Old Jocks R Us

 Got a message from another old guy wanting to know about ways to fight the ravages of sarcopenia and osteopenia. Those are, respectively, 1) age-related loss of skeletal muscle and 2) bone-mass. These are going to happen no matter what you do; however you can slow the process.

No magic pill, it’s the same stuff you should have already been doing: Diet and exercise. There are some supplements that’ll help.

Speaking to the diet, sarcopenia: High-quality protein, adequate vitamins and minerals, enough water from one’s youth forward are the best bet. Too late for that once you get old -- how effective diet is? Unclear. Still, if you want to build muscle, protein is necessary. A diet designed to keep you lean and healthy will serve better than junk food. Cut down on sugar, salt, alcohol, and don’t smoke.

Speaking to the exercises for scarcopenia: Resistance training, weight-bearing exercises, are necessary. Walking is good; mid-to-high intensity iron-pumping is better. You can't skip leg-day. Walking with a backpack holding a couple of barbell plates, or a weighted vest is better than walking unburdened for building muscle. Swimming, cycling, dancing, will help here, but lifting weights seems to be the best. One's knees or hips might not allow heavy squats, but lighter weights are better than no weights.

Osteopenia diet? Calcium, magnesium, Vitamins, especially D, C, K, omega-3’s; green and leafy vegetables; fruit. There are non-dairy sources of calcium for those who are lactose intolerant. Nuts, seeds, soy products, milk or cheese-ersatz from plants.

Exercises for osteopenia: walking, stair-climbing, squats, lunges, dancing, some forms of yoga, tai chi. Some of these are better with weights than without, if you can manage. Swimming, rowing, or cycling are good for your heart, lungs, and muscles, but they don’t qualify as weight-bearing exercises, which is you against gravity, and the stronger your legs at doing this, the less brittle your bones are apt to be.

Supplements? Naturally, you should check with somebody who knows nutrition before haring off into supplement-land, and this might not necessarily be your PCP. Sports-nutrition isn’t aimed at the same folks who are merely trying to avoid scurvy. If your doctor is a jock? Maybe they know. Maybe not. Check with your PCP to make sure changes in diet and exercise are allowed.

I take assorted supplements, and those might not be right for you, so you should do your own research. Two that I have found useful for somebody my age are creatine and HMB, both of which have studies to show that they are effective in growing and/or reducing loss of muscle, especially in older jocks. Easy to find these real-science studies, go look and see what's there.

Gravity always wins in the end, but you can maybe stave it off and have a higher-quality of life until it claims you. Longer you keep moving, longer you stay ahead of it.