Can You Still Build Muscle After 60? What the Research Shows

It's one of the most common questions about aging, and the research answer is encouraging: yes, with one honest caveat. Strength responds to training at every age studied, including people in their 90s. Gains in muscle size are smaller and less consistent, especially once significant muscle loss has set in. Here's what the evidence shows.

The short answer

• Strength responds at any age. In one small study, frail nursing-home residents averaging 90 years old nearly tripled their strength (an average rise of 174%) in eight weeks of strength training. [1]
• The benefits can last. In a randomized trial of adults at retirement age, one year of supervised heavy strength training kept leg strength at its starting level four years later, while the groups that didn't lift heavy lost strength. [2]
• Muscle size is the harder part. In a 2025 review of 24 trials in older adults who already had sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss), strength training improved strength and physical function, but muscle mass didn't increase significantly. [3]
• Guidelines agree: WHO and U.S. guidelines recommend muscle-strengthening activity at least two days a week for older adults, and an international sarcopenia guideline strongly recommends strength training as the first treatment. [4, 5, 6]
• Talk to your doctor first, especially if you have heart disease, low bone density, or joint problems, or you haven't exercised in a while.

Why muscle matters more with age

• Muscle loss is gradual, not fixed: adults lose an estimated 3–8% of muscle mass per decade after 30, faster after 60. [7]
• Falls: falls are the leading cause of injury death among adults 65 and older in the U.S., with more than 43,000 deaths in 2024. [8] WHO recommends balance and strength training for older adults specifically to help prevent falls. [4]
• Living longer: in a 2022 review of 16 studies, people who did muscle-strengthening activities had about a 15% lower risk of death from any cause and a 17% lower risk of heart disease and of diabetes. The biggest benefit appeared at about 30–60 minutes a week. [9]
• Strength and survival: in a study of nearly 140,000 adults in 17 countries, each 5 kg (about 11 lb) of lower grip strength was associated with a 16% higher risk of death from any cause. [10]

These last two findings are observational: they show that strength training and good health tend to go together, not that training by itself caused the difference. The trials below test training directly.

What the training studies show

• Age 90: in a 1990 study, ten frail nursing-home residents averaging 90 years old began eight weeks of high-intensity strength training. In the nine who finished, strength rose an average of 174%. It was small and had no comparison group, but it changed how researchers thought about aging muscle. [1]
• Retirement age (LISA trial): 451 adults around retirement age were randomly assigned to one year of supervised heavy strength training, moderate-intensity training, or no training. Four years later, the heavy-training group's leg strength was still at its starting level; both other groups had declined. [2]
• Bones after menopause (LIFTMOR): 101 postmenopausal women with low bone mass were randomly assigned to eight months of supervised heavy strength and impact training twice a week, or a low-intensity home program. The training group improved spine bone density and kept their hip bone density, while the home group lost bone. [11]
• Older adults with sarcopenia: a 2025 review of 24 randomized trials (951 participants, average age about 73) found that strength training improved grip and leg strength, walking speed, and getting up from a chair, though the gains were modest. Muscle mass didn't change significantly. Three sessions a week worked better than two. [3]
• How often: WHO recommends muscle-strengthening activity on two or more days a week for older adults, plus varied activity that emphasizes balance and strength on three or more days. [4] U.S. guidelines also recommend two or more days. [5] When total weekly training is the same, studies find that training a muscle more or less often gives similar growth, so the schedule can fit your week. [12]

What about protein?

• Older adults may need more than the standard amount. An expert group on protein in aging recommends at least 1.0–1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight a day for healthy adults over 65. [13]
• More isn't always better. In a review of 49 trials in healthy adults who were strength training, the extra muscle gained from added protein leveled off at about 1.6 grams per kilogram a day. [14]
• Training comes first. The international sarcopenia guideline gives strength training a strong recommendation, but protein supplements or a protein-rich diet only a conditional one, because the evidence for protein is weaker. [6]
• If you have kidney disease or another condition that limits protein, follow your doctor's advice.

What it means

It's not too late. The strongest evidence supports strength training at least twice a week, with your doctor's OK first. Expect strength and everyday function to improve before you see much change in muscle size, and expect the benefits to last if you keep going. Protein helps, but it doesn't replace the training. You don't need a gym routine to start; you need a version small enough to do on your worst day.

Where to go from here

Longevity Basics turns this into a plan: Chapter 1 covers muscle, with a Minimum Viable Practice small enough to start this week and a 12-week plan to build from there. The book's Living Toolkit has the Field Card and printable journal pages to track it.

Sources

1. Fiatarone MA, Marks EC, Ryan ND, et al. High-Intensity Strength Training in Nonagenarians: Effects on Skeletal Muscle. JAMA. 1990;263(22):3029–3034. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.1990.03440220053029
2. Boraxbekk CJ, Kjaer M, et al. Heavy resistance training at retirement age induces 4-year lasting beneficial effects in muscle strength: a long-term follow-up of an RCT. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine. 2024. https://doaj.org/article/4ec64b15486c4eeeaf8ee8279bd76945
3. Optimal resistance training prescriptions to improve muscle strength, physical function, and muscle mass in older adults diagnosed with sarcopenia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-025-03235-w
4. World Health Organization. Physical activity (fact sheet). Updated June 26, 2024. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity
5. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition. 2018. https://odphp.health.gov/our-work/nutrition-physical-activity/physical-activity-guidelines
6. Dent E, Morley JE, Cruz-Jentoft AJ, et al. International Clinical Practice Guidelines for Sarcopenia (ICFSR): Screening, Diagnosis and Management. J Nutr Health Aging. 2018;22(10):1148–1161. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-018-1139-9
7. Volpi E, Nazemi R, Fujita S. Muscle Tissue Changes With Aging. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2004;7(4):405–410. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.mco.0000134362.76653.b2
8. CDC. About Older Adult Fall Prevention. Last updated September 4, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/falls/about/index.html
9. Momma H, Kawakami R, Honda T, Sawada SS. Muscle-strengthening activities are associated with lower risk and mortality in major non-communicable diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. Br J Sports Med. 2022;56(13):755. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2021-104765
10. Leong DP, Teo KK, Rangarajan S, et al. Prognostic Value of Grip Strength: Findings From the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) Study. The Lancet. 2015;386(9990):266–273. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)62000-6
11. Watson SL, Weeks BK, Weis LJ, et al. High-Intensity Resistance and Impact Training Improves Bone Mineral Density and Physical Function in Postmenopausal Women With Osteopenia and Osteoporosis: The LIFTMOR Randomized Controlled Trial. J Bone Miner Res. 2018;33(2):211–220. https://doi.org/10.1002/jbmr.3284
12. Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Krieger J. How Many Times per Week Should a Muscle Be Trained to Maximize Muscle Hypertrophy? J Sports Sci. 2019;37(11):1286–1295. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2018.1555906
13. Bauer J, Biolo G, Cederholm T, et al. Evidence-Based Recommendations for Optimal Dietary Protein Intake in Older People: A Position Paper From the PROT-AGE Study Group. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2013;14(8):542–559. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2013.05.021
14. Morton RW, Murphy KT, McKellar SR, et al. A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression of the Effect of Protein Supplementation on Resistance Training-Induced Gains in Muscle Mass and Strength in Healthy Adults. Br J Sports Med. 2018;52(6):376–384. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2017-097608

This page is for general education, not medical advice. Talk with your doctor about your own situation.