日本語 ｜ English
Muscle and Stamina Won’t Last Forever: What Aging Does and What You Can Do
Hello. I hope you are spending a lively, smiling day.
This is sudden, but do you know the Japanese saying “Don’t assume your parents and your money will always be there”? The same thing applies to muscle and stamina. In fact, muscle and stamina decline naturally with age. This time I’ll talk about how muscle declines and what it does to you, with specific numbers, and what you can start doing now.
Muscle loss: what causes it?
Muscle declines with age because of physiological changes that come with aging. The main ones are:
- Fewer and shrinking muscle fibers: the fibers that make up your muscles decrease and get thinner, so overall muscle mass falls.
- Loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength (sarcopenia): this is the decline of skeletal muscle mass and strength with age, and it has a large effect on the drop in fitness from middle age on.
When muscle peaks and when it declines
Muscle mass peaks at about age 20, and the decline begins from there. It becomes especially noticeable from the late 40s into the 50s, and from the 50s on it speeds up as follows.
- Muscle mass falls by about 0.5–1% a year
- Muscle strength falls by about 1–3% a year
By about age 70, muscle mass is said to be about 30% lower than at around age 20.
The numbers: whole-body and lower-limb muscle mass
These are estimated figures for muscle mass (estimated from regression equations).
- Estimated whole-body muscle mass
- Men: 52.3 kg at age 20 → 43.5 kg at age 80 (about 16.8% less)
- Women: 36.3 kg at age 20 → 32.3 kg at age 80 (about 11.0% less)
- Estimated lower-limb muscle mass
- Men: 17.4 kg at age 20 → 13.2 kg at age 80 (about 24.1% less)
- Women: 11.7 kg at age 20 → 9.3 kg at age 80 (about 20.5% less)
Lower-limb muscle in particular matters for keeping your whole body balanced, and as it declines, the risk of falls rises and the effect on daily life grows.
What you can do from now
Muscle loss can’t be avoided, but proper exercise, training and nutrition can slow it down. At Orange Fitness we offer support such as:
- Training plans aimed at maintaining and improving muscle strength
- A support system that is reassuring even for beginners
- Manageable exercise suggestions suited to your age
Keeping the saying “Don’t assume your muscle and stamina will always be there!” in mind, why not start what you can do now, together? Take your first step toward a healthy body at Orange Fitness!
Today is the youngest day of your life. I hope it is a wonderful day for you!
Orange Fitness is a semi-personal gym in Kai City, Yamanashi. Learn how coaching works, see our plans and pricing, or book a trial or tour. You are welcome to just look around.