Muscle function

• Use your strength regularly. Bodyweight work, bands or weights support getting up, carrying and stair climbing. Include all major muscle groups on at least two days a week. [1]
• Build up gradually. Start at a manageable load and allow recovery; adapt for pain, illness or balance problems. [1]
• Food and safety matter. Varied meals provide magnesium for normal muscle activity. If you use insulin or certain diabetes medicines, exercise can lower glucose too far: make a plan with your team. [2] [3]

Muscle-strengthening activities help maintain everyday abilities and slow age-related bone and muscle loss. Leg strength, balance and coordination are particularly relevant to avoiding falls. Walking and cycling are useful activities, but movement without enough resistance does not always replace dedicated strengthening. Everyday choices such as rising from a chair, climbing stairs or gardening can be adapted to ability. Strength alone cannot guarantee against a fall: eyesight, medication, the environment and health conditions also matter. [1]

The NHS advises adults to challenge major muscle groups at least twice weekly. Getting up from a chair, stairs, bands, weights and heavy gardening are options. Choose movements you can control and gradually increase the challenge. [1]

Allow recovery and do not push through sharp pain. If you have been inactive, fall often or live with illness, ask a physiotherapist or clinician to help choose a safe starting point. [1]

Muscles need adequate and varied food to recover, alongside a training stimulus. Magnesium is found in whole grains, vegetables, nuts and dairy and contributes to normal muscle activity. This does not mean extra magnesium above an adequate intake creates more strength. Deficiency is uncommon and may occur with kidney or gut problems; a cramp or tiredness alone cannot confirm it. The upper limit for supplemental magnesium is a safety limit, not a recommended dose. If cramps are the issue, see muscle cramps. [2]

Working muscles use glucose. Activity may help manage blood sugar but cannot replace diabetes care. With insulin or some glucose-lowering medicines, levels may become too low during or after activity. [3]

Plan meals, monitoring and exercise with your care team and know your personal low-glucose plan. Do not adjust prescriptions on your own. [3]

Gradual loss of ability, repeated falls or new difficulty with ordinary tasks warrants assessment: pain, neurological conditions, illness, sleep and medicines can play a part. Sudden one-sided weakness, facial droop or speech difficulty is an emergency: call your local emergency number. See a clinician for persistent or unexplained loss of strength. Trying a supplement should not delay investigation of a new symptom. Repeated cramps accompanied by other symptoms also deserve attention; a symptom is not a diagnosis.