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As Americans increasingly turn to GLP-1 medications — which have been linked to a loss of lean muscle, especially during rapid weight loss — experts say preserving strength and mobility should be a priority as people age.
Jacob Zemer, a New York-based fitness coach who primarily trains clients ranging from 35 to 55 years old, said that beyond GLP-1s, there are several other reasons that adults start losing muscle as they get older.
“The biggest change is lifestyle,” he told Fox News Digital. “When you’re in your teen years or your 20s, you’re running around, you’re doing activities that lend themselves to building muscle.”
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That tends to change as people shift focus to career and family, the expert said.
“You simply become more sedentary, which lowers your metabolism and your level of activity, so you’re going to have less muscle.”
As people approach their 40s, hormone levels begin to change for both men and women, Zemer noted.
“That means we partition the calories we’re using less and less for protein and building muscle, and more and more for simply storing as fat,” he said.
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“We see this all the time … people start to store fat in their tummies, and they start have less muscle.”
Zemer said he believes that everyone should be “very mindful” about building muscle, starting from a young age.
“All the way up into your 50s, your goal should be to build muscle so that when you enter your golden years — your 60s, 70s, 80s — it’s kind of like your 401K,” he said.
“You’re going to be depleting from it as you go through life. So in your 30s and 40s, you just have to be more strategic about it, because your lifestyle has changed. You need to go to the gym and train in order to have that muscle later in life.”
Zemer shared the following strategies that can help people slow down muscle loss as they age.
No. 1: Get adequate protein
Protein helps to stimulate muscle protein synthesis, the body’s process of repairing and building muscle, according to Zemer.
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Including enough protein in your daily diet can help reduce the risk of sarcopenia, which is the age-related loss of muscle mass and strength.
While people’s protein needs will vary based on age, activity level and fitness goals, Zemer said people who regularly strength-train generally benefit from higher intake.
“If you’re a sedentary person, you don’t need to be obsessed with protein,” he told Fox News Digital. “Very few people aren’t getting enough protein in terms of macronutrients. But if you’re training and going to the gym, you want to be getting somewhere between 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight.”
No. 2: Strength-train regularly
For general health, the U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines recommend that adults strength train at least two days per week, working all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms).
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises using moderate or greater intensity until it’s difficult to complete another repetition with good form.
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The guidelines also recommend pairing the strength training with 150–300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (or 75–150 minutes of vigorous activity) each week.
Lifting weights isn’t just about building muscle, but also preserving muscle, according to Zemer.
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“Even if you have a busy week, and you went to the gym and you lifted weights 30 minutes twice a week, that may not be enough to build new muscle, but that is certainly enough to maintain muscle,” he said.
“So it’s very important that you lift weights a couple of times a week as you age.”
For beginners, Zemer recommends focusing on a few basic functional movements. Body-weight exercises like squats, lunges, push-ups and pulling movements help build strength for everyday activities, while carrying weighted objects — known as a farmer’s carry, Zemer said — can improve grip, balance and overall stability.
For people who feel intimidated by the gym, working with a qualified trainer for a few sessions can help boost confidence and refine technique, according to Zemer.
No. 3: Get sufficient sleep
Perhaps the most difficult strategy for maintaining muscle is to get enough quality sleep — seven to nine hours, Zemer emphasized.
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“Now, if you don’t get that every night, you’re not going to lose muscle,” he noted. “But when you start to look at actual serious sleep deficiency, like we’re talking five hours consistently, that is when you see rapid muscle loss.”
No. 4: Find alternatives if necessary
“The worst thing you can do, even if you’re injured, is to stop doing anything,” Zemer said.
“Find things you can do. Even if something hurts you, even if your knees aren’t like what they used to be.”
Even without structured workouts, regular movement can help slow age-related muscle loss, while being sedentary is associated with rapid declines in muscle mass and strength, the expert cautioned.
GLP-1s and muscle loss
The above strategies are especially important for people who are taking GLP-1 medications for weight loss, Zemer noted, as these drugs can lead to muscle loss in the absence of strength training or adequate protein.
“If you are on a GLP-1, just remember you’re accelerating the rate of fat loss, but you’re also accelerating the rate of lean muscle,” he said.
“You want to make sure you’re getting that protein and training, so that you are not losing muscle on top of the fat loss.”
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