The Overlooked Key to Aging Well: Preserving Muscular Power
When you think of longevity, metrics like strength, cardiovascular fitness, and social connections probably come to mind. But there’s another crucial aspect to healthy aging that’s often ignored: muscular power. The loss of power—the combination of force and speed at which your muscles work—may be one of the most telling signs of aging and could even predict lifespan.
Muscular power isn’t just about athletic performance; it plays a significant role in maintaining strength, balance, and quality of life as we get older. Unfortunately, it declines much faster than other markers of aging. Starting around age 40, most people experience a yearly loss of 0.5 to 1 percent in muscle mass and strength. By contrast, power can diminish at an alarming rate of up to 4 percent per year if left unaddressed.
Recent research zeroed in on this decline by studying knee extensor power, particularly the quadriceps muscles used for standing, walking, and climbing stairs. In both younger and older adults, scientists measured not only muscle power but also the role the brain and nervous system play in generating it. Surprisingly, even in the oldest participants, the brain and nervous system could still deliver strong, youthful signals to the muscles. However, the muscles themselves struggled to generate the same level of power, mainly due to a decline in fast-twitch muscle fibers—the type responsible for explosive movement.
This insight is critical because it suggests that power loss isn’t just a side effect of general aging; it’s an issue with the specific type of muscle fibers that help us stay agile and active. If maintaining your quality of life is a priority, focusing on preserving power is a smart investment.
Fortunately, you can take action to slow down or even reverse power loss:
Strength Training with Explosive Movements – Incorporate exercises like jump squats or kettlebell swings into your routine. These help activate fast-twitch fibers and improve power.
Short, Intense Intervals – Sprinting or quick-burst exercises stimulate the nervous system and maintain power, helping muscles react quickly when needed.
Resistance and Plyometrics – Regular resistance exercises, combined with plyometric movements (such as box jumps), can help preserve the power and resilience of fast-twitch fibers.
Taking proactive steps now can help you hold onto your muscular power and ultimately improve both the length and quality of your life.
How to Maintain and Build Power as You Age
If you want to hold onto your muscular power, focusing on explosive movements and strategic strength training can make a world of difference. Here’s how to create a routine that prioritizes power, keeping you quick, strong, and resilient as you age.
Incorporate Explosive Exercises
As we age, we often slow down simply because we stop moving quickly. Reintroduce explosive exercises like jumps (plyometric movements) and sprints to train the speed element essential for power. Plyometric exercises such as box jumps, jump squats, or even quick sprints will engage your fast-twitch fibers, helping maintain your capacity for rapid movement.Lift Heavy for Strength and Power
While you can build muscle with lighter weights by pushing close to failure, power training calls for a different approach. Heavier weights instantly recruit fast-twitch fibers, challenging them before fatigue sets in. Exercises in the 3 to 7 rep range allow you to handle significant weight while maintaining focus on strength-building, which translates to power.Train with Speed
Power isn’t just about lifting heavy; it’s also about how fast you can engage your muscles. Train with lighter weights that you can lift as quickly as possible. Studies suggest that working with about 30 to 60 percent of your one-rep max, while performing explosive reps, can effectively build peak power without excessive strain. These fast, controlled movements can improve both muscle speed and strength, leading to enhanced power output over time.
Building power is about consistency. By combining strength, speed, and explosiveness, you’ll be able to slow age-related decline, preserving not only your strength but also your quality of life well into your later years.
