The skeletal muscles

  • Reduction in muscle strength and muscle mass
  • Proceeds differently in various muscle groups, but most markedly in the underarm flexors and the muscles that hold up the body (Ufland in Theimer 1973, 87)
  • Decrease in muscle mass as a reduction of muscle strength (Bugyi in Platt 1976, 87)
  • Close correlation between decrease in muscular performance and reduction of the sex hormones (Hettinger 1966, 28/103)
  • Weight training can slow down the decrease of muscle mass considerably!

fig.3 Changes in the strength in Old Age graph