Can you build muscle after 40?

[MuscleMecca Crew]

The life of a 40-year-old is filled with more responsibilities than a 21, and this can make it difficult to include hitting the gym to build muscles. When you think about the strict diet, the regular training, and the stress you'll be putting your body through, you may not want to embark on such a reckless journey. An average 40 years old man would feel his body cannot handle the same stress he was used to in his twenties, and his body might take longer to recover. The truth is that this ideology does not matter when it comes to building muscle after 40. With the right training plan, you can still build muscles even after 40 and get in good shape.

Can You Build Muscle After 40?​

Researchers have successfully compared people within different age ranges who followed the same training program for eight weeks. They discovered that people between 35 and 60 years old could build muscle as those between 18 and 22 years old. A more detailed study showed that college-aged men could put on around two pounds of muscle, while middle-aged men gained 2.5 pounds. This research shows that age is not a barrier to building and maintaining muscle gain.

The Rules for Building Muscle After 40​

There's no specific muscle-building rule even after you're past 40. Although your age may tell on your speed and level of progress can't affect how you build muscle. Since you can't reverse your age, there's no point in stressing about it, y; youed to train smarter and better. People in different age ranges have similar responses to training; the only difference is the size of your results and the speed at which you train.

So if you're approaching your forties, fifties, or sixties, you can still build muscles without sustaining injury. You can still get that perfect shape and gains by following training rules and a strict program.

1. Embrace the Light​

If you lift too much heat weight, you experience little aches and pains in your joints, wrists, elbows, and shoulders. Eventually, these minor pains degenerate, and they affect your training. It may take a long while before they heal, and you can resume training properly again.
The simple solution is to go light on any exercise that causes you pain. You can equally build muscles with lightweight, contrary to popular opinion; you only need to use higher reps. When you lift heavy weights with three sets of 10 to 12 reps, it's equal to high reps and light weights of 3 sets of 30 to 40 reps. According to Japanese research, lifting a light weight slowly increases muscle size and strength just as much as heavy lifting. So instead of dwelling on heavy weights and causing pain in your joints, you can mix it up.

1. Don’t Stop Moving​

The right thing to do after sustaining an injury when training is to rest; however, with some injuries, it's better you rest. Eccentric training is a resistance exercise proven to work well for treating tendon pain in the elbow and Achilles tendon. In most cases, it works better than surgery.

There's also some research going on to prove that regular heavy strength training works to treat tendon pain, like eccentric training. The study compared three treatments: corticosteroid injections, eccentric single-leg squats, and heavy slow (6 seconds per rep) resistance training. Also, according to this research, it's okay to feel, but it's wrong when the pain worsens after the workout session. If you get injured during your training, you should visit your therapist before you to know the next step to take. A therapist will determine whether to rest or keep moving.

1. Keep Joints in The Greenhouse​

If your joints (elbows and knees) are causing you pain, try wearing some sleeves over these joints when you train. These are neoprene wraps that you wear over your knees and elbows. Their primary function is to provide compression and warmth, making it easier for your knees and elbows when you're lifting.

1. Stimulate, Don’t Annihilate​

It's easy to think you're not gaining muscle because you're not training hard enough. It may be true that lack of effort shows no result, but that's not the only reason. Some people train harder than others but get little or no results despite all their effort. The only way to achieve your desired outcome is to follow a structured plan rather than train like a heavyweight champ. If you continue training at a consistent pace, you can begin to see results. If you overexert yourself, you may be causing more harm than good to your body. It would help if you worked hard enough to stimulate progress and not annihilate yourself.

1. Stretch What’s Tight​

Static stretching cannot be fully approved as a form of exercise because it doesn't appear to do much for muscle soreness or injury prevention. However, if you experience tightness in any of your muscles, like the hamstrings, hip flexors, quadriceps, and gluteals, you can practice static stretching to improve your condition. A simple prescription to apply the stretching tactic is to stretch any tight muscles for at least 60 seconds per day. Stretching for 60 seconds can improve flexibility more than a 30-second or 15-second stretching session.

1. Pick Your Battles to Build Muscle​

Some people they're built with a bone structure that makes them perform more specific exercises than others. You might not have the structure for deep squats or deadlifts, and that's not bad. For instance, if you have short arms and long legs, deadlifting won't be the best option, but that doesn't mean you can't do a deadlift. Just try rack pulls instead; this one enables you to maintain your normal spinal curvature.

If your wrists have difficulty during chin-ups, try using a suspension trainer. It helps your wrist move freely rather than being in the same position the whole time. So pick what's comfortable for you and watch yourself get your desired result.

The Bottom Line​

Building muscle after 40 is challenging but not impossible. You might feel too old to bear the punishment you'd be putting your body through, but that doesn't matter. What matters is using the right training program to help you gain more muscles and stay in shape even in your forties.