Around age 50, muscle strength—the ability to exert force or lift a heavy resistance—drops by about 3% per year, while muscle mass falls by about 1% per year.^[1]

The fix to this is simple: Resistance training and an adequate protein intake. Engaging in strength training 2–3 times per week and consuming 1.2–1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day can help one maintain—and even build—muscle mass and muscle strength as they age.

It's not inevitable that we lose muscle as we get older. But it takes work.

These drops in muscle strength and mass might seem drastic, but muscle power might experience even more drastic changes.

In fact, muscle power is so important that researchers have proposed a new term for the age-related loss of muscle power: powerpenia (a friendly nod to the more well-known term sarcopenia, which refers to the age-related loss of muscle mass).^[2]

Fitness outperforms fatness for longevity

"When body fatness was measured using body fat percentage or the fat index, the protective effect of muscle power was mitigated—only lean and powerful participants experienced a mortality benefit. This highlights the continued importance of minimizing excess adiposity for long-term health, even when physical fitness is optimized."- Dr. Rhonda Patrick Click To Tweet

Muscle power—your ability to generate force quickly—is one of the strongest predictors of longevity, even more so than being lean. This is sometimes referred to as the 'fat but powerful' paradox.

In one study, older adults with normal and high levels of relative muscle power had better 9-year survival than older adults with low muscle power.^[3]

Muscle power was even protective against death in older adults with high levels of body fatness measured using BMI and waist circumference.

Being fat and powerful reduced mortality just as much as being lean and powerful—by 43–45%.

Being lean and weak, however, provided no survival advantage compared to being fat and weak.

Interestingly, when body fatness was measured using body fat percentage or the fat index (body fat % normalized to height), the protective effect of muscle power was mitigated—only lean and powerful participants experienced a mortality benefit. This highlights the continued importance of minimizing excess adiposity for long-term health, even when physical fitness is optimized.

Muscle power is an underappreciated aging biomarker

"Muscle power is more strongly associated with critical functional outcomes, such as mobility, fall prevention, and physical independence in older adults, compared to muscle strength or muscle mass."- Dr. Rhonda Patrick Click To Tweet

Why are researchers suggesting that we discriminate the loss of muscle strength and mass (sarcopenia) from muscle power (powerpenia)?

There are several reasons:

• Greater decline with age: Muscle power declines more rapidly than muscle mass or strength during aging. This accelerated loss makes power a more sensitive marker of aging and functional decline.

• Functional relevance: Muscle power is more strongly associated with critical functional outcomes, such as mobility, fall prevention, and physical independence in older adults, compared to muscle strength or muscle mass.

• Different mechanisms govern muscle power compared to muscle mass and strength: Muscle power involves the product of force and velocity, requiring both neuromuscular coordination and muscle contractility. This differentiates it from strength, which only measures maximal force, and mass, which focuses solely on size. Independent predictive value: Loss of muscle power (termed “powerpenia”) is a better predictor of adverse health outcomes, such as falls and mortality, compared to strength or mass, particularly in clinical and aging populations.

Training for power

"Power training, which emphasizes speed and velocity of muscle contractions, provides unique benefits for improving functional outcomes that traditional strength training does not. This type of training typically produces 10–97% greater improvements in muscle power when compared to traditional strength training."- Dr. Rhonda Patrick Click To Tweet

If muscle power is so important—and the loss of it so detrimental to health and physical function—the question then becomes: How do we improve it? The answer: High-velocity resistance training—also referred to as power training. Power training, which emphasizes speed and velocity of muscle contractions, provides unique benefits for improving functional outcomes that traditional strength training does not. This type of training typically produces 10–97% greater improvements in muscle power when compared to traditional strength training.^[4]

In power training, one emphasizes the concentric phase of the exercise (think the lifting phase of a bicep curl or the pushing phase of a bench press), performing it as fast as possible while maintaining proper form. Here's an example:

• Multiple-joint exercises that target major muscle groups of the upper and lower body.
• Loading intensities typically range from 40% to 80% of one-repetition maximum (1RM).
• Sets and repetitions vary depending on the individual's fitness level and training goals, but typically involve 2-3 sets of 6-10 repetitions.
• The concentric phase of each repetition should be performed as fast as possible while maintaining proper form.
• The eccentric phase of each repetition (e.g. lowering phase of a bicep curl) can be performed at a slower, controlled pace.

Power training can also involve climbing stairs quickly with a weighted vest or while holding dumbbells or performing exercises such as chair stands, step-ups, and push-ups at a fast velocity while wearing a weighted vest. It's all about speed of movement!

Measuring muscle power

How can you measure your muscle power and track improvements? There are a few quick tests that don't require a lot of equipment and are suitable for most adults. Always perform these with supervision.

• Vertical jump test: Use a tape measure and a wall to determine how high you can jump with one maximal effort.
• Chair stands: Measure how long it takes you to rise from a chair 10 times or how many times you can rise from a chair in 30 seconds.
• Stair climbing: Measure how long it takes you to ascend a flight of stairs as fast as possible.