You might still feel strong. Maybe you lift weights, walk regularly, or hit the Pilates studio a few times a week. But if everyday movements, like getting out of a low chair or stepping onto a curb, feel a little slower or more effortful, there’s a reason. As we age, we don’t just lose strength. We lose our ability to move quickly.

你可能仍然觉得自己很有力量。也许你会举重、经常散步，或者每周去几次普拉提工作室。但如果一些日常动作——比如从矮椅子上站起来，或迈上路沿石（马路牙子）——开始变得更慢、更费力，这是有原因的。随着年龄增长，我们失去的不仅是力量，还会丧失快速移动的能力。

This often-overlooked aspect of health is called power—the capacity to generate force fast. It doesn’t just apply to Olympic lifters and elite athletes. This kind of movement helps you stabilize if you trip, dodge a closing subway door, or hoist groceries into the car without overthinking it.

这种常被忽视的健康要素叫作“power（爆发力）”，也就是快速产生力量的能力。它并不只属于奥运举重选手或精英运动员。这种能力能帮助你在被绊到时迅速稳住身体、在即将合上的地铁门前敏捷闪身，或不假思索地把购物袋抬进车里。

The trouble is, power starts fading in your 30s—decades before most people notice any real drop in strength. “You lose speed in the muscle before you lose that force component,” says Stephen Sayers, a researcher in muscle performance and function in older adults at the College of Health Sciences at the University of Missouri. Meaning after age 50, muscle strength typically declines about 1–2 percent per year. Studies suggest that, especially in older adults, power can drop even faster— up to 3–4 percent per year —particularly when muscles aren’t used regularly.

问题在于，power（爆发力）从你30多岁就开始走下坡路——比大多数人察觉到肌力明显下降要早上几十年。密苏里大学（University of Missouri）健康科学学院研究老年人肌肉表现与功能的学者Stephen Sayers说：“在失去肌肉产生力量的能力之前，你先会失去速度。”也就是说，50岁以后，肌肉力量通常每年下降约1%–2%。研究表明，尤其在老年人中，爆发力的下滑甚至更快——每年可达3%–4%——特别是在肌肉没有得到经常使用的情况下。

The good news: power training is relatively simple to add to your weekly routine, and it can protect your mobility, independence, and even your strength as you age. A 2007 study in the *Journal of Aging and Physical Activity* found that high-velocity resistance training was more effective than traditional strength training for improving functional movement in older adults. “I’ve had people in my labs that previously did nothing and then did power training, and we’ve seen 25 to 30 percent increases in strength,” Sayers adds.

好消息是：将“爆发力训练”纳入每周日常并不复杂，而且随着年龄增长，它能保护你的灵活性、独立性，甚至你的肌肉力量。2007年发表在《Journal of Aging and Physical Activity》上的一项研究发现，高速度阻力训练（即以较快速度完成力量动作）在改善老年人的功能性动作方面，比传统力量训练更有效。Sayers补充说：“我实验室里有些人之前几乎不训练，后来开始做爆发力训练，我们看到他们的力量提升了25%到30%。”

Here’s how to train for power—and why adding it to your routine could change the way you move through everyday life.

下面将介绍如何进行爆发力训练——以及为何把它纳入你的日常训练计划，可能会改变你在日常生活中的动作方式。

**What is muscle power—and why it matters for fall prevention**

什么是肌肉功率（爆发力）——以及它为何对预防跌倒很重要

Movement relies on two things: force and velocity. “Think about walking across an intersection,” Sayers says. “You may have sufficient force in your muscles. You may be strong enough, but if you don’t have some velocity, you’re not going to get across the intersection in the time of the light.”

运动依赖两件事：力和速度。Sayers 说：“想想穿过十字路口。你的肌肉也许有足够的力量，你也许足够强壮，但如果没有一定的速度，你就无法在一个绿灯时间内穿过路口。”

Power comes from fast-twitch muscle fibers, the ones that drive quick, explosive movements, which decline faster with age than the slow-twitch fibers that support endurance. “The problem with those fibers is we don’t call on them very much in real life,” says Sayers. To preserve them, you need to train them intentionally.

爆发力（power）主要来自快肌纤维（fast-twitch muscle fibers），它们推动快速、爆发性的动作。随着年龄增长，快肌纤维的退化速度比负责耐力的慢肌纤维（slow-twitch fibers）更快。Sayers 说：“问题在于，在日常生活中我们并不经常动用这些纤维。”想要保存它们，你需要有意识地进行训练。

Explosive speed also depends on the nervous system. Over time, the brain becomes less efficient at communicating with muscles. “By the time you’re 60 years old, you lose almost half of the nerves that innervate those muscles,” says Sayers. “Once the nerve disappears, the muscle dies.”

爆发速度还取决于神经系统。随着时间推移，大脑与肌肉的沟通效率会变差。Sayers 说：“到了60岁左右，支配这些肌肉的神经（即对肌肉进行神经支配的神经）大约会流失近一半。一旦神经消失，肌肉就会死亡。”

That slowdown in signaling means once-automatic movements—like brisk walking, climbing stairs, or catching yourself if you trip—start to require more conscious effort.

这种神经信号传递变慢，意味着那些原本不假思索就能完成的动作——如快走、爬楼梯，或在绊了一下时及时稳住身体——开始需要更多的有意识用力和控制。

“When we think about aging, the idea of velocity is actually really important when we’re thinking about balance and falls prevention,” says Claire Morrow, physical therapist at Hinge Health, “One of the key indicators of fall risk is actually somebody’s speed when they’re walking—their gait speed.”

“当我们谈到衰老时，‘速度’这个概念在讨论平衡和预防跌倒时其实非常重要，”Hinge Health 的物理治疗师 Claire Morrow 说，“衡量跌倒风险的关键指标之一，其实就是一个人走路的速度——也就是他们的步行速度（gait speed）。”

Quick reaction time is what keeps you upright. You may be strong, says Sayers, but if you trip and you can’t stabilize the body, you will fall. If your muscles are fast enough, you may be able to put that leg out and stop yourself from falling.

迅速的反应速度才是让你站稳、不摔倒的关键。Sayers说：“你也许很有力量，但如果被绊了一下却无法及时稳定住身体，你就会摔倒。”如果你的肌肉反应够快，你也许就能迅速把腿迈出去，及时支撑住自己，避免摔倒。

He points to lab research he’s conducted using simulated falls. Participants who trained for power could move their limbs more quickly and recover their balance before hitting the ground. “It’s a real difference,” he says, “especially as people get into their 60s, 70s, and beyond.”

他提到自己开展的一项实验室研究，采用了“模拟跌倒”的方法。接受爆发力（power）训练的参与者能更快地移动四肢，并在尚未触地前重新找回平衡。他说：“差别确实很明显，尤其是当人们步入60多岁、70多岁乃至更高龄时。”

**Early signs you’re losing muscle power**

你正在流失肌肉爆发力的早期迹象

There’s no gold-standard at-home test for power—but there are subtle signs that yours may be fading.

用于评估肌肉功率（爆发力）的居家“金标准”测试目前并不存在——但有一些细微迹象可能表明你的爆发力正在减退。

“How easy is it for you to lift your suitcase and put it in the overhead compartment on an airplane?” Morrow asks. “How easy is it for you to walk up and down stairs? Do you feel like you need to use the handrails?”

Morrow 问道：“把行李箱抬起并放进飞机头顶的行李舱，对你来说有多容易？上下楼梯有多轻松？你是否觉得需要扶着扶手？”

She suggests a simple self-check: try single-leg heel raises. “The normal should be that you’re able to do 30 on one leg,” she says. “Calf strength is one of the first things to go with any kind of lower extremity injury—and it’s also really important for balance.”

她建议一个简单的自测：尝试做单腿提踵（单脚踮脚上提）。她说：“正常标准是你能用单腿做30次。小腿力量是在任何下肢损伤中最先下降的部分之一——而且它对维持平衡也非常重要。”

**How to build muscle power safely as you get older**

随着年龄增长，如何安全地提升肌肉爆发力

You don’t need to be an athlete to train for power. In fact, power training can make daily activities feel easier and improve performance in recreational sports, hiking, dancing, or playing with kids.

训练爆发力并不需要你是运动员。事实上，爆发力训练能让日常活动更轻松，还能提升你在休闲运动、徒步、跳舞或陪孩子玩耍时的表现。

If you already strength train, the easiest way to start is by using lighter weights and moving through the concentric phase (the lifting portion of the movement) more explosively. The eccentric phase (the lowering portion) should still be slow and controlled.

如果你已经在做力量训练，最简单的开始方法是用较轻的重量，并在向心阶段（动作的抬起/发力部分）以更有爆发力的方式完成。离心阶段（动作的放下/下降部分）则仍应保持缓慢且可控。

Take a leg press, for example. Instead of loading the machine with a heavy weight, use around 40 percent of your max, says Sayers. This weight should feel manageable and relatively easy to lift. Lower slowly, then press the platform out as quickly as you can. Repeat. The same approach works for chest presses, goblet squats, or calf raises.

以腿举（leg press，器械腿推）为例。Sayers 说，与其在器械上加很重的重量，不如使用大约你最大负重的40%（可理解为单次最大重复重量 1RM 的约40%）。这个重量应当感觉可控、推起相对轻松。下放要慢，然后尽可能快地把踏板推出去。重复以上动作。同样的方法也适用于胸推、酒杯式深蹲（goblet squats）或提踵（小腿提踵）。

If you’re training at a gym, Sayers recommends starting with machines instead of free weights. “It’s easier to control speed on a machine, and the range of motion is very consistent—it's kind of determined for you,” he says. “So, it’s safer and easier to focus on moving quickly without worrying about stability.”

如果你在健身房训练，Sayers 建议先从器械开始，而不是自由重量（如哑铃、杠铃）。他说：“在器械上更容易控制速度，而且动作的活动范围非常一致——某种程度上是替你设定好的。因此，这样做更安全，也更容易把注意力放在快速发力上，而不用过多担心稳定性。”

However, Sayers mentions that while power training may seem intimidating, it doesn’t carry a higher injury risk than traditional strength training—if the load is appropriate and the form is solid. It may also feel easier, and you may recover quickly, he says, because you won’t be moving too heavy a weight for you.

然而，Sayers 提到，尽管力量-速度训练（power training）看起来有些吓人，但在负重合适、动作规范的前提下，它的受伤风险并不高于传统力量训练。他还说，这种训练可能感觉更轻松、恢复更快，因为你不会使用对自己来说过重的重量。

You can also train power at home. Morrow recommends bodyweight squats with a faster-than-usual tempo. If you want to level up, Sayers recommends adding a weighted vest while doing functional movements, like stair climbs. Even quick sit-to-stands from a chair—10 to 12 reps—can help. “Anything that adds resistance to movement is resistance training,” he says. “Just move through it quickly.”

你也可以在家进行力量爆发力训练。Morrow 建议做徒手深蹲，但节奏要比平时更快。如果想进一步提升，Sayers 建议在做功能性动作（如爬楼梯）时穿上负重背心。即便是快速从椅子上起立再坐下（10～12 次一组）也有帮助。他说：“任何给动作增加阻力的练习都算阻力训练。只要把动作做得更快就行。”