Understanding Muscle Loss
Losing muscle and tone even though you're trying to stay active.
Muscle loss accelerates with age and hormonal decline. We assess hormones, protein metabolism, and recovery, then build a plan around hormone optimization, targeted nutrition, and peptide support when appropriate — to preserve the strength that keeps you independent.
What's actually happening
Muscle loss — sarcopenia — is the gradual loss of muscle mass and strength that accelerates with age and hormonal decline. It's not vanity; muscle is metabolically active tissue that underpins independence, balance, and resilience.
How aging affects it
From roughly the 30s onward, adults lose a small but compounding percentage of muscle each year, and the rate steepens after 60 — especially without resistance training and adequate protein. Hormonal decline (testosterone, growth hormone) accelerates it.
When lifestyle isn't enough
Resistance training and protein are the foundation, but when hormones, recovery, and protein metabolism are working against you, effort stalls. That's when hormone optimization, targeted nutrition, and medical support preserve the strength that keeps you independent.
Who We Typically See
Someone in their 40s or older who's training but not seeing results, feels weaker than they used to, or lost muscle on a GLP-1. Some are recovering from injury or illness. They want to stay strong and independent for decades, not just look better.
Treatment Options at a Glance
Protecting the strength that keeps you independent.
Options that support muscle building, recovery, and the hormones behind them.
Body composition testing
What it targets
Lean mass, fat mass, and changes over time.
Tracks what the scale can’t.
Testosterone optimization
What it targets
Muscle protein synthesis and recovery.
For men and women with confirmed deficiency.
Growth hormone secretagogue peptides
What it targets
Natural growth hormone release, recovery, and sleep.
Considered selectively, prescribed from licensed pharmacies.
Protein & creatine strategy
What it targets
Daily muscle-building signal.
Most adults over 40 eat far less protein than they need.
Progressive resistance plan
What it targets
Strength, bone density, and metabolic health.
The non-negotiable that makes everything else work.
Options are prescribed only when clinically appropriate, after evaluation by a licensed provider.
The Roadmap
What working with us actually looks like.
01 — Deep diagnostics
Hormones, protein metabolism, body composition, and recovery markers.
02 — Build the plan
Training, nutrition, and medical support matched to what your labs show.
03 — Active rebuild
Hormone optimization, peptides if indicated, and tracked strength and composition gains.
04 — Sustain strength
Ongoing labs and adjustment to keep the muscle that keeps you independent.
Why PracticeRx
Conventional care vs. the PracticeRx approach.
Conventional care
- 10-minute visits and TSH-only labs
- “Your levels are normal” — even when you don’t feel normal
- Treats the symptom: a prescription or “lose weight”
- One specialist per system, none talking to each other
- Reactive — wait until something breaks
- Generic protocols based on demographics
PracticeRx
- 100+ biomarker bloodwork and full hormone & thyroid panels
- Hormones, peptides, and metabolic medicine guided by your data
- Integrated mental and physical care in one practice
- Preventative — full-body MRI screening and early detection
- 7-day access to your care team — no waiting until Monday
- A plan built around your biology, not a protocol
The evidence
Muscle mass and grip strength are among the strongest predictors of longevity in older adults; lower grip strength is linked to higher all-cause mortality.
Source: Srikanthan & Karlamangla, 2014 (Am J Med); Celis-Morales et al., 2018 (BMJ)
Medically reviewed by
Justin Cooper, PA-C
PRX Physician Associate · Men’s Health
Army-trained physician associate and former aeromedical provider, leading men’s health care: testosterone and hormone optimization, sexual health, and preventative screening.
Stop guessing. Start with the labs.
You don't have to keep guessing what's wrong. We'll run the deep labs, find what's actually driving this, and build a plan around your biology.
100+ biomarker bloodwork
The labs conventional care usually skips.
Integrated care, one team
Mental and physical health under one roof.
7-day access
Your care team, when you actually need them.