Can you build lean muscle in your 40’s and beyond?
Let’s start by clarifying a few things…
Muscle can’t be built lean, muscle is already considered lean mass. In other words you can’t tone or make a muscle any leaner than it is, but you can build muscle to make them bigger and drop body fat which then makes your muscles appear leaner.
When does muscle growth decline?
Recent research suggests that fat free mass (bone, muscle and everything in between that isn’t fat) declines from age 30 onwards and this is true for men and women however these results are based on the average population meaning that those results don’t take into account lifestyle, nutrition and genetics, after all, there is evidence that seniors from ages 70-85 were able to build muscle during a 6 month long research, more on that later.
When it comes to measuring our ability to gain fat free mass, researchers have to consider the overall energy expenditure. They do this by calculating subjects’ physical activity level (PAL): total energy expenditure divided by resting energy expenditure.
The scoring system works like this; someone who was extremely sedentary would have a score of 1.5 and someone who was extremely active would have a score of 2.0 or even higher.
In a study that included 2,000 people from the ages of 3-90 (wild I know), they found that no matter what age you were, individuals who scored 2.0 or higher retained the highest amount of fat free mass. Hardly surprising there.
So you see, although the average person’s ability to build muscle may decline after age 30, increasing your energy expenditure (especially through the means of strength training) can greatly improve your ability to build lean mass.
Studies in the past have shown that muscle declines at a rate of 3-8 percent per decade following the age of 40. But what was unclear was whether this decline was due to the overall decrease in physical activity by that particular age group or due to physiological factors.
A newer study emerged showing evidence that with continued physical activities especially through strength training, progressive overload, and increased protein consumption, subjects aged 70-85 were able to increase muscle mass.
So why have we been so wrong about this in the past?
You only have to look at the portrayal of middle-aged women in The Golden Girls (aged 50-60 at the time) vs the women from the recently released Sex in the City sequel Just Like That (also in their 50’s) to understand that times have changed and the interpretation of how certain demographics “should behave” can massively influence people’s behaviours and opinions.
The Crossfit Games recently added a new masters devision that includes 65+. I’m just so excited I get to be a part of the generation that sees that devision growing every year.
Now everywhere you look, women in their 50’s and 60’s are still competing, perfecting their skills and in some cases still getting better at their chosen sport.
Now that we understand what lean mass is, how muscle gain and/or loss is measured in research, the next obvious question is…
How do you actually build muscle as a masters athlete?
Building muscle in your 40’s and 50’s regardless of your gender is possible.
If you aren’t entirely convinced just check out Joan. If you don’t already follow her, you should. Joan didn’t start lifting weights until she was in her 70’s. She can hip thrust heavier than me.
While you absolutely can build muscle well into your 80’s, a few things have to be in place to make that possible so let’s look at some of the things you can do to improve your ability to build lean mass.
Increase protein intake
How much protein do you actually need? We can only go by research, but each individual is different depending on so many variables including activity volume, intensity of those activities and genetics just to name a few.
Optimal protein is defined as the minimum amount of protein needed to create an anabolic response. One research recommended that “older adults” should aim for an average of 35g of protein per meal based on the assumption that 3 even meals are being consumed per day. The term “older adults” here is very vague and this is research based on an average population.
When it comes to actually eating for maximal protein synthesis for your body as a recreational athlete, your biometrics will matter, so let’s take a look at the latest recommendations for muscle gain and athletic performance.
The following is a recommended protein intake for female athletes:
Lightly active female athletes 0.8-1.1g per pound of body weight
Moderately active 0.9-1.2g /lb
Highly active 1.0-1.3g/lb
The following is a recommendation for male athletes:
Lightly active 0.85-1.15g/lb
Moderately active 0.95-1.25g/lb
Highly active 1.05-1.35g/lb
I’ll take this opportunity to remind you that as we age, it becomes harder for our bodies to absorb nutrients, so based on those figures you can increase that daily intake to slightly higher if you are a masters athlete in the 50+ devision.
The best way to gauge is to see how you feel and whether you are recovering well enough after each training session.
2. Strength training is crucial
I wish I understood this in my younger years rather than fall into the trap of thinking that lifting made you “bulky”. I spent years practicing yoga and doing long cardio and wondered why I couldn’t build lean mass.
Whether your goal is to build lean mass, increase performance or strength, lifting weights can massively help you achieve this. Overall volume matters when it comes to building muscle, in other words its more about how much you are training rather than the weights itself.
This is not a get-out-of-jail-free-card to wreck your body and overtrain. All it means is that there is a difference between training for strength and training for muscle size. Next week’s blog will go into this in more detail.
3. Overall calorie intake matters too
Because our bodies are jerks, it means that when we lose weight, we also lose muscle. Hurray.
Dr Gilbert Forbes, MD founded the Forbes Rule which states that 25% of any weight you lose will be in fat free mass. This explains why when you lose weight your resting metabolic rate decreases. You often see this in individuals who experiencing impressive weight loss for the first 12 weeks of a plan and then suddenly stop progressing.
This is also why I never let my athletes enter deficits for more than 12 weeks. If you’re interested in learning more about diet periodisation for continual progress check out my blog Diet periodisation: What is it and how to do it.
So what can you do to avoid muscle loss?
Make sure that you are eating enough.
While protein is going to be the important macronutrient is helping you minimise muscle loss, all other macronutrients matter too. Making sure that you are eating enough to maintain body weight is crucial.
Conclusion
Gaining muscle all the way into your 80’s is possible, but not without strength training and good nutrition. The more active you are in your later years the more likely you will be able to maintain lean mass.
The basic fundamentals should also be practiced like getting enough sleep, enjoying a balanced diet, managing stress, overall increasing in non exercise movements.
Resources
Angela Chalé, Gregory J. Cloutier, Cynthia Hau, Edward M. Phillips, Gerard E. Dallal, Roger A. Fielding, Efficacy of Whey Protein Supplementation on Resistance Exercise–Induced Changes in Lean Mass, Muscle Strength, and Physical Function in Mobility-Limited Older Adults, The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, Volume 68, Issue 6, June 2013, Pages 682–690, https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/gls221
Baum, J.I.; Kim, I.-Y.; Wolfe, R.R. Protein Consumption and the Elderly: What Is the Optimal Level of Intake? Nutrients 2016, 8, 359. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu8060359
Klaas R Westerterp, Yosuke Yamada, Hiroyuki Sagayama, Philip N Ainslie, Lene F Andersen, Liam J Anderson, Lenore Arab, Issaad Baddou, Kweku Bedu-Addo, Ellen E Blaak ... Show more The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 114, Issue 5, November 2021, Pages 1583–1589, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqab260
PETERSON, MARK D.1; SEN, ANANDA2; GORDON, PAUL M.1 Influence of Resistance Exercise on Lean Body Mass in Aging Adults, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise: February 2011 - Volume 43 - Issue 2 - p 249-258 doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181eb6265
