In this study 4 groups of 25 healthy subjects each were examined. The groups were divided into young (20–40 years) women (jw), old (50–70 years) women (ow), young men (jm) and old men (om). To check their trunk muscle performance the maximum force (MVC) of the trunk muscles was measured. The forces were measured in the sagittal plane in an upright standing position with fixed hip. In addition, the upper body weight (UBW) of the subjects was measured. We hypothesized that force as well as UBW is lower in women compared with men and that the old aged groups have lower force but higher UBW than the young aged As expected, the UBW in men is higher than in women. MVC levels of abdominal and back muscles in women are consistently lower than in men. There are no detectable differences in UBW between both age groups. The MVCb (back muscle) in women and men always is significantly higher is the young groups (jw 18 % higher than ow, jm 16 % higher than om). The measurement of MVCa (abdominal muscles) shows no statistical difference between the young and old persons, again independent from sex. However, a significantly lower MVCb / MVCa ratio for ow compared with jw could be found (p <0.01). Due to the expected prevalent type II sarcopenia in the aging process both findings are in contrast to current knowledge.