While building muscle and losing fat is often about looks for young people, staying in shape is much more than a vanity thing, especially as we get older. In fact, keeping our muscles strong will keep your entire body healthy, from your posture to your bones.

 

What many people don’t know is that one of greatest risks of aging is actually falling. Not from any height, but simply falling down. Older people not only have less muscle mass to keep them upright, they are also more likely to break their bones due to lower bone density.

 

The good thing is that resistance training can protect you against bone loss and muscle breakdown. Building muscle also decreases the amount of body fat you have, which in turn lowers the risk of all the diseases linked to overweight and obesity.

 

But what exactly happens to aging muscles and why should we counteract this process in the first place?

 

As people age, their muscle mass starts to deteriorate. You will not only feel weaker but also look more flabby. This process can start as early as your 30s, but the majority of people will see it beginning in their 40s and 50s. On average, people lose about a third of their strength between ages 50 and 70, and another third of what’s left every ten years after that.

 

However, the same research also suggests that this muscle breakdown is not primarily due to natural causes but to the sedentary lifestyle that we tend to adopt the older we get. The good news is that this muscle loss can be counteracted and prevented by simply getting off the couch and doing something physical.

 

That means whether you’re physically inactive due to your job or you’ve been bedridden because of a broken leg; your muscles will rebuild as soon as start exercising them through resistance training again. Not only that but resistance training will also delay the onset of age-related muscle atrophy.

 

There are countless cases out there were people in the sixties or seventies are still working out while outlifting people much younger than them. Trust me it’s never too late to start. By the way, this is also true for women. Many women stay away from lifting weights because they are afraid of getting too big and muscular.

 

Of course, nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, most women don’t have enough testosterone in their blood to build muscles like a bodybuilder. The female bodybuilders you see on tv are almost all taking steroids or other growth-enhancing hormones.

 

That said, women can and should do resistance training to strong and lean muscles, especially if they want a more hourglass figure, which usually includes a bigger butt.