How To Build Muscle If You’re A Woman Over 40
You’re over 40 and thinking is it too late to build muscle and get strong? No ways! Declining muscle mass is part of aging but it doesn’t mean you cannot stop it and build more muscle.
If you’re thinking of skipping the weights section of the gym or going to do some cardio instead I’m going to give three good reasons strength training should be part of your exercise plan.
Reason #1 – Skip the menopause weight gain
Having enough muscle mass can help you boost your metabolism, burn calories, and prevent the common menopause weight gain that happens to a lot of women. It also gives you the ability to eat more and continue with your current diet without having to calorie restrict because you need to lose weight.
Reason #2 – Stay Strong and Independent
If you blame your age for getting weaker you can reverse it with weight lifting. Aging gracefully and remaining independent means having enough strength to do your daily activities without assistance. It also means keeping your bones strong, muscles healthy, and maintaining your mobility, weight lifting helps you achieve all of that.
Reason #3 – Reduce The Risk Of Injury
Over 50% of women eventually develop osteoporosis due to the decline in estrogen levels during and after menopause. Having low bone density and muscle strength is associated with increased falls and fractures. A focused, well-balanced weight-lifting plan can help your body function at its best and help with stability and balance, limiting the risk of injury and future falls.
Tips For Building Muscles and Getting Stronger Fast
Here are four tips for building muscles fast no matter your weightlifting experience and what plan you’re following. They will help you expedite your results so you feel stronger faster and start seeing changes in the mirror.
Muscle Building Tip #1 - Gradually Lift Heavier Weights
This is the easiest way to build strength and muscle mass and you can feel yourself getting stronger every week when you keep a log of your exercises and weights.
The right weight to start with for any exercise is the weight that is challenging for the exercise you’re doing while maintaining good form. For example, if your goal is 10 reps you want to leave enough strength to do maybe 1-2 reps more afterward.
Another way to look at it is on the scale of the rate of perceived exertion chart you want to be aiming for an 8 or 9 in the challenge while maintaining good form.
Copyright: MDPI
If your form starts to crumble even before you’ve reached the half way point lighten the weight and work on better form.
Good form is important because you want to make sure you are engaging the right muscles, you’re not compensating with other muscles that are not supposed to be involved in the movement and you want to stay safe while lifting.
Muscle Building Tip #2 – Activate Your Muscles
Are you feeling that muscle working? Many times people are going through the motions without thinking about what they’re doing.
It’s not about how many reps and sets or how long you’ve spent in the gym lifting but it’s the quality of the reps.
Reps is short form for ‘repetition’ and equals the completion of one exercise. While a set is a consecutive number of assigned reps done without stopping or taking a break.
Sets and reps explanation.
When you’re doing a bunch of make sure you’re feeling it in the right muscles.
For example, if you’re doing a pullup and the next day all you feel are how sore your arms are then it means you didn’t use your back muscles to help you with that pullup.
Before you perform any strength exercise think about what muscles this exercise is targeting and feel it working. If you cannot feel it working it helps to touch that area you want to focus on to help your brain make that mind-muscle connection.
If you cannot feel your muscles working, it’s not growing.
Muscle Building Tip #3 - Perform the Big Five Compound Movements
Performing big movements in your workouts is the key to getting strong fast, building muscle mass, and being time efficient.
If you only had to focus your workout on a handful of the most effective exercises to get the quickest results in the shortest time focus on the Big Five movements: squat, hinge, push, pull, and a loaded carry.
The Big Five Compound Movements
These movements use the biggest and most dominant muscles in your body to burn more calories, create more testosterone for muscle growth, and it’s practical for everyday because they are functional movements.
If you are picking up laundry from the ground you’re doing a hinge at the hips.
If you’re moving a box from the floor and bending your knees you’re performing a squat.
Carrying groceries from the car? That’s a loaded carry.
Performing the Big Five movements creates a well-rounded workout program that builds overall body strength.
Below are example exercises from the Big Five movements that you can add to your workout.
Exercises for different movement patterns. Bolded exercise means it’s appropriate for a beginner.
An example of beginner workout that includes the Big Five movements,
Beginner strength workout including all 5 fundamental movements.
Diet To Support Muscle Health
Unless we’re focused on a health or fitness goal we often don’t pay attention to our protein intake. Protein is a macro that is vital for muscle maintenance and growth with many benefits,
30% of the calories from protein gets burned off by your body processing it for absorption
it’ll keep you satiated for at least 3 to 4 hours at a time
reduces cravings and energy crashes
boosts your metabolism and fat burning
To start, eat at least a handful of protein with every meal and focus with reaching a goal of at least 100 grams of protein a day.
Breakfast is often the meal that gets overlooked and is the greatest opportunity to increase your protein intake.
Below are examples of lean, minimally processed protein options,
Various protein options.
It’s never too late to start building strength and muscle. The best part about it is that one year from now you’ll feel younger and much stronger than when you first started. Be consistent for a few years and you’ll be aging in reverse!
Candace is the owner of Rhodes To Strength. She provides weight loss and mindset coaching services to women around the world so that they keep the pounds off for good. She believes in working with clients to create sustainable habits that work for their lifestyle.
You can find her rollerskating, hiking, and bird watching in her spare time.