Use it.

There are plenty of good things about getting older (I can buy as many books as I want, for one!), but then there’s the other stuff.  One of the less good things about getting older is that we lose muscle mass.

Over time, our muscle units remodel.  That’s a normal process in the body, but with aging, some of those remodels are essentially tear-downs.  We lose mostly fast-twitch motor units, which are responsible for strength and power.  Slight bright side:  our endurance motor units enlarge a bit to compensate, so we lose endurance more slowly than straight strength.

 

In the same way, our muscles are constantly breaking down and rebuilding as part of the general maintenance processes of our bodies.  As we get older, though, we don’t replace all the muscle proteins that we break down.  Some of this has to do with how we process dietary protein.  To some extent, we get less results from our resistance training.  We have to lift heavy to overcome this effect.

 

Then there are the hormones.  We all experience a rise in cortisol as we age, as well as an increase in inflammation.  Both of those contribute to the breakdown of muscle tissue.  Women, additionally, experience the hormonal shifts of menopause, which are not the kindest to our muscle tissue.

 

Pretty tempting just to give up and hold down the couch, right?  Nope.  Physical inactivity makes the whole enchilada worse.  In fact, we need to focus on more high-intensity, low-volume work than we did when we were younger in order to keep the muscle-eaters at bay.

 

So:  eat your protein and lift your iron.  Then get some sleep to solidify the gains.