Building muscle after 50: your body still responds.

In the mirror your thighs and arms look thinner, yet the scales read the same as ten years ago. You wonder whether building muscle after 50 is still possible.

Same weight, less muscle underneath. That muscle can be rebuilt. I see it in the people I work with.

Muscle loss after 50: the numbers

Usually one to two per cent a year, and after sixty the decline can reach three. People who train with weights lose far less. Strength falls with muscle, and power, strength used quickly, tends to go first. You notice it in everyday movements.

• Your grip. Jars and shopping bags get harder to hold.
• The floor. You look for support to get up.
• Your clothes. Loose on thighs and shoulders, tight at the waist.

Can you build muscle after 50?

Yes, men and women alike. Muscle usually needs a clearer signal and longer to rebuild.

The signal gets fainter. With age, the same session and the same meal tend to register less. Muscle grows mainly from how hard the load makes it work. Lots of sets stopped well short of fatigue tell it little.

The same goes for women. In relative terms, men and women build muscle at a similar rate. After the menopause the loss tends to speed up, and strength training has been shown to increase muscle and strength.

Starting now means fast progress. The most visible gains come in the first two years of lifting, and with few sets. Start at fifty-five and that's where you are.

Loads, sets and recovery: the dose that works

Count your weekly sets. To maintain muscle mass, two strength sessions a week are usually enough. To add to it, the weekly total matters: about ten sets per muscle group. Over two sessions that's five each time: two exercises of two or three sets for legs, and the same for pushing and pulling. Over three sessions, three or four. Get there one set at a time.

Close to your limit. Eight to twelve reps, with a weight that leaves two in the tank. If a joint complains, go lighter and do more reps. Muscle can still grow if the last few are hard. Coming back after years off? Keep the first month light.

Reps first, then weight. Going from a two-kilo dumbbell to a three is a fifty per cent jump. Add a rep first, every week or two, and move up when you reach twelve.

Recover properly. Forty-eight hours between sessions, because that's when muscle grows. Most people read heavy soreness as proof of a good session. A little is normal, but if stairs are a struggle, drop a set. Every four to eight weeks, take an easier week.

Sleep seven to eight hours. In deep sleep your body repairs and builds the muscle you trained. Cut your sleep to train at dawn and you're working against yourself.

Protein at every meal. If you train, 1.6 to 2.2 grams per kilo a day and 20 to 40 per meal. The sums are in the article on protein.

Start with the count: this week's sets, group by group. Muscle stays as long as you use it, and consistency pays better than the heroic session.