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Case Study: Aging Essay
Nash Fountain is currently 55 years old and used to be the world Decathlon champion at
the young age of 25 years old. He is now 30 years older and is expressing concern to me about
how he has been feeling. He is feeling that he has less power, strength, speed, cardiorespiratory
endurance, and muscle-mass than when he was 25 years old despite being the same weight, he
was at 25 years old which is 150 pounds. It appears that there are many people in their 50’s that
relate to the struggles that Nash is experiencing with a decline in athletic performance that they
were able to achieve before at their “prime”. Nash asks why this is the case and wants to
understand what is going on with him and why he doesn’t feel the same as he did in his 20’s.
One of his concerns was feelings of less strength and muscle-mass. In exercise
physiology we have seen a decline in strength of 10% between the ages of 20 and 50, and the
decline is much faster after the age of 50, with everyone being different, but on average having a
muscle mass loss at a rate of about 1-2% for both men and women every year (Powers &
Howley, 2021). The loss in strength can be attributed partly to the fact that as we get older, we
lose interest in physical activity. However, most of this issue is due to a condition called
sarcopenia. Sarcopenia is the decline of skeletal muscle tissue in older adults of about 60+ years
old, which causes a functional decline in these individuals and a loss of independence as well
(Powers & Howley, 2021). Nash may be experiencing the beginnings of this condition.
The developing of sarcopenia is due to a decrease in the amount of muscle fibers that are
present in the muscle coupled with a decrease in the size of the muscle fibers that are left in the
muscle. (Powers & Howley, 2021). Although sarcopenia can be very devastating for active older
adults such as Nash, it is not something that is inevitable for every older adult. There are several
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factors that contribute to the development of sarcopenia. These include long periods of inactivity,
oxidative stress due to free radical-mediated damage to muscle fibers, inflammation, and natural
changes such as decreases in hormones such as testosterone. Because of this, both men and
women that are aging can stand to lose 40-60% of their total muscle mass from ages 50 to about
80. (Powers & Howley, 2021). However, there is good news. Maintaining muscle mass into
aging simply consists of integrating a lifelong strength training exercise program. This can cause
maintenance of muscle mass and strength in individuals, and improper cardiorespiratory fitness
as well as improving and strengthening the bones (Powers & Howley, 2021).
I would provide all this information to Nash as well as suggestions of a good strength
training program that can help them retain muscle mass. What we would aim to do is challenge
the muscle and bone as oxidation happens in the body. When the bones are not trained or have
consistent movement, it results in the loss of bone mass and bone density, as well as size and
strength of the bone. Impact training helps to prevent this issue from happening. (Powers &
Howley, 2021). VO2 max also declines as you get older, and cardiovascular endurance as well.
This is another issue that must include endurance training to prevent it.
I would absolutely recommend resistance training for this type of client. This would
cover every single one of his concerns and would assist in preventing sarcopenia. Resistance
training increases muscular strength as well as changes in the nervous system that would result in
the physical strength that will make Nash very confident and happy. I would primarily start with
bodyweight exercises, cardiovascular exercises, and then start incorporating dumbbell exercises
as well. Nash should start feeling stronger after several months of consistently training in this
manner and should start to see positive changes in the way he feels, especially when incorporated
with a healthy diet that includes plenty of protein to aid in the muscle building process.
