Published Oct 27, 2026 | 7:15 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 27, 2026 | 7:15 AM
Muscle mass and strength can decline gradually throughout adulthood, even when body weight remains relatively stable.
Synopsis: Walking 150 minutes a week supports cardiovascular health, but may not be enough to maintain muscle strength. Experts explain how strength training complements aerobic exercise by improving glucose regulation, preserving muscle mass, supporting bone health and maintaining mobility. They also outline why starting early and exercising consistently can help protect physical independence as people age.
Walking is one of the simplest ways to stay physically active. It improves cardiovascular fitness, supports blood glucose regulation and helps maintain mobility. But even people who walk regularly may overlook another important component of physical activity: strength training.
While brisk walking helps build endurance, exercises that make muscles work against resistance can help preserve muscle mass, improve strength and support metabolic health. as people age, when declining muscle strength can affect everything from climbing stairs to maintaining independence.
“Walking is an excellent exercise and should certainly be part of an older person’s routine. It helps cardiovascular fitness, endurance, circulation and joint mobility,” said Dr Geetish Kori, an orthopaedics and spine specialist at Apollo Spectra Hospital, Bengaluru to South First.
“But walking and strength training do different jobs. Walking keeps us active, but it may not provide enough resistance to maintain muscle strength, particularly in the thighs, hips, back and upper body,” he said.
Skeletal muscle is one of the body’s major sites for absorbing glucose from the bloodstream. During physical activity, contracting muscles use glucose for energy through pathways that do not rely entirely on insulin.
Dr Ravi Kesari, consultant in internal medicine at Apollo Spectra Hospital, Bengaluru, explained how this process helps regulate blood sugar.
“After a meal, insulin helps move glucose into muscle cells, where it is used for energy or stored as glycogen for future use. During physical activity, muscle contractions also help glucose enter these cells, even without depending entirely on insulin,” he told South First.
Insulin is the hormone that helps glucose move from the bloodstream into cells. When the body becomes less responsive to insulin, a condition known as insulin resistance, glucose regulation becomes more difficult and can contribute to type 2 diabetes.
Regular resistance training helps maintain muscle mass and can improve the muscles’ response to insulin.
“Regular resistance training, such as lifting weights or performing squats, helps build and maintain muscle mass, increasing the body’s capacity to absorb and store glucose. It can also improve the muscles’ response to insulin,” Dr Kesari said.
However, strength training alone cannot guarantee protection against diabetes. Its benefits depend on factors including a person’s health, exercise consistency and overall lifestyle.
Dr Nagma B, a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at Narayana Hospital, Mysuru, said aerobic and resistance exercises can both improve insulin sensitivity, although they produce different adaptations.
“Aerobic activity increases glucose utilisation and improves cardiovascular fitness. Resistance training helps preserve or increase muscle mass and improves the way muscles respond to insulin,” she told South First.
For people who already walk regularly, adding strength exercises can address another aspect of health without replacing the benefits of aerobic activity.
Walking for 150 minutes a week at moderate intensity is an important way to maintain physical activity. But reaching a weekly walking target does not necessarily mean a person is doing enough to maintain strength across all major muscle groups.
Walking primarily builds endurance through repeated movement. Strength training, by contrast, requires muscles to work against resistance, whether through weights, resistance bands or bodyweight exercises.
Dr Kesari said walking should not be dismissed as inadequate, but its benefits need to be understood alongside those of resistance exercise.
“Walking is an effective form of physical activity and offers meaningful benefits for cardiovascular fitness, blood sugar regulation and overall wellbeing. However, it does not consistently provide the level of muscular resistance needed to build or maintain strength, particularly as people age,” he said.
He added that the two forms of exercise address overlapping but distinct aspects of health.
Dr Kori said simple strengthening exercises, including chair sit-to-stands, stair climbing, resistance-band exercises and weight training, can complement regular walking. Adequate protein intake also supports muscle repair and maintenance.
The distinction challenges the perception that strength training is meant primarily for bodybuilders or people seeking to change their appearance. Its purpose can be much more basic: maintaining the strength needed to carry groceries, climb stairs, get up from a chair and perform everyday tasks.
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Muscle mass and strength can decline gradually throughout adulthood, even when body weight remains relatively stable. Doctors say this makes it important to pay attention to physical function rather than relying on weight or step counts alone.
Dr Janaki Devi CH, consultant geriatrician at Athulya Geriatric Care Hospital, Chennai, said age-related loss of muscle mass and strength, known as sarcopenia, can begin between 30 and 40 years of age.
“As people age, there is a slow decrease in muscle mass and strength, known as sarcopenia, which begins between 30 and 40 years old at rates of 3-8 percent. This will accelerate in the 60s and later, reaching 30-50 percent,” she told South First.
She added that sarcopenia increases the risk of frailty and falls, compromises mobility and can lead to a decline in independence.
Dr Kori explained that muscle mass and strength are related but not interchangeable.
“As we age, strength can fall faster than muscle size because muscle quality, nerve function and coordination also change. A person can therefore have a normal body weight and still have significant muscle weakness,” he said.
A weighing scale may not reveal this decline. Difficulty getting up from a chair, walking more slowly or struggling to lift objects that were previously easy to manage may be more useful warning signs.
Declining strength can also trigger a cycle of inactivity. Weakness makes movement more difficult, leading people to move less and lose further muscle. Falls and fractures can then threaten their mobility and independence.
“There is also a cycle involved. When people become weak, they tend to move less. When they move less, they lose even more muscle,” Dr Kori said.
Dr Janaki similarly highlighted the relationship between muscle, bone and physical activity. Reduced movement can contribute to muscle disuse and bone loss, further affecting the functionality and endurance of older adults.
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Although muscle loss can begin in early adulthood, doctors say strength training can remain beneficial even when people start later in life.
Dr Janaki emphasised the role of resistance exercise in addressing sarcopenia, including among frail older adults.
“No pharmacologic or behavioural intervention to reverse sarcopenia has proved to be as efficacious as resistance training. Muscle mass, strength, and muscle quality (strength adjusted for muscle mass) are reported to improve significantly with resistance training in older people,” she said.
Resistance training stimulates muscle protein synthesis, the process through which the body produces proteins needed to repair and build muscle tissue. Strength gains also involve changes in how the nervous system activates and coordinates muscles.
Dr Kori said older adults in their 70s and 80s can improve muscle strength, mobility and their ability to perform everyday activities through appropriately adapted resistance exercise.
“Even people who start in their 70s or 80s can improve muscle strength, mobility and their ability to perform everyday activities. The important thing is to start at the right level,” he said.
Building muscle earlier in life can provide a reserve that helps people maintain physical capacity as they age. But this reserve needs to be maintained through continued activity.
“Strength training should be established early since it serves as a biological reserve for muscles and bones,” Dr Janaki said.
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Resistance exercise places mechanical loads on bones, which can help maintain bone strength. Stronger muscles can also support joints and improve everyday movement.
However, osteoporosis and osteoarthritis are different conditions. Osteoporosis weakens bones and increases their susceptibility to fractures, while osteoarthritis affects joints and involves changes to cartilage and surrounding structures.
Dr Kori said resistance exercise can help maintain bone strength, particularly in people at risk of osteoporosis. For osteoarthritis, strengthening the muscles around an affected joint can improve stability and function and may reduce pain, although it cannot reverse cartilage damage.
Dr Janaki also emphasised adapting exercises to the person’s condition. Seated movements, isometric exercises, which involve contracting muscles without moving the joint, and low-impact resistance training can help people with mobility limitations exercise within a suitable range.
People with significant osteoporosis, recent fractures or major mobility limitations may need medical advice before starting a new exercise programme.
Strength training does not necessarily require expensive equipment. Bodyweight movements, resistance bands and simple exercises at home can provide a starting point, provided they offer an appropriate challenge and progress gradually.
Dr Kori suggested chair sit-to-stands, wall push-ups, seated knee extensions, supported heel raises and resistance-band exercises as accessible options for older adults.
“The important thing is to start at a comfortable level and progress gradually. Once an exercise becomes easy, repetitions or resistance can be increased,” he said.
Dr Kesari recommended that adults who already walk regularly consider adding two strength-training sessions a week, beginning with simple movements and manageable resistance.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
