Building Muscle After 40

My body and I are having a disagreement: It is forty-two and thinks that's an excuse to not be in its thirties. I beg to disagree.

A lot of good that's doing me. 

Here's the thing: I have been "the fitness type" for a very long time. Having maintained the basics with casual running since college, I got serious about strength training in about 2006. I started with bodyweight work. Within a year, I'd added a home gym complete with barbell, dumbells, pull-up bar, and bench. Within 3 years, I had kettlebells, a weighted vest, a wellness library, and some pretty respectable muscle mass.

Fast forward to now: My home gym is further tricked out with a power cage, second barbell, box jump, spin bike, and yoga mat. I use them all pretty religiously. Between late December 2019 and mid-July 2020, I worked out every single day. For something like 186 days.

And yet...and yet. My muscle mass isn't what it used to be. I can tell that I'm not as strong, both when I do "real things," and when I look in the mirror.

Part of me says that's a normal part of aging. Everyone has a harder time holding onto muscle (let alone gaining) as they get older. Sarcopenia is a thing. I'm lucky to have a solid fitness base that keeps me motoring along pretty well. I'm even luckier to have a partner who doesn't labor under the delusion that a woman's value rests upon her appearance.

However. Another part of me won't give up that easily.

My solid fitness base is just that: a base. You don't go down from a base...you go up!

​There's half a lifetime of stuff I still want to do, and I need to be strong enough to do it. I can accept that it's harder now, but building muscle isn't a relic of my past. My solid fitness base is just that: a base. You don't go down from a base...you go up!

...which leaves me with making the best of 42. So, I did some reading.

It turns out that I wasn't imagining things. There are good reasons that what worked well for me a decade ago just isn't ideal anymore. There's a lot of overlap, of course. Most of the tried-and-true principles still apply. But, I can do quite a few things differently to maximize my muscle gains in (gasp!) middle age:

1. Increase Muscular Effort while Decreasing Injury Risk

With age come nagging injuries that persist longer than they did when we were young. I'm almost always tiptoeing around a touchy elbow, wrist, sacroiliac joint, or knee. If I waited for everything to feel perfect before embarking on a muscle-gain effort, I'd never get off the sofa. That said, max lift attempts aren't as appealing as they used to be.

Traditionally, most athletes build muscle by incrementally increasing the amount of weight they're lifting. Working out while avoiding injury means challenging muscles in other ways. The word on on the street is that these methods are as effective -- or nearly as effective -- as stacking on the plates.

• Slow the pace. Lifting less weight, but at a slower pace, is a reliable way to fire up your muscle fibers. I've resisted this in the past because it seems tedious, but I think it's time to give it another try. Five slooooow back squats with 95 pounds can certainly be as tough as five normal-speed ones with 125 pounds. 

 

• Go high rep, low weight. Low-load-high-rep is arguably less effective than high-load-low-rep for building absolute strength, but it's still an effective means of stimulating muscle growth. It isn't my preference, mostly because I get bored, but I must admit that a solid muscle-endurance set can really kick my butt without irritating problem joints. 

 

• Mix it up. There are all kinds of other ways to challenge muscle without going too heavy. I'm going to experiment with eccentric movements, dropsets, and static holds as a change of pace to jump-start muscle growth. 

 

• Find substitutes. There's nothing wrong with skipping a movement that hurts. Often, I find that I can work the same muscle group using a slightly different exercise that doesn't trigger pain. My left elbow doesn't like tricep extensions. Fine. I'll do dips and diamond pushups instead. 

2. Commit to Consistency

Back before COVID, I was at a backyard party chatting with a guy who was mid-50s, lean, and ripped. He commented that the biggest factor in staying fit as he got older was consistency. Unlike in his younger years, he couldn't expect to miss workouts without losing ground.

Even in my early 40s, I can attest that not only is it harder to build muscle than it used to be, but I lose it more quickly when I step off the wagon. As I overhaul my workout schedule to focus more on muscle growth, I'll be making sure that each muscle group gets worked 2-3 times per week.

3. Eat More Protein

Across many years and many sources, I have consistently been reminded of the importance of protein for muscle  growth, especially with increasing age. Recommendations generally range from 1 gram of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day to 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. The latter is hard to pull off, but it's what I'm shooting for. This will take some planning!

4. Emphasize Mobility

Oh yeah. I know. We all know. Our tissues lose elasticity, old injuries form mental and physical scars, and we lose range of motion as we age. This makes us more prone to injury, which impacts our workout consistency, which invites sarcopenia in for a beer. I'll admit that mobility work isn't my strong suit. It always feels less productive than doing a solid workout, and it takes a lot of time. But, if I want to see gains, I'm going to have to commit to more intentional mobility work and better warmups. 

Knowing may be half the battle, but it's only half.

I know what I need to do. Now, it's time to put it into action. I'm going to spend some time this week overhauling my workout calendar and menu planning for extra protein. 

How about you? Do you ever get the feeling that whatever you've been doing just isn't working anymore? Maybe it's time to make some changes...and make some change.

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Links for further reading

Eight Things to Know if You're Building Muscle After 40

How Women Can Build Muscle After 40
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10 Golden Rules to Weight Training for Over 40s