Just as most men believe they possess a keen sense of humor, most men assume they are reasonably strong regardless of their age. They assume that their muscle mass - the muscle tissue they have built over a lifetime, enabling them to support their bones, give their body shape, fill the legs of their jeans, and lift the heavy end of a sofa - is at least adequate, relative to other men their age.

But what most men do not understand is that they are losing this most precious tissue causing them to age faster than necessary. This muscle tissue loss starts early, from age 25 through to 50 years stealing a fifth of a pound of muscle a year. After this age it then picks up a dreadful, yet still mostly silent velocity. This nasty villain called sarcopenia bleeds a man of up to a pound of muscle a year, a loss that is likely to go un-noticed until it is too late.

The muscles of most men reach maximum size with the maximum number of fibers at age 25. After that peak unless they are kept strong with muscle building and maintaining exercise a long, gradual decline follows. Over the next 25 years, the muscles lose approximately 10 percent of their fibers dragging strength health and vitality down with the loss.

You may weigh a similar amount on the bathroom scales as you previously did as the areas that the muscle loss has occurred will likely be replaced with body fat. One easy way to check if this is happening is to stand side on to a mirror, if you think your upper thighs are getting skinnier and are looking thinner, then that is muscle mass loss. This is how an aging male body can take on a spider look with a big abdomen and thin legs,

Recent research shows that diminished muscle strength and mass are seriously linked to declines in the immune system and the onset of heart disease and diabetes, not to mention weaker bones, stiffer joints, and slumping postures. Loss of muscle is linked to a decline in overall metabolic rate (your body's engine) allowing you to gain excess body fat.

When men are young they have the engine of a big grunty V8 but the decline in muscle mass reduces this down over time to an engine the size of a motor scooter. After all, men have been made to work physically hard throughout their lives. But our modern day lives have every single bit of anything that resembles 'real work' removed. How would anyone think a man could keep his strength and muscle mass if he never gets to use it?

Scientists are at the forefront of a movement that is redefining the importance of muscle mass in terms of overall health and vitality, not simply performance or vanity. Further research is expected to show measurable links between shrinking muscle mass and cancer mortality.

If you are wondering how this important information is not widely known about it is because historically, the scientific community has taken muscle for granted, perhaps more tellingly, sarcopenia's proven antidote - strength training exercise will never make a dime for a pharmaceutical company.

The 'sickness treatment' system after all needs lots of sick people to funnel through the system so informing people that there is such as simple easy solution to totally stop this unnecessary muscle tissue loss is not high on the priority list. Yet the most debilitating problem encountered during adulthood is the gradual loss of muscle.

But you don't have to let it happen to you. The easy solution is to start a proper exercise program that contains strength training exercise. Get some help in getting started so you are getting the maximum results in the shortest possible time. Forget the walking round the block business; this is not going to even come close to what you need to recover lost muscle tissue. No other form of exercise will do the job.

In as little at 12 weeks and with a bit of effort you can recover 75% of lost muscle tissue and 40% of lost muscle strength. So guys there you have it, it is all up to you. Roll up your sleeves and take back what is rightfully yours, something that every man should have lots of ? strength.