No matter what your age, you can improve your fitness. If it's been a long time since you've exercised and you're feeling less than fit, you might think that it's too late to make a change. But you're wrong. You can improve your fitness at any age.
Yes, you can still gain muscles if you are over 70 years old. Many forms of exercise and nutritional considerations backed by research can help those over 70 build muscle mass and improve muscle tone. However, it is essential to adapt exercises according to your health condition and physical limitations.
According to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (PDF, 14.5M) you should do at least 150 minutes (2½ hours) a week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, like brisk walking or fast dancing. Being active at least three days a week is best, but doing anything is better than doing nothing at all.
Try strength training: It prevents you from losing muscle mass and strengthens your bones. Aim for 2 days a week. Good choices are lifting weights, using resistance bands, and doing body weight exercises like pushups and situps. A personal trainer can teach you good form to avoid injury.
It is safe for most adults over 65 years old to exercise. Even most patients who have chronic illnesses can exercise safely. These include heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and arthritis. Many of these conditions are improved with exercise.
Seniors who work at it, however, can still make strength gains. “Research shows that, even into your late 80s, your body still has the potential to build muscle mass,” Stacy Schroder, director of wellness at Masonic Village at Elizabethtown, said.
While there is no way to fully “stop the clock,” it's possible for many older adults to increase muscle strength with exercise, which can help maintain mobility and independence into later life.
Research has found that weightlifting helps seniors prevent bone and muscle loss. and may even help prevent dementia. The Center for Disease Control recommends that seniors do strength-building exercises at least twice a week in addition to aerobic exercise.
Adults aged 65 and older need: At least 150 minutes a week (for example, 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week) of moderate-intensity activity such as brisk walking. Or they need 75 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity activity such as hiking, jogging, or running.
Your Bones, Joints, and Muscles
Your muscles get weaker, and the tendons -- which connect muscles to your skeleton -- get stiffer. This will decrease your strength and flexibility. In your 70s, you might lose an inch or two off your height as disks in your back flatten.
Aging skin looks thinner, paler, and clear (translucent). Pigmented spots including age spots or "liver spots" may appear in sun-exposed areas. The medical term for these areas is lentigos. Changes in the connective tissue reduce the skin's strength and elasticity.
Gaining Muscle Mass by Lifting Weights
Resistance exercise like weight training is one of the best ways of reversing the loss of muscle mass as you age. It benefits both men and women.
But research indicates that protein requirements increase with age. Recommendations for how much protein is enough for older people vary, but current studies suggest that most people over age 65 should take in about 1 g to 1.2 g of protein/kg of body weight per day to both gain and maintain muscle mass and function.
Vitamin D may be protective for muscle loss; a more alkalinogenic diet and diets higher in the anti-oxidant nutrients vitamin C and vitamin E may also prevent muscle loss.
Old and young people build muscle in the same way. But as you age, many of the biological processes that turn exercise into muscle become less effective. This makes it harder for older people to build strength but also makes it that much more important for everyone to continue exercising as they age.
For adults over the age of 50, the ACSM recommends the following: Men (50-59): Between 10 and 12 pushups. Men (60+): Between 8 and 10 pushups.
Lifting weights is a great way to build muscle strength, but when you're over 50 there is no reason to push yourself too hard. Try a slightly lighter weight that you can safely do 10 to 12 reps with.
Age has nothing to do with how much you should lift. Your focus should be on starting with light weight with the focus of learning how to do the movements properly. Once you can do them properly, work up to a weight that you can do 8-12 reps of.
HIIT workouts tend to combine the two forms of exercise that have a huge impact on aging: aerobic and strength-training. Cardio that comes from aerobic exercise helps get the heart pumping. Whereas strength-training helps to keep muscles strong. Yoga is another physical activity that can reverse aging.
While walking builds some muscle, it isn't the big, bulky muscle mass that comes from spending a lot of time in the gym. Rather, walking creates a leaner muscle tone throughout one's body, particularly in lower muscle groups. Muscles grow after being stressed enough to break down in the first place.
Muscle loss in elderly patients can be reversed in most circumstances, and many effective solutions are quite simple. One Japanese study found that seniors who spent six months walking managed to significantly increase muscle mass. Another study suggests people who walk fast are less likely to have sarcopenia.