Building muscle over 40 is definitely more of a challenge than in your teens, 20's, or 30's!

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However, it's completely possible to build and maintain a healthy muscular physique well after you hit the big 4-0!

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And it's not just about aesthetics!  As you get older, your muscle mass becomes even more critical to maintaining your overall health and longevity.  Check out this Fitness Blog post to learn why muscle mass is so important!

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Building muscle over 40 is pretty much like building muscle at any age, with just a few additions and modifications. Most of the information below is just good advice at any age. However, as you get older, each little piece below becomes more essential to the muscle building process. The more of these things you can get right, the more muscle you can build.

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Nutrition Stuff:

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Protein:

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For older guys trying to build muscle, I recommend 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight daily. It might sound like a lot. However, we are trying to stimulate muscle growth and we’re working against age, declining testosterone, and decreased digestive efficiency among other things. As long as you don’t already have kidney or liver issues, studies have shown high protein diets are not deleterious to your health.

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Also, I’m not proposing this high protein diet for the rest of your life. This is a muscle building phase that may last six months to two years. Once you've built the muscle mass, it requires less protein to maintain it.

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You should have protein with every meal. You should have a protein shake either during your workout or immediately after your workout! During your workout is better, but right after will suffice.

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My go-to sources of protein:

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• Whey powder

• Eggs

• Salmon

• Tuna

• Cod

• Tilapia

• Other fish

• Chicken

• Turkey

• Beef

• Beans

• Lentils

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Water:

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There’s not a lot to say about this one. Adequate hydration is critical to building muscle and overall health. I drink between 1 and 2 gallons of water daily. Much of that is just the water used to make protein shakes, workout shakes, coffee, and tea. I also drink water throughout my day and with meals.

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Creatine and Whey Protein:

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These are the two best muscle building supplements available.

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I take creatine with my first meal and also right after working out. There are dozens of variations out there, but creatine monohydrate powder is all you need.

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If you can afford it, whey protein isolate is a little better than whey protein concentrate. But the most important thing is that you get some form of whey in you right after strength training. It's also a good way to get a shot of protein in the morning or in between meals.

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Foods and Supplements to Boost Testosterone:

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I’m not talking about pills like nugenix or stuff like that. Some of them might work, I don’t know. I’ve never tried them.

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Supplements that may boost testosterone:

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• Magnesium

• Zinc

• Selenium

• Vitamin D

• Vitamin B3, B6, B12

• DHEA

• Ginger

• Saw Palmetto

• Ashwagandha

• Cordyceps

• Fish oil

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Foods that may boost testosterone:

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• Green Olives

• Extra virgin olive oil

• Fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines, trout) 

• Egg yolks

• Oysters

• Beef

• Tuna

• Onions

• Beans

• Avacodoes

• Broccoli

• Cauliflour

• Cabbage

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Lifestyle Stuff:

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Reduce Stress and Simplify Your Life:

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As much as possible, cut out the unnecessary things that are stealing your time.

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Carve out some time for yourself and your workouts. It’s OK to be a little selfish. We're only talking about a handful of hours each week! This is an investment you are making in your future that will pay dividends for you and your family for decades to come.

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Some things that may help you relax:

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• Deep breathing techniques

• Prayer

• Meditation

• Laugh

• Smile big (trust me, just try it right now and you will understand)

• Taking a Walk

• Making to-do lists

• Keeping a daily journal

• Counting your blessings (List things for which you are grateful)​

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Get good quality sleep:

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Sleep is so important!

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Some things that may help you get better sleep:

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• Establish a daily schedule (and try to stick to it!)

• Have a nightly wind-down routine

• Keep your bedroom on the cool side (~65 F)

• Keep your bedroom dark

• Keep your bedroom quiet (or use white noise like a fan or air purifier if quiet is not an option)

• Try heavy blankets

• Keep phones, computers, and TV's out of your bedroom

• Try taking Melatonin (~10 mg) 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime

• Avoid caffeine in the afternoon and evening​

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Workout Stuff:

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In order to stimulate muscle growth, you have to lift weights with intensity and push your muscles to failure. If your muscles don't fail, they have no reason to grow stronger. For ideas on pushing your muscles to failure, check out Going to Failure.

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However, injuries can easily derail your quest for more muscle mass, so intensity must be balanced with caution.

Below are some tips on how to reduce your chances of injury while still stimulating muscle growth:

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Use Braces for Heavier Lifts:

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I have weak wrists and I’m prone to tendonitis in my elbows. So I have wrist wraps and compression elbow braces for heavier lifts. I also use a Velcro lifting belt for my lower back.

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But I don’t just put my protective gear on like armor and wear it for the whole workout. That would end up weakening my already weak points. I do as much as I can without the braces and then just bring them out for the heavier sets. It adds a little protection when I need it most and also gives me a little mental edge, because I feel a little safer with them on.

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Figure out your weak areas and find some braces that help. Just use them as needed and not as a crutch.

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You Don’t Have to Do Every Machine and Every Exercise:

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Flat Barbell Bench Press may be the most performed lift of all time, but I haven’t done it in a quarter century. I decided I didn’t like the way it loads my shoulder joints, so I just said no more.

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There are dozens of ways to hit any muscle, so it’s OK to strike a few from the list if they don’t work for you. It is good to mix things up. We’ll cover that next. But mixing things up doesn’t mean you have to include every possible option.

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Mix Up Your Exercises and Machines:

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You don’t have to change up your workout every single week. However, if you find yourself doing the same 3 or 4 exercises for a particular body part over and over again for months or years, you are kind of asking for overuse injuries.

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I change the exercises and the order in which I do them almost every workout. Sometimes I will get in a groove where I start with the same exercise for a particular body part several weeks in a row, mostly just so I can judge if I’m getting stronger at it, but then the rest of the workout will be different each time.

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Use Different Angles:

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I do Incline DB Press anywhere from nearly flat to almost sitting upright. It is great for stimulating the muscle, but also helps prevent overuse injuries by loading the joints and tendons a little differently and not letting them follow the same old groove every time.

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Use Different Grip Widths:

 

Dido like above, but with grip width.

 

 

Mix Up Your Rep Ranges:

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It is fairly well established that the 8-12 rep range is optimal for muscle growth. But you can still stimulate muscle growth with lighter weight and higher reps. Going to failure is more important than actual rep range or weight.

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I don’t do it all the time, but I frequently mix in 20 to 30 rep sets on pretty much any exercise. It is another way to stimulate growth and confuse your muscles, while also giving the joints a break from the heavier loads.

 

 

Use Static Hold Exercises:

 

You just hold the muscle in the contracted state for 30 to 60 seconds. You can do it with almost any exercise or machine. You can add it to the end of a regular set, or one set could be the 60 second hold.

 

I wouldn’t do it all the time on every exercise, but it is a good way to induce extra stress on your muscles while giving the joints a bit of a break, at least from movement anyway. For example, with leg extensions, instead of swinging your legs up and down, you would just extend your legs straight and hold them there against the load for as long as you can. 30 to 60 seconds will feel like an eternity.

 

 

Try Slow Negatives on Every Rep:

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This is great way to tire out your muscles while doing less weight and fewer reps. As we’ve touched on before, fewer reps and lighter weight reduces wear and tear on your body.

 

These can be done with pretty much any exercise as well. For example, with Seated DB Shoulder Press, you would push the weight up just like you normally do, but make the downward portion (aka negative) last for 2 to 3 seconds on every single rep.

 

 

Mix Up Ways to Go to Failure:

 

Don’t always use the same old ways to go to failure. There are many ways to induce muscle failure: drop sets, super sets, rest-pause, etc.. Check out my article for more ideas and detailed explanations.

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Use 20 Rep Target for Legs:

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As you do an exercise for repetitions, more and more muscle fibers get recruited to help with each successive rep. For most upper body exercises, sets in the 8-12 range will recruit almost all the muscle fibers by the end of the set.

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For larger muscles, it requires more repetitions to recruit all the muscle fibers. So for legs, 20 reps is a better target than 10. This also allows you to use a lighter weight which helps reduce the wear and tear on your joints and connective tissue. So it’s better for muscle growth and also easier on your body.

 

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Don’t Max:

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It is just asking for injury and it serves no purpose for muscle growth.

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Don’t Show Off:

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Hopefully this isn’t an issue for most of us older guys. We should know better anyway! But don’t be tempted to cheat or use heavier weights just because some 25 year old punk is working out next to you and you want to show him the old dog still has it.

 

 

Don’t Cheat:

 

The point of lifting weights is to stimulate muscle growth so we can gain, or at least maintain, our muscle mass. Cheating is just a way to move more weight by either recruiting other muscles to help or changing the way the muscle is loaded by contorting our body. It is not necessary for muscle growth and is just asking for injury. So don’t.

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There are some exceptions to this. I think it’s OK to cheat slightly in order to complete the last portion of the last rep of a set.

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Don’t Throw or Bounce the Weights:

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This is just another way of cheating. So still don't.

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Try Bands:

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Most gyms have resistance bands with handles on the ends. These are great for many things. I can't get into all the uses here. They offer a nice smooth continuous resistance without the inherent problems of heavier dumbbells or barbells.

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There are benefits to weights that you don't get with bands, so I'm not suggesting doing everything with bands. But they are a great addition to traditional weightlifting exercises and machines.

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You can mix them in for a few exercises or even do a whole workout with them occasionally.

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The Amazing Power of Repeated Actions and Incremental Progress:

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All of the above is a wasted if you don't do it consistently! You don't have to do it perfectly, but you must do as many of the things we have covered as well as you can. And you must do it over and over again!

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You will mess up and you will get derailed. But if you get back on track as soon as you can, it won't be a problem. Keep trying! String together as many good days as you can. And when you fall on your face, just get back up and start a new string of good days.

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Focus on the process! Don't make your goal to lose 10 lbs of fat and gain 5 lbs of muscle. Make your goal to complete 90% (or more) of your planned workouts for the month. Make your goal to hit your protein target every day.

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I know old fashioned wall calendars are outdated. But there is something incredibly satisfying about putting a big X on a calendar for each day you work out! See how many days you can fill up in a month!

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The long term habits you are forming are far more valuable than any results you may or may not get in the short term!

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As always, thank you for reading. If you have any questions, please feel free to Ask Me a Question!

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