Latest news with #sarcopenia
Telegraph
a day ago
- Health
- Telegraph
Four exercises that will give men a chest to be proud of
Whether it's running, cycling, swimming, rowing, or even fast-paced hiking, the goal is the same: move with purpose, elevate your heart rate, and burn serious energy. Ideally, include a mix of steady-state sessions and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) across the week to maximise fat burning and preserve muscle. But cardio alone won't solve the moob problem. Because beneath that layer of fat, your chest muscles are likely languishing from years of neglect. If you want to rebuild a chest worth showing off, or at least not hiding under baggy shirts, then resistance training must become a non-negotiable part of your life. You should be hitting the gym (or working out at home) with weights three to four times per week. And you must specifically target your chest at least twice weekly. Think heavy presses (barbell or dumbbell), bodyweight exercises like push-ups and dips, and accessory movements like cable flyes to fully engage the chest muscles. The strength training isn't just about aesthetics either. It's your best weapon against sarcopenia and metabolic slowdown. The more muscle you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate, and the easier it becomes to stay lean without feeling like you're on a starvation diet. The right diet Speaking of diet: it's time to apply some tough love there, too. No, you don't need to live on boiled chicken and steamed broccoli. But you do need to respect the basics of energy balance. Track your calories honestly for a week, and you might be shocked at how much you're really eating, especially from 'innocent' snacks, alcohol, and oversized portions. Focus on lean proteins, plenty of vegetables, controlled amounts of healthy fats, and moderate carbohydrates aligned with your activity levels. And if you think the odd pint or two won't matter? Think again. Alcohol is a stealthy saboteur of fat loss, adding empty calories and lowering your body's testosterone production even further. Save the drinks for occasional indulgences, not nightly rituals. I understand that no one likes being called out. It's easier to say, 'it's just middle age' and carry on. But carrying on leads to C and D cups when you should be focused on building a proud, strong, athletic chest. Middle age should be your time to double down on your health and fitness, not to quietly surrender it. Let's be very clear: if you're currently rocking more cleavage than your partner, it's not a laughing matter. It's a flashing warning sign. It's time to burn fat, rebuild muscle, and reclaim the aspirational man's chest – not the alternative. No more excuses. No more moobs. Do 3-5 sets of 8-15 reps to have the desired effect. 1. Push ups
CNA
6 days ago
- General
- CNA
Singapore hospitals launch S$10m national research project to treat age-related muscle loss
A S$10-million national research project in Singapore will bring hospitals together in treating sarcopenia. Officially termed a disease just nine years ago, it is characterised by severe muscle loss and can lead to greater frailty and lower immunity. One in three adults aged 60 and above in Singapore have the condition. The research project aims to come up with new therapies and preventive treatments within its funding period of five years. Muhammad Bahajjaj reports.
CNA
24-05-2025
- Health
- CNA
Commentary: The DIY guide to checking how well you're ageing
ABERYSTWYTH, Wales: A few years ago, a social media trend challenged people to see if they could stand up from the floor without using their hands. Now, it's all about how long you can balance on one leg while brushing your teeth. These quirky 'tests' promise to tell us how well we're ageing – but do they really? When we talk about 'ageing well', we're usually referring to both physical and psychological well-being. That includes feeling good (hedonic well-being) and finding meaning and purpose (eudaimonic well-being). Engaging in activities and monitoring ourselves plays a role in both. But ageing isn't just about how strong your grip is or how fast you can walk. It's a complex mix of physical, cognitive, emotional and social changes – and no single test captures the whole picture. Physically, one simple measure that gets a lot of attention is walking speed. According to one famous study, people who walk faster than 1.32m per second were less likely to die in the next three years – jokingly framed as 'too fast for the Grim Reaper to catch'. On the flip side, a slower walking speed – below 0.8m per second – can be a sign of sarcopenia, a condition involving reduced muscle mass, muscle strength and physical function. These are all important indicators of age-related decline. But while these markers are useful, they're not easy to measure at home. Most research relies on specialist equipment and your local GP probably doesn't have a grip-strength dynamometer sitting in a drawer. But they could time how long it takes you to stand up and sit down five times from a chair. HOW TO DIY So, what can you realistically do to track your own ageing? To truly understand how you're ageing, it helps to think beyond physical health. Mental sharpness, emotional resilience and social connection matter just as much. One helpful idea is to assess your cognitive fitness, which includes skills like attention, memory and flexibility. Here are some cognitive tests you can try at home: Trail making test: Connect numbers and letters in sequence (1, A, 2, B, etc) and time how long it takes. This measures your ability to switch between tasks. Stroop task: Challenges your ability to ignore competing information. Try saying the colour of a word, not the word itself – like saying 'red' when you see the word 'blue' printed in red ink. It's harder than it sounds! Dual-task challenge: Walk at your normal speed while counting backwards from 100 in threes. If your walking speed changes significantly, it could indicate cognitive strain. These kinds of tasks test how well your brain handles competing demands – a key ability that becomes even more important as we age. This skill is known as cognitive flexibility and it helps you adapt to changing situations, switch between tasks and manage distractions. Trying out these tests is great, but how do you know if you're improving? After all, when you have spent time trying to improve your walking speed, or Stroop ability – or even rubbing your head, patting your belly while saying the Finnish alphabet out loud – it's important to know if you are seeing benefits. Some measures, like single-leg stance, can vary wildly from day to day – or even hour to hour. You might get better just from repeating it, which doesn't necessarily mean you're ageing better, just that you've practised. Others, like grip strength, change very slowly even with regular strength training. And some improvements are task-specific: getting better at the trail making test doesn't necessarily make you sharper at doing Wordle. That's why it helps to complete the test a few times at the start, then retest yourself once a month or so – again, doing it a couple of times – to track any improvements. Cognitive changes may be slower to notice than physical ones, so regular checks can help reveal progress over time. MORE OF A PUZZLE THAN A TEST There's no single test or score that can capture how well you're ageing. Think of it more like a jigsaw puzzle. Physical health, mental agility, emotional balance, social connection – they all matter and they all interact. And, of course, even if you perform well now, some changes in the future may be beyond your control. No test can fully predict what lies ahead. At the end of the day, maybe the best sign of ageing well isn't how fast you walk or how long you can stand on one leg – it's how you feel about your life. Are you feeling engaged, content, connected? Tools like the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience can help you take stock of your emotional well-being. This short, 12-question survey asks about your everyday feelings – from joy and calm to sadness and frustration – offering insight into both the pleasurable (hedonic) and meaningful (eudaimonic) sides of well-being. Ageing well isn't about beating a stopwatch or acing a memory test. It's about knowing yourself – your body, your mind and your values – and making small, meaningful changes that help you feel more you. So, go ahead, stand on one leg if you like. But don't forget to check in with your brain, body, emotions and your sense of purpose too.
The Guardian
23-05-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Why men lose muscle mass in middle age – and how to combat the process
Most men worry about losing their hair as they approach middle age but this isn't the only thing we can lose. Muscle loss is a natural part of the ageing process for men – after the age of 30, we begin to lose between 3% and 5% each decade. A perfect storm of hormonal changes, reduced muscle protein synthesis, lower testosterone and decreased physical activity means our muscle mass decreases. Most men will shed about 30% of their muscle mass during their lifetimes and this process even has a fittingly unpleasant name: sarcopenia. Losing muscle mass isn't just an image problem, it causes serious issues such as increased weakness, reduced mobility and greater risk of chronic diseases. But the good news is that we can slow down this unwelcome process. It's never too late for middle-aged men to rebuild and maintain muscle, and there are three ways to do it: exercise, diet and lifestyle. Strength training is an effective way of maintaining or even increasing your muscle mass in middle age. Several studies have found that resistance training can counter muscle weakness as people age. You can pick up the gym bug at any stage of your life, so it's never too late to start. A good way to get going is to begin at home with bodyweight exercises such as squats, lunges, and push-ups, to wake up your body and reconnect with it. Once you hit the gym, you'll need to gradually lift heavier weights or do more reps, but if you're in or beyond middle age, then your joints are probably not the sprightly things they were when you were 20, so add those increments gradually and leave any showboating to the TikTok lads. What you consume can make or break your results at the gym, so you should eat a wide variety of nutrient-rich foods across different food groups. For middle-aged men aiming to build muscle mass, a diet rich in protein, vitamins and fibre is absolutely essential. To build muscle you need protein, so the maths is simple: when you're aiming to increase muscle mass, your body needs more protein. Studies have found that diets higher in protein can help prevent age-related declines in muscle mass. Vitamins and micronutrients also play a crucial role because they can improve muscle function and prevent muscle atrophy. This doesn't mean you have to buy expensive and extravagant protein powder. There are plenty of ways to get adequate protein from your diet – including the humble pistachio nut. Pistachios give you a plant-based complete protein snack – providing a natural source of plant-based protein, plus vitamins and minerals to reinforce muscle mass and bones. Pistachios include monounsaturated fats [pdf], which reduce cholesterol, and they are a delicious and effective post-gym snack, with plenty of magnesium, which can help you recover after exercise. Work them into a diet filled with soya, beans, pulses and the occasional bit of meat, and you'll be able to get all the protein you need. You can sprinkle pistachios on to your meals or eat them as a snack in their own right. Work them into your exercise regime and they will get to work for you. It's extra important to avoid tension because studies have found that stress can add to the effects of sarcopenia. When you're anxious, your body releases cortisol as you go into a fight or flight response. This hormone speeds up the breakdown of proteins, including muscle proteins, which can lead to a decrease in muscle mass and strength. There are simple ways to minimise stress, including mindfulness, meditation, deep breathing, relaxing hobbies, or even just reading a book rather than doomscrolling on your phone. You should also drink plenty of water, because adequate hydration is vital for muscle growth. It boosts nutrient delivery and muscle repair, and also improves your overall performance during workouts. If you get dehydrated, this can hinder muscle protein synthesis, lower your energy levels and prolong your recovery time. So keep going to the well. Sleep is where a lot of magic happens, so getting plenty of shut-eye is important for your muscles, because it's when your body releases anabolic hormones such as testosterone and growth hormone, which your body needs for muscle building and recovery. Sleep is also when your body repairs any microscopic tears in muscle tissue caused by exercise. If you get too little sleep, this can reduce muscle protein synthesis, which can hinder muscle growth and make it harder to gain muscle mass. So get your head down and dream about your new body. Learn more about pistachio benefits
Health Line
20-05-2025
- Health
- Health Line
The Benefits and Safety of Creatine for Older Age
Athletes use creatine to boost muscle strength and performance. It's safe in moderate dosages, and studies indicate it may help effectively combat age-related muscle loss in older adults, among other benefits. Your body derives creatine naturally from foods like red meat and seafood, synthesizing it in your liver and kidneys. It then stores about 95% of it in your muscles in another form called phosphocreatine. This enhances the production of a molecule called adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which can help support your body during exercise and help you maintain strength and muscle mass. Read on to learn more about taking creatine supplements in older age, the potential benefits and risks, and the recommended dosage. Benefits of creatine for older adults Sarcopenia is a condition that can develop in older age. It involves a gradual loss of muscle mass, strength, and physical performance. This can lead to weaker bones, increasing the chance of falling and fracturing bones. Regular resistance training can prevent weak bones, and research suggests that taking creatine supplements may also help. Creatine vs. creatinine It's important not to confuse creatine with creatinine, a waste product made by the kidneys. In combination with resistance training, having creatine supplements could not only help support your muscle strength but also benefit your bones. Some evidence suggests that creatine supplements could help maintain bone mineral density, which can decrease as you age, putting you at a higher risk of developing osteoporosis. However, creatine's benefits in older age aren't limited to muscles and bones. Research suggests it may also help improve cognitive performance, potentially reducing age-related cognitive changes. For example, according to a 2023 study, creatine may help support memory, especially in people between the ages of 66 and 76 years. Also, creatine may have other potential health benefits, such as regulating blood sugar, reducing the chance of developing diabetes, and helping lower fatigue related to COVID-19. Safety of creatine in older age Many claims suggest that taking creatine supplements might not be safe. That said, there isn't enough research to support these concerns. A comprehensive 2021 review of more than 500 research studies suggests that taking creatine is safe and effective when you stick to the recommended dose of 3 to 5 grams (g) per day or 0.1 g per kilogram (kg) of weight. These studies refuted many of the beliefs about creatine, finding that it does not act like an anabolic steroid nor cause any of the following: kidney damage water retention hair loss dehydration muscle cramps weight gain At what age should people not take creatine? Research suggests that creatine is safe at any age as long as one is otherwise healthy and adheres to the recommended dosage. That said, limited evidence for negative side effects doesn't necessarily mean that they cannot occur, especially for children and adolescents. For instance, a 2025 study reported that an adolescent developed kidney disease from taking high creatine doses. Moreover, direct research on the safety of creatine specifically in older people is also limited. For this reason, it's always a good idea to speak with your doctor before starting any supplement. How to take creatine Given creatine's benefits, you may try maintaining an exercise routine while taking it, especially exercises that focus on bone and muscle strength. Creatine typically comes as a powder you mix into a drink. On workout days, consider taking your full dose shortly before, shortly after, or splitting it around your session. Some research suggests that taking creatine after exercise may be more beneficial than taking it before your workout, although the findings on this are mixed. Also, you can still take creatine on days when you don't work out at any time you want to maintain consistent levels.
