” sessions at your local gym each week.
A well thought out, mentally and physically challenging resistance routine is the key to your muscle and strength building aspirations.