Fitness for older athletes - advice needed

[osprey]

The formula for preventing muscle loss that comes with age is different from the one for strength and efficiency.
[/quote]

Can you be more specific? In what way are they different?

[disentangled]

Just curious, in terms of maintaining muscle mass, how many grams protein / day do you guys usually hit?

[seannunn]

Just curious, in terms of maintaining muscle mass, how many grams protein / day do you guys usually hit?

Personally I don't have an exact measurement but I would guess 70g. For reference I weigh 70-72 kg, so one gram/kg body weight per day.
IMO how much protein you intake (beyond a certain minimum) isn't NEARLY as important as heavy lifting/resistance training is.

My AARP magazine recommends 25g per meal for everyone over 55, which I think is ridiculous.
If you are 90 pounds and you are consuming 75g or more of protein a day and are losing muscle mass, it isn't because of your diet.

Sean Nunn
Peculiar, MO

[pbakwin]

Most sports physiologists seem to be recommending around 1.6g/kg/day for older athletes. We need more protein to maintain or build strength as we age.

[Jorts]

The formula for preventing muscle loss that comes with age is different from the one for strength and efficiency.

Can you be more specific? In what way are they different?
[/quote]

You’re going to find the most hypertrophy with somewhat lower weight, somewhat higher reps. Especially approaching failure. You’re going to find the most strength relative to body mass lifting a little heavier, with a little lower reps.

There are different strategies of periodization with lifting though. Cycling between high/low and low/high can yield great results.

I was just pushing back on the idea that the muscular endurance that comes with lower weight/higher reps gives more muscular endurance for downhill hiking. I generally disagree on that. Better off hiking downhill with a little extra weight to get that eccentric specificity muscular endurance. I’m not coming from a background of being an expert on the topic though. Strictly anecdotal and second hand understanding.

[osprey]

^
Thank you.

[seannunn]

Most sports physiologists seem to be recommending around 1.6g/kg/day for older athletes. We need more protein to maintain or build strength as we age.

OK, fair enough. I will take you at your word.
My personal experiment over the last 3 years or so (n=1) is that I have been able to maintain both upper and lower body strength on less than that.
Or maybe I am just underestimating my protein intake.

Also n=1 experiments are dangerous to extrapolate from.

Sean Nunn
Peculiar, MO

[LarryM]

Most sports physiologists seem to be recommending around 1.6g/kg/day for older athletes. We need more protein to maintain or build strength as we age.

OK, fair enough. I will take you at your word.
My personal experiment over the last 3 years or so (n=1) is that I have been able to maintain both upper and lower body strength on less than that.
Or maybe I am just underestimating my protein intake.

Also n=1 experiments are dangerous to extrapolate from.

Sean Nunn
Peculiar, MO

I think "underestimating my protein intake" may be the issue. That said, I have decided to somewhat up my protein intake - partly based on this thread, partly because I'm back in the gym (which was the plan even before I started this thread, but this thread did give me the final push I needed).

[justiner]

Upping your protein is pretty safe to do, but before you do any diet intervention, consider making a food diary to get a better idea on just what you're eating now. So if you make any changes, you can compare. This is also a good idea to do when considering upping sodium or other electrolytes - do you feel better or worse? (total cals, too). A google sheet with some formulas or a phone app can really help out.

For example, when I go on some very stenuous backpacking trips, I'll create a sheet with all my food I'm going to bring and see what total cals are, macro %'s, sodium and other electrolytes and fiber as well. I was feeling cruddy and thought maybe I needed for sodium than usual, but after I started using a spreadsheet the problem was extra sodium needed in diet for backpacking, but to start with at least as much as I was taking in on a regular day -- I was done many grams/day with the food I usually brought. Big whoops.

And Larry, you really have to give yourself credit on just how healthy and active you've stayed, I've always been very impressed myself.

[davemktg]

Larry, I've been looking at the same for a few years. I'm 65 and primarily trail run and road/gravel bike for my training. My Joints and muscles are doing ok though less powerful, but that's not my issue. My key finding is that my ability to take in oxygen at altitude is greatly compromised, and it impacts my mountain running more all the time. I used to run at 13k decently well, but these days I start fading above 10k quickly, and every bit of running is a push up there. I used a pulse oximeter at a 55k race Saturday that took us to 10500, and my measurement there was 77%. I usually hit 95-96% in town. It's caused me to drop out of running races several times, yet I do just fine lower down. In that race on Saturday I struggled on the slopes and coming down, but when we hit the flatter lower terrain of the last few miles I perked up and could run better.

Yeah, age has slowed me down overall, but for me this oxygen intake issue seems to be the big one. Am I doing as much interval training as I used to? No. Do I work at track or doing hill repeats as much? No. So are those the reasons I'm fading up there? I'm guessing some, but that's not the only thing. Age just reducing my ability? Again, I'm guessing some, but not all.

I'm working with a homeopath to look at possible mineral/blood chemistry issues, and I'll probably try other things too. I'm sure interested to see how much I might turn this around, and I'd love to hear more of what you and others are learning.

[LarryM]

Thanks Justin & Dave!

Regarding oxygen intake, that definitely gives me some food for thought. I’ve never used an oximeter, but I think I’ll buy one & start using it. I don’t perceive that I’ve lost much oxygen intake at elevation, but as I said my breathing is lagging behind my heart rate health at any elevation, so some data might be helpful. I am also going to make an appointment with my PCP to talk about asthma management.

[Fast Jimm]

I'm 55 and don't have a lot to add to what's already covered- aside from recommending the MORE side vs the PROBABLY OK side for protein intake. 25 grams per meal sounds like very sound advice and I try to do that and 1.6 Grams/KG (or 130 grams for me at 180 Lbs) is a where I try to be every day as a minimum with notable results in muscle retention.

Altitude: This seems to be the biggest effect difference for me. When I was in my early 40's, I could dash up Peak One in Frisco (3700 feet of climb to 12800) on the first day in Colorado, linger on the top, generally feel great! I did the climb last September and it took everything I had to get up there and I stayed exactly one minute before retreating quickly. If the summit had been another 300-500 feet higher, I would have had to give it up! I doubt there are any real fixes to this age related decline but I'm not sure it matters. I still managed to get stronger on days 2-4 and hit Lincoln via the Ampitheater on Day 3 and while I was tired and slow above 12k, I felt zero signs of AMS.

Update: Did a 8/2026 trip with my younger brother and was able to get to the Citadel on day 1 and play around on both summits at 13300 for an hour or so. Was exhausted after the day was done, but we then kept going back out on subsequent days without much trouble: Deming, Helen, Decalibron, rest day, Alice (18 miles). I now feel that the earlier trip must have been struggling against some kind of illness or stress as I suffered more in the Ampitheater on Lincoln (Day 3) than anywhere else in my past.

TLDR: To the 20-40 year olds: You'll have plenty of gas left in the tank when you get older if you take care of your overall health starting now and stopping never.