The Study
Muscle Mass and Strength Gains Following Resistance Exercise Training in Older Adults 65-75 Years and Older Adults Above 85 Years.
This study shows that older people who did strength training got stronger and built more muscle, but we can't say for sure that the training was the reason because the study didn't use a fair test with random groups. It's like noticing that people who eat apples are healthier, but not knowing if apples are the cause.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
This study looked at whether older adults, even those over 85, can gain muscle and strength from weight training like younger seniors can.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 539 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes, these results are meaningful—older adults, even those over 85, gained muscle and strength just like younger seniors, showing that aging doesn’t stop muscle growth from exercise.
- 2After 12 weeks of weight training: muscle size went up by about 10–11%, strength increased by 38–46%, and lean body mass rose by 2%—both in people 65–75 and those over 85.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
International journal of sport nutrition and exercise metabolism
Year
2023
Authors
G. Marzuca-Nassr, Andrea Alegría-Molina, Yuri SanMartín-Calísto, Macarena Artigas-Arias, Nolberto Huard, Jorge Sapunar, Luis A Salazar, L. Verdijk, Luc J. C. van Loon
Related Content
Claims (4)
Everyone can build muscle with consistent strength training over time — if you didn’t gain muscle once, it’s probably not your genes, just that specific training phase didn’t work for you.
Doing full-body strength training three times a week for three months can boost thigh muscle size by about 10–11% in older adults, even for those over 85 — showing that very old age doesn’t stop muscles from growing with exercise.
Older adults, even those over 85, can gain just as much leg strength as younger seniors from 12 weeks of regular weight training — and some even gain a bit more!
Doing full-body strength training three times a week for three months helps older adults, even those over 85, gain about 2% more muscle — and it works just as well for the very elderly as it does for the 'younger' elderly.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.