Strength after 40: why muscle becomes the priority

What changes with age

Several things happen gradually, and none of them announces itself.

• Muscle mass declines, slowly from the fourth or fifth decade and more steeply later, in people who do not train.
• Strength declines faster than mass. Power, the ability to produce force quickly, declines fastest of all. It is power that catches you when you trip.
• Muscle responds less readily to a given dose of protein and exercise, a phenomenon described as anabolic resistance. It responds, but it needs a clearer signal.
• Tendons and joints tolerate less abrupt change. Injuries come from sudden increases, not from load itself.
• Bone density falls, particularly in women after the menopause.

The revised European consensus defines sarcopenia as a muscle disease in which low strength is the key characteristic, confirmed by low muscle quantity or quality. Its simplest tests are grip strength and the time taken to rise five times from a chair without using the arms: more than fifteen seconds suggests low strength.

Why it matters long before old age

At 45, none of this is visible. A decline of a small percentage a year does not change what you can do this year. It changes what you can do at 75: carry luggage, climb stairs, get up from the floor, recover from a hospital stay.

Muscle is also the body's largest site of glucose disposal. More of it, used regularly, improves insulin sensitivity. And strength training loads bone, which is one of the few ways to maintain its density.

The evidence on mortality points the same way. The 2022 meta-analysis by Momma and colleagues found that muscle-strengthening activity was associated with a 10 to 17% lower risk of death from all causes, cardiovascular disease and cancer, with the greatest reduction at about 30 to 60 minutes a week.

The dose that works

Two sessions a week, covering all major muscle groups, meet the World Health Organization's recommendation. Each session needs only five movements: a squat, a hinge, a push, a pull and a carry or trunk exercise. The detail is in strength training for executives.

The calculator above adds up your weekly strength work and sets it against the recommendation and against the range found in the pooled studies.

Three adjustments are worth making after 40.

1. A longer warm-up. Eight to ten minutes: five of easy movement, then the first exercise with a light load for two sets.
2. Slower progression. Add load in the smallest available steps, and hold a new load for two or three weeks before adding again.
3. Some speed. Include one movement done fast with a light load, such as a medicine ball throw, a kettlebell swing or rising quickly from a squat, to train power.

Heavy enough to count

The most common fault in people who start lifting in mid-life is using loads that are too light out of caution. Muscle adapts when the last repetitions of a set are difficult.

A useful rule is to finish each set with one or two repetitions "in reserve": you could have done one or two more with good form, but not five. Sets of 8 to 12 repetitions at that effort are effective and gentle on joints. Lower repetitions with heavier loads come later, and with supervision.

Protein and recovery

Because muscle responds less readily with age, the nutritional side matters more. Aim for the upper half of the range of 1.4 to 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight a day, with 30 to 40 grams at each meal. See protein needs.

Recovery takes longer than it did. Leave at least 48 hours between two sessions that train the same muscles, and protect sleep. See sleep for executives.

Joints, backs and old injuries

Most people over 40 have something: a knee, a shoulder, a lower back. This is a reason to adapt the exercise, not to avoid training.

• Knee pain: box squats to a height that is pain-free, leg press, step-ups. Strengthening the muscles around a joint usually improves it.
• Shoulder: landmine or neutral-grip pressing in place of barbell overhead pressing.
• Lower back: hinges learned with a light load and a flat back; trap-bar deadlifts; carries.

Pain that is sharp, that worsens during a session or that persists afterwards needs assessment by a physician or physiotherapist before you continue.

Balance and mobility

Strength is the foundation, and two other qualities deserve a few minutes a week from the mid-forties. Balance: standing on one leg while brushing your teeth costs no time. Mobility: hips, ankles and upper back, the regions that stiffen most in people who sit. See sitting all day.

Starting from nothing at 50 or 60

It is not too late, and the gains are larger for those who start from little. The sensible sequence is a medical check if you have been inactive or have any cardiovascular risk, a month of learning the movements with light loads, and then gradual progression. Supervision in the first months prevents most of the injuries that put beginners off.

That is the stage at which a coach is most valuable. See choosing a personal trainer.

People with osteoporosis, high blood pressure or heart disease can and usually should strength train, with a programme agreed with their physician.