Whey helped older lifters' grip strength where HMB did not

Sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass and strength, chips away at independence and raises the stakes of every fall. Strength training is the cornerstone response, and protein-based supplements such as whey and HMB are heavily marketed as ways to amplify it. Earlier pooled analyses lumped many different supplements together, which made it impossible to say what whey or HMB specifically add on top of the training. This review set out to isolate randomised trials that combined strength training with whey protein or HMB in older people diagnosed with sarcopenia, and to ask what each combination actually delivers.

The authors searched six databases up to March 2025 and screened 2322 records, ending with 7 randomised controlled trials covering 472 older adults with sarcopenia. All 7 studies scored highly on a formal quality checklist, and risk of bias and certainty of evidence were assessed with standard tools. Outcomes covered body composition, physical performance and biomarkers, with effect sizes calculated as Hedge's g. Subgroup analyses compared supplement types and set training plus supplementation against either component alone, and the review protocol was registered in advance.

Overall, the combined approach produced significant gains in fat-free mass (effect size 0.39), maximal isometric handgrip strength (1.38), the chair stand test (0.33) and the 6-minute walk test (0.33). Training plus supplementation beat supplementation alone for handgrip strength. When the supplements were separated, whey protein combined with training was associated with a significant improvement in handgrip strength (effect size 0.49), whereas HMB combined with training showed no significant improvement. Fat mass and knee extension strength did not differ significantly between the combined approach and training or supplementation alone.

This sharpens earlier, messier pooled analyses by splitting whey from HMB rather than blending all supplements together, and the split it found favours whey. The authors are explicit that the evidence should be read cautiously: only seven trials existed to pool, samples were relatively small, risk of bias was moderate to high, and the subgroup findings were inconsistent. Whether HMB genuinely adds nothing alongside training, or whether the trials were simply too few and too small to detect its effect, is the central open question.

For older people trying to hold on to muscle, the headline is that lifting plus protein-based supplementation moved meaningful markers of strength and everyday mobility, including grip strength and walking performance. Within that picture, ordinary whey protein currently has better trial support than HMB when paired with training. The evidence base is small enough that this could change, but nothing here suggests paying a premium for HMB delivers something whey does not.