Strength Training After 70: My Mom’s Bod Pod Results Show You Can Build Muscle as You Age

My mother is 76 years of age. She has been strength training consistently at Discover Strength for the past 20 years (1–2 times per week). She has also performed a Bod Pod body composition test to analyze her body fat percentage (the percentage of a person’s body weight comprised of muscle versus fat) consistently since 2017.

From 68 years of age to 76 years of age, this is what has happened with her body composition as she ages…

68 years old:

Body Fat Percentage: 39.9%
Fat Mass: 55.5 pounds
Fat-Free Mass: 83.7 pounds (this includes skeletal muscle mass, organs, and bone, but we pay attention to this number because when we add or lose muscle, it changes)
Body weight: 139.2 pounds

76 years old (about 3 weeks ago):

Body Fat Percentage: 32.7% — a 7.2% decrease in body fat
Fat Mass: 43.5 pounds — 12 pounds of fat loss
Fat-Free Mass: 89.6 pounds — an increase of 5.9 pounds of lean muscle mass
Body weight: 133.1 pounds — 6.1 pounds lost on the scale

Key Take-Home Messages / Insights on Strength Training and Aging:

The scale never tells the whole story when it comes to weight loss and body composition. Although she did lose weight, she lost a tremendous amount of body fat and added significant lean muscle mass. Her results are even better than what the scale alone indicates.

You can add muscle as you age, even into your 70s and beyond — and it’s critically important for health, longevity, and independence.

You can train hard with strength training at 60, 65, 70, 75, and up. My mom trains to momentary muscle failure.

My mom had a total knee replacement during this time period. Following surgery or illness, most people lose a significant amount of muscle mass and never regain it — leading to declines in strength, function, and quality of life. She increased her muscle across this same time period.

Strength training one to two times per week over the long haul is the key. My mom does a bit of walking but nothing else silly, gimmicky, or fad-driven (I would disown her as my mother!).

She aims to consume approximately 0.7 grams of protein per pound of body weight, but this is icing on the cake. The strength training stimulus is responsible for 95% of these benefits.

Mom, thanks for letting me share your results with 20,000 people 🙂