If you notice that your handshake is getting weaker, a walk to the car with groceries is becoming more difficult or lifting yourself out of a chair is sometimes a struggle, you may be experiencing muscle loss. It’s something that comes with aging, inactivity, malnutrition or certain health conditions, but it’s also a result of rapid weight loss and a growing concern for people taking weight loss medications.
According to Suzette Pereira, a muscle health research scientist also working with Abbott, muscle “plays a huge role” in terms of a person’s motility, or ability to move, and energy levels; research has also linked it to supporting the immune system.
One way to do that is by engaging in movement and exercise, as Pereira says there’s a “use it or lose it” mindset when it comes to muscle mass. But that’s only one piece of the puzzle.
Ahead, experts share simple tips to offset muscle loss.
Hit your weekly exercise goals
Prado says that physical activity is a way to slow down all the major hallmarks of aging, including muscle loss. In the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes, the current recommendation for adults is 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and two days of muscle strengthening activity per week. The more intense a workout is, the less time needed to hit that weekly target; jogging, or taking part in another vigorous activity, for 75 minutes each week is the equivalent of 150 minutes of brisk walking, for example.
Up your protein
Williams recommends getting 25 to 30 grams of protein with each meal. She points to protein shakes as an efficient way to increase protein intake and offset muscle loss.
Protein powders are even more versatile, according to registered dietitian Avery Zenker. Zenker also recommends food swaps, like replacing regular pasta with chickpea pasta as a convenient way to make meals more nutrient-dense.
Try rucking
Eric Cohen, a CrossFit trainer and the co-founder of 99 Walks, recommends rucking, which is walking with a weighted pack on your back. While there are specialty weighted rucking packs available, filling a backpack with some water bottles or books also does the trick.
According to Cohen, rucking “has double value as it also builds cardiovascular fitness at the same time.” It’s accessible and allows for building up weight and duration over time, he adds.
Do squats
Squats are perfect for stimulating muscles, according to certified personal trainer and strength and conditioning coach Natalie Kollars. For an extra challenge, hold a barbell while you lower and lift.
Kollars recommends pushing the heels through the ground on the way back up, and pulling the belly button in toward the spine “to keep the abs tight” during the move.