Why Muscle Mass Matters for Long-Term Health

When people think about training for long-term health, they usually think about cardio or about weight. Muscle tends to be an afterthought, something for people who want to look a certain way.

That undersells it. Muscle is what lets you do the ordinary things you want to keep doing for decades, and it responds well to training at many ages.

This is general education, not medical advice. If you have a health condition or you are unsure where to start, speak to your GP first.

What muscle does besides looking strong

Muscle is what lets you:

• lift and carry shopping, children or a bag of soil
• climb stairs and get up from a chair or the floor
• stay steady on your feet and recover from a stumble
• keep doing the things you enjoy, whether that is a walk, the garden or a sport

It also does more than move you. Researchers have argued that muscle plays a larger part in overall health than it is usually given credit for, including its role in metabolism and as a reserve the body can draw on when it is under stress.

What changes with age

Muscle mass and strength tend to decline gradually as we age. Research on healthy older adults has found that strength, and especially power, which is how quickly you can produce force, tend to fall with age, and that they relate to how well people manage everyday tasks.

The decline is not the same for everyone, and it is usually faster when people are less active. The practical point is that this is something you can influence. You do not have to wait for a problem before you look after your muscle.

For more on the speed side of this, see power and longevity.

What the research supports, and what it does not

It is worth being clear about the limits.

What is reasonable to say: regular strength training is the main way to build and maintain muscle and strength, and stronger people generally find everyday tasks easier.

What is not reasonable to say: that training will prevent or cure any particular disease, guarantee you stay independent, or give you the same results as someone else. Outcomes vary with age, health, history and how consistently you train. Anyone promising otherwise is selling, not coaching.

What a realistic week looks like

You do not need a complicated programme. For most people, a sensible start looks like this:

• Two or three sessions a week, each 30 to 45 minutes.
• A few simple, full-body movements: something for the legs (a squat or sit-to-stand), a hinge, a push, a pull and a carry or core movement.
• A load that challenges you while you stay in control. Technique first, then small, steady increases.
• A way to track it, even a note on your phone, so you can see progress.
• Enough recovery, including sleep and ordinary meals.

If you are new, strength training for beginners gives a simple starting shape. If you are in menopause or perimenopause, see why lifting matters through menopause. Protein matters too, and muscle protein synthesis explains why, without the hype.

Where a body scan fits

A body scan can give you a baseline and a trend for your own body composition. Everest’s scanner uses bioelectrical impedance (BIA). It estimates body composition markers such as body fat, lean mass and body water. These readings are useful for tracking trends over time, but they are not a medical diagnosis and should not be treated as exact clinical measurements.

Used that way, a scan can show whether your lean mass is moving in the direction you want as you train, which a bathroom scale cannot. It does not tell you whether your muscle is healthy, how strong you are or whether you are well. Strength, how you move and how you feel tell you far more. See what a body scan measures and what it does not, or the mobile body scan page. Everest body scans are mobile, so they can take place wherever suits you.

Where a coach can help

You can do all of this on your own. A coach helps when you want technique checked, a plan that builds and changes as you do, and someone who notices when it is not working. Everest coaches in person in Christchurch and Rolleston and online, with beginner app training from $10 a week.

Want a clear plan for building and keeping muscle? See how Everest coaches strength, or enquire and we will suggest where to start.