Why nutrition belongs in a movement programme

1. Active older adults need meaningfully more protein than the standard recommended intake to maintain muscle mass. 2. Inadequate nutrition is one of the most common reasons people train consistently and still see little change. 3. When eating and training are aligned, results tend to show within 8 to 12 weeks.

The current UK recommended daily allowance for protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of bodyweight. That figure was set to prevent deficiency. It was never meant to maintain strength, bone density or muscle in adults who are training, or who are simply getting older. A position paper from the PROT-AGE study group, published in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, recommends 1.0 to 1.2g per kg for healthy older adults, and 1.2 to 1.5g per kg for those exercising regularly or recovering from illness (Bauer et al., 2013). For a 70kg person, that is the difference between roughly 56 grams and 105 grams a day. Most people in this group are eating closer to the lower number, often without realising it.

You train three times a week. Your muscles are being stimulated to adapt. But if the protein is not there, the raw material for repair is missing, and the adaptation stalls. A 2012 study at McMaster University found that older adults who combined resistance training with increased protein intake gained significantly more lean mass and lost more fat than those who trained on their usual diet (Churchward-Venne et al., 2012). It is a pattern that shows up again and again. Someone trains hard and eats well in a loose, general sense. Then you actually count the protein and it comes to 50 or 60 grams a day. The body is being asked to rebuild without enough of what it rebuilds from.

Nutrition shapes recovery in ways that are easy to overlook. Omega-3 fatty acids, from oily fish, walnuts and flaxseed, have been shown to reduce exercise-induced inflammation and improve joint comfort. A 2019 systematic review in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that omega-3 supplementation reduced markers of muscle damage after exercise (Philpott et al., 2019). Vitamin D plays a direct role in muscle function, and deficiency is common in the UK, particularly through winter. A 2019 review found that vitamin D supplementation improved muscle strength in deficient older adults (Wyon et al., 2019).

Sway is in-home and online personal training in London, built around one dedicated coach who is qualified in both Pilates and Strength and Conditioning, and who understands how nutrition feeds into recovery and results. Your coach knows your training schedule and your goals, so the advice you get on eating is tied to what your body is actually doing that week, not generic. Where you need genuine, individualised nutrition support, that comes through a vetted external referral network. We do not employ an in-house nutritionist. Your coach can introduce you to a trusted independent registered nutritionist or dietitian, and then coordinate with them so your eating and your training point the same way. If you already work with a nutrition professional, your coach builds around their plan rather than cutting across it. This is coordination, not a meal plan pinned to the fridge.

For one week, write down everything you eat and look up the protein content. You do not need an app; a notebook and a search engine are enough. Most people are surprised to find they are eating 40 to 60 grams a day. If you are training, you likely need closer to 80 to 100 grams. Closing that gap is often the single change that finally makes the training show. If you want help turning that into a plan that fits your life, a free assessment, online or in your home in London, is a good first step.

1. Bauer J, et al. Evidence-based recommendations for optimal dietary protein intake in older people: a position paper from the PROT-AGE Study Group. JAMDA. 2013. 2. Churchward-Venne TA, et al. Supplementation of a suboptimal protein dose with leucine or essential amino acids. AJCN. 2012. 3. Philpott JD, et al. Applications of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation for sport performance. BJSM. 2019. 4. Wyon M, et al. Vitamin D supplementation and muscle strength in deficient older adults. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. 2019.