After 55, strength is the first thing to go, and only a load that resists the muscle maintains it.

Why it matters

A man who trains at home opens the door of the hotel gym and sees three treadmills, a bike, two 8 kg dumbbells. He closes the door. For him, it is not a strength room, it is a waiting room.

Strength is at the heart of the first protocol explored by IO8: maintaining muscle mass and strength in men aged 55 and over.

What science establishes

Sarcopenia is defined first by strength. The European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2) revised its definition in 2019: low muscle strength is now its principal sign; muscle quantity and quality confirm it, and physical performance measures its severity. Sarcopenia is common in older people, but can begin earlier. Cruz-Jentoft et al., 2019. Established.

Grip strength tells us about the future. In the PURE study, conducted in 17 countries on nearly 140,000 adults aged 35 to 70 followed for about four years, each 5 kg drop in grip strength is associated with a 16 % higher risk of all-cause death. Grip strength predicted death better than systolic blood pressure. Leong et al., 2015. Established as an association; the authors point out that it remains to be shown that gaining strength reduces this risk.

Resistance training works at any adult age. A meta-analysis of 47 studies, 1,079 participants aged 50 and over, shows strength gains of 24 to 33 % depending on the exercise, greater when intensity is higher. Peterson et al., 2010. A second, of 49 studies and 1,328 participants, shows an average gain of 1.1 kg of lean mass, greater with a higher training volume, slightly smaller in the oldest. Peterson et al., 2011. Established.

Cardio does not replace load. A meta-analysis of cohorts associates muscle-strengthening activities with a 10 to 17 % lower risk of all-cause death, independently of aerobic activity, with the maximum benefit observed at around 30 to 60 minutes per week. The combination of the two is associated with the lowest risk. Momma et al., 2022. Established as an association.

What is emerging

Beyond one hour a week, the curve flattens. In the same meta-analysis, the relationship between strengthening volume and mortality takes a J shape: the associated benefit does not keep increasing beyond about one hour a week. Momma et al., 2022. The meaning of this plateau is not yet understood. Emerging.

Protein supports training, without replacing it. A meta-analysis of 49 trials, 1,863 healthy adults, shows that protein intake added to resistance training slightly increases gains in strength and lean mass. The effect decreases with age and plateaus at around 1.6 g per kilo of body weight per day. Morton et al., 2018. Emerging for those over 55, who are under-represented.

What we refuse to say

We do not say that a strength room at a hotel rejuvenates or lengthens life. Cohort studies show associations, not a cause.

We do not say that a stay of a few nights changes muscle mass. It makes it possible not to interrupt training, which is different.

We do not say that a supplement, a machine or a technology replaces progressive loading. No study shows it.

What a hotel can do

Why the gym is not enough. Hotel gyms are designed for cardio and for a guest who is “keeping fit”. The trained guest is looking for a way to lift heavy, safely, on the major movements: squat, deadlift, press, row.

Minimum baseline (around 3,000 to 6,000 € for the room). A rack with safety bars, an Olympic bar and plates up to a high total load, an adjustable bench, dumbbells up to at least 30 kg per hand, a protected floor, a pull-up bar. A grip dynamometer in open access, so that the guest can track their own strength.

Optimised baseline (around a few thousand euros more). A connected strength-training machine that adjusts the resistance and records the session, and bookable coaching sessions, to be included in the spa's longevity menu (60 to 150 € per session). For guests who prefer their room, a device from the IO8 stack made available (50 € per night, against a card pre-authorisation).

The target. A gym where a trained 60-year-old man can do his usual session without cutting it down. These orders of magnitude are indicative, to be confirmed by quote.

What the Living Lab measures

Measurement planned. The Living Lab, near Lisbon, is being equipped in waves. Grip strength, the load lifted on the major movements, and changes in body composition of the participants in the first protocol will be measured at regular intervals.

Each reading will be published here, dated, with no identifiable individual data.

Sources

• Cruz-Jentoft AJ et al. Sarcopenia: revised European consensus on definition and diagnosis. Age Ageing, 2019. doi:10.1093/ageing/afy169
• Leong DP et al. Prognostic value of grip strength: findings from the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. Lancet, 2015. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(14)62000-6
• Peterson MD et al. Resistance exercise for muscular strength in older adults: a meta-analysis. Ageing Res Rev, 2010. doi:10.1016/j.arr.2010.03.004
• Peterson MD et al. Influence of resistance exercise on lean body mass in aging adults: a meta-analysis. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 2011. doi:10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181eb6265
• Momma H et al. 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. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2021-105061
• Morton RW 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. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2017-097608

The longevity audit for venues  ·  The Research Journal

IO8 Living Lab, near Lisbon. Measured, never promised.

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