How Do They Do It? 80 Year Olds With 40-Year Old Muscle Mass

Increasing physical frailty as you age is commonly accepted as “a fact of life.”

Until recently, most studies showed that after the age of 40, people typically lose eight percent or more of their muscle mass with each passing decade.

But newer research suggests that this is not a foregone conclusion.

One study of 40 competitive runners, cyclists, and swimmers, ranging in age from 40 to 81, found no evidence of deterioration — the athletes in their 70s and 80s had almost as much thigh muscle mass as the athletes in their 40s.

Read more: How Do They Do It? 80 Year Olds With 40-Year Old Muscle Mass