Muscle health: strength, movement, and ageing well

Muscle does more than power movement. It supports strength, balance, posture, and the ability to keep doing everyday things independently — and maintaining it becomes more important, not less, as we get older.

This guide covers the basics, grounded in current physical-activity evidence.

Why muscle matters across life

From early adulthood onwards, muscle is gradually lost unless it's actively maintained. That loss can affect strength, mobility, and balance over time. The encouraging part is that muscle responds to use at any age: regular activity that challenges your muscles helps maintain and rebuild them.

How muscle is maintained

The most reliable way to maintain muscle is regular resistance activity — that is, movement that makes your muscles work against some form of resistance. This can take many forms:

• Bodyweight movements such as squats, sit-to-stands, and wall press-ups
• Resistance bands
• Weights, including everyday objects
• Activities like carrying, gardening, and climbing stairs

Health guidance generally recommends including muscle-strengthening activity on at least a couple of days each week, alongside other movement.

Getting started safely

If you're new to this kind of activity, or have a health condition, it's worth getting tailored advice. Starting gently and building up gradually is both safer and more sustainable than doing too much too soon.

This page replaces a former commercial page at this address with general, evidence-based information. For a programme suited to you, a qualified physical activity or healthcare professional can help.