Research
Mixed
Aging leads to a loss of spinal motor neurons and muscle fibers, resulting in sarcopenia and reduced functional capacity, which strength training can partially compensate for.
Understand that muscle loss with age is partly due to nerve loss. Regular strength training can help maintain muscle and function.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Aging is characterized by loss of spinal motor neurons (MNs) due to apoptosis... The age-related loss of spinal MNs is paralleled by a reduction in muscle fiber number and size (sarcopenia), resulting in impaired mechanical muscle performance that in turn leads to a reduced functional capacity during everyday tasks.
Why this rating
Review of multiple studies.
Source
Role of the nervous system in sarcopenia and muscle atrophy with aging: strength training as a countermeasure
Per Aagaard et al. · Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports · 2010
DOI 10.1111/j.1600-0838.2009.01084.x
narrative_reviewCited 701×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Strength training effectively counteracts age-related sarcopenia and loss of neuromuscular function by inducing muscle hypertrophy and improving neural drive, even in individuals over 80 years old.Good
- Strength training increases maximum motor neuron firing frequency in the elderly, eliminating age-related differences in this neural parameter.Good
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