How To Maintain Muscle Mass

After we reach growth peaks and mature with age, we tend to lose muscle mass. Some studies suggest males tend to lose about one pound per year past the age of 40. One strategy for burning fat is to gain more muscle. Our ability to burn fat increases with the amount of muscle tissue we walk around carrying.

What can you do to gain muscle?
Well, we can maintain it through exercise. Various forms of exercise tend to support muscle growth and the body's ability to maintain muscle. Resistance training is good for building muscle, while high-intensity cardio is good for burning fat. We know some of the factors that cause us to lose muscle mass. From triathlon training, I have learned that males tend to peak physically during their mid-twenties and physically, during their early thirties. Both men and women tend to lose muscle with age, but it is possible to gain or at least maintain skeletal muscle as you age beyond your physical peak.

What foods are good for maintaining muscle mass?
There was a study from a University in Korea that showed how potassium increased muscle growth in males. The study used surveys where participants reported food intake in face-to-face interactions with trained survey administrators within 24 hours of their meals. The study used data from over 15,000 participants. It found that skeletal muscle mass increased in subjects that consumed potassium-rich foods and had a higher protein intake. The study also found that those subjects showed that fewer of those subjects ended up contracting hypertension.

How much do I need to exercise to maintain muscle?
You may only have time to do resistance exercises for one hour and thirty minutes every Saturday afternoon. I would suggest that twenty minutes twice per week would be sufficient for beginners. For a beginner, significant muscle gains can be made by starting with two resistance exercise sessions per week while you work up to four to five days per week. A twenty-minute exercise four times per week would probably produce better results than exercising once per week for that one hour and thirty minutes. For the intermediate or more advanced, how to maintain muscle mass may be a more straightforward explanation. There are other types of exercise, though, that may supplement your resistance exercise results.

Some types of exercise are great for gaining strength. Those same exercises, though, may not be as good for power. I should also add, exercise done for muscle size would be performed differently than exercises for strength and power. For example, you can achieve your desired results by varying the number of repetitions you do. Variations in how fast you do each rep or how much time under tension you perform the exercise can change your training outcomes.

How do I cut without losing muscle?
High-intensity cardio is excellent for preparing your body to burn fat for energy. One thing, though, that may inhibit your body's ability to burn fat would be your diet. I would tend to believe that performing high-intensity cardio while fasted would have outcomes that far supersede the same exercise done within three hours of a pre-workout meal. When performed with short rest periods, high-intensity cardio sends your body into a brief state of hypoxia. Repeated, brief-states of hypoxia create physiological adaptations that lead to changes to your body's energy systems. When done while fasted, your body adapts to burning fat more efficiently. When performed after consuming carbohydrates, for example, the same exercises help you become more efficient at burning consumed carbohydrates--something we do good without even trying. The general goal is to lose visceral fat, not consumed carbohydrates.

Can you lose muscle mass in a week?
Through a careful review of research literature, the most likely conclusion would be that context matters when talking about muscle loss. For someone that works out six days per week for five solid years, one week with no exercise will not make much difference. One week of steady-state cardio with no resistance training may lead to muscle loss in specific contexts. Exercising without recovery meals may lead to muscle loss in some contexts. Diet, coupled with exercise, tends to be the best way to determine the likelihood that someone might lose muscle in one week. The presence of a severe medical condition may also play a role.

Is maintaining muscle easy?
Maintaining muscle is reasonably straightforward. Exercise type, frequency, and diet all play a role. Consistency is the most important. Intensity and duration of exercise are variables that may be tweaked to maximize specific fitness outcomes.

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None of the information you read on this site is meant to diagnose or treat any condition. If you have health issues, please educate yourself and consult your physician.