Muscle, Protein, and Strength Training for Older Adults is Crucial
Why older bodies can respond less to protein, and how lifting can fix it.
Older adults do not respond to protein and strength training the way younger people do, and that “blunted” response is now considered the core engine driving age‑related muscle loss and frailty. This narrative synthesis pulls together clinical and translational research from 2010 to 2025 to explain why aging muscle becomes resistant to building new protein, how inactivity makes the problem worse, and which training and nutrition strategies can realistically “re‑sensitise” older muscle so it can grow and stay strong again.
For lifters and active older adults, the central message is clear: resistance training plus higher, evenly spread protein intake (and possibly creatine) can meaningfully counteract anabolic resistance and slow or prevent sarcopenia. Let’s break it down.
Aim
To explain the mechanisms behind anabolic resistance in aging muscle, especially impaired muscle protein synthesis (MPS) responses to food and exercise.
To summarise practical, evidence‑based strategies, mainly resistance training, protein nutrition, and key supplements, that can restore anabolic sensitivity and help prevent or slow sarcopenia in older adults.
Methods
Design: Narrative synthesis (not a new trial) integrating peer‑reviewed clinical and translational studies on anabolic resistance, MPS, and sarcopenia.
Search: Structured searches in PubMed and Scopus for January 2010–March 2025 using terms including “anabolic resistance”, “muscle protein synthesis”, “sarcopenia”, “resistance training”, “aging”, and “protein intake”.
Inclusion: Human studies in older adults that examined mechanisms or interventions (training, nutrition, supplements) and reported outcomes like MPS, strength, or sarcopenia‑related markers; non‑English, animal‑only work, and case reports were excluded.
Results
What is Anabolic Resistance?
Anabolic resistance is a reduced MPS response to normal anabolic “signals” such as dietary amino acids and mechanical loading, shifting the balance toward breakdown and gradual muscle loss.
Sarcopenia affects roughly 10–16% of older adults and is projected to impact over 200 million people by 2050, with anabolic resistance identified as the central pathophysiological driver rather than a minor side issue.
