POLOKWANE – “Without weight training, your muscles will atrophy and lose weight as you grow older. Age-related muscle mass loss is known as sarcopenia and affects many people all over the world, however, it is avoidable,” Heinrich explains.
He adds that if nothing is done to prevent the loss of muscle mass, people can expect to lose around 15% of their muscle mass between their 30’s and 80’s.
Training regularly can help prevent this as it slows down muscle loss and boosts your strength three-fold. “You won’t realise you are losing muscle mass as it happens gradually. You will most probably only realise you have lost muscle mass when you are in your 70’s,” he adds.
Muscle strength, he continues, declines by approximately 15% each decade in your 60’s and 70’s and by roughly 30% thereafter.
“Training at an older age not only slows down the muscle loss process, it also gives you the strength to carry your own groceries or pick up your grandchildren.
“Weight training is important throughout your life, but it will become more and more important as you grow older.
“Always remember, it is never too late to start training and you can always join a local gym and get active again,” Heinrich concludes.
