Published on August 27, 2024

Written by Lauren Bedosky | Reviewed by Christina Palmer, MD

Key takeaways:

• We start to lose muscle around age 30. While this is a normal part of aging, there are proven tips to maintain muscle mass.
• Strength train at least twice a week to help prevent age-related muscle loss. Add new exercise challenges, fuel up with protein, and include rest days.
• There are numerous benefits to maintaining muscle mass at any age. It helps prevent falls, bone loss, and chronic conditions.

Muscle loss is common with age. In fact, after age 30, we start to lose 3% to 8% of our muscle mass. This decline may speed up after age 60. But muscle loss isn’t entirely beyond your control. Your lifestyle –– such as strength training and eating protein-rich meals –– can help prevent or slow this decline.

That’s good news, considering that maintaining muscle offers many benefits, from stronger bones and better metabolism to improved cognition and increased longevity. Here’s what you need to know to stave off age-related muscle loss.

How to maintain muscle mass

There are many tried-and-true strategies you can use to maintain muscle. Here are the five that make the biggest difference.

1. Strength Train Regularly

Strength training is one of the best ways to build and maintain muscle. It involves contracting your muscles against resistance — from your body weight, free weights, or other equipment. This creates tiny tears in your muscle fibers. Your muscles grow when your body repairs that damage.

Regular strength training can help preserve muscle mass and strength. Experts recommend doing muscle-strengthening exercises two to three times per week. Aim for 20- to 30-minute sessions with moves that work every major muscle group. Examples of strength-training workouts include:

• Bodyweight exercises such as push-ups, planks, squats, and lunges
• Push-pull exercises such as chest presses, bicep curls, and lat pulldowns
• Lifting weights
• Using resistance bands

2. Add new challenges

The more you do an exercise, the better you get at it. That’s a good thing. But there comes a point when your body stops adapting to exercise, and your results stall.

To avoid a workout plateau, you can add different exercises to your strength sessions. New moves will work your muscles differently and keep your routine fresh. You can also add new challenges to your strength workouts. This training method, known as progressive overload, helps you build muscle. But it’s also important for maintaining muscle mass and strength. You can practice progressive overload in several ways, including:

• Increasing weight
• Adding more exercise reps or sets
• Trying advanced exercise variations
• Increasing your range of motion

There are lots of ways to keep your muscles guessing. For example, one study suggests that the following strategies may help older adults maintain muscle mass, strength, and power:

• Fewer reps and sets with heavier weight
• More reps and sets with lighter weights

The goal is to find a strength-training strategy that works for you. Be sure to make gradual changes to your workouts to minimize your injury risk.

3. Pick protein

Protein is critical for muscle growth and recovery after strength training. When you consume protein, your body breaks it into amino acids that help repair, rebuild, and maintain muscle fibers. It’s not surprising that low protein intake has been linked to muscle loss and frailty in older adults.

But how much protein do you need? The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) is 0.8 g of protein per kilogram of body weight daily. The RDA is a general guideline for healthy adults. But protein needs may vary by age, sex, and other factors. For example, the following groups may need more protein:

• Athletes may require 1.4-2.0 g of protein per kilograms of body weight
• Healthy adults who want to maintain muscle after 30 may need 25-30 g of protein per meal
• Older adults may need 1.0-1.3 g of protein per kilograms of body weight

To calculate your protein needs:

• Divide your body weight (in pounds) by 2.2.
• Multiply that number by the recommended amount of protein per kilogram.

Include protein-rich foods in your diet. Good protein sources include lean meat and poultry, beans and lentils, and nuts and seeds. Older adults who may not get enough protein from their diet should consider supplements like protein drinks.

4. Don’t skimp on other nutrients

Protein is just one part of a balanced diet. Make sure you get enough calories from a mix of nutritious foods to keep your muscles –– and the rest of your body –– healthy.

In addition to protein, carbohydrates and fat are macronutrients that give you energy. They play a role in muscle health and function, too. Here’s how:

• Carbohydrates: Carbs provide energy to fuel exercise, especially strength training or high-intensity workouts. If you don’t get enough carbs, your body may break down muscle tissue for energy. Add a variety of complex carbs, including whole grains, vegetables, and beans.
• Fats: Fat gets a lot of hate. But your body relies on fat for endurance during longer workouts. It provides a steady energy source during low to moderate exercise. And it helps your body absorb vitamins and minerals –– like vitamins D and K –– that support muscle function, growth, and repair. Examples of nutritious fats include nuts, avocados, salmon, peanut butter, and olive oil.

You’ll also want to include creatine in your diet. This natural compound, made of amino acids, helps give your muscles energy. Animal-based protein sources –– such as red meat, chicken, and salmon –– are good sources of creatine.

But you may also want to take supplements, such as powders and premade drinks, to get more creatine in your diet. Creatine supplementation may increase muscle mass, build strength, and improve athletic performance. It’s been shown to enhance the effects of regular strength training, strengthen bones, and reduce the risk of falls in older adults.

Make sure to stay hydrated throughout the day, including before and after exercise. Dehydration has been linked to muscle loss and reduced function.

5. Give your muscles a break

It might seem counterintuitive, but rest is crucial to building and maintaining muscle. Your body does its best recovery work in the hours you spend sleeping. Research also shows that you produce growth hormone, which aids muscle repair and growth, during the dreamless sleep phase.

Inadequate sleep may hurt muscle performance, delay recovery, and contribute to muscle loss. Not to mention, you may be less motivated to exercise when you’re too tired. And even if you make it to the gym, you may not have the energy to give it your all. This could result in accidents or injuries.

Remember to include rest days in your weekly workout plan. Rest days give your body time to repair muscle damage after exercise. They also help you avoid overtraining and mental burnout.

How many rest days you take depends on your fitness level and workout intensity. But it’s a good idea to rest muscle groups for at least 48 to 72 hours before working them again. For example, if you do a leg workout today, give your lower body a break tomorrow. You can train your upper body instead. Or use your rest day for gentle active recovery workouts like walking or doing yoga. These activities can double as stress management and self-care. That’s important because chronic stress has been linked to low muscle and bone mass.

What are the benefits of maintaining muscle mass as you age?

There are several benefits of maintaining muscle as you age. Consider these key reasons to keep your muscles healthy and strong at every age.

Lower risk of falls and better mobility

Age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia) increases the risk of falls and fractures in older adults. Maintaining muscle mass and strength can lower that risk. Strength training may improve balance, coordination, and functional mobility. That goes a long way toward staying independent as you get older.

Stronger bones

After age 50, we start losing bone faster than we can make it. Fortunately, strength training helps build bones too. Resistance exercises put healthy stress on your bones, which may help preserve or increase bone density. It’s no wonder resistance training is often recommended to prevent or manage osteoporosis.

Better metabolism

Your body uses more energy (calories) to maintain muscle than fat, even at rest. Having more muscle may boost your metabolism and daily calorie burn. This could help you reach or maintain a comfortable weight when paired with a balanced diet.

Lower risk of chronic conditions

Maintaining muscle with resistance exercises can help ward off chronic conditions. Strength training has been shown to lower your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. It may also help improve your brain health and is associated with better cognitive function.

Tending to your muscles may even help you live longer. A study of over 80,000 people found that those who participated in any strength training program had a 23% lower risk of death from any cause. They also had a 31% lower risk of death from cancer.

The Bottom Line

Most of us begin losing muscle around the age of 30. It’s a normal part of getting older. But that doesn’t mean it’s completely unavoidable.

Several strategies can help you maintain muscle mass with age. The most effective methods include resistance training, consuming plenty of protein and other nutrients, and getting adequate rest. Your hard work will pay off in health benefits. Maintaining muscle can prevent falls, build strong bones, and reduce the risk of chronic conditions.