Did anyone gain muscle with exercise in their 40s?

[AliceMay55]

I seem to be losing a lot of muscle lately. My arms look quite flabby, my legs look flabby etc.

I never did weights before. Is it worth starting now or is it all downhill from here? I’m just below 45.

I am someone who has struggled with exercise all my life (am 48). Knee issues, being hyper mobile so easily injured and basically not very good at sport! Oh and overweight too.

Joined a newly opened gym 3 months ago, started with a pt a few weeks later because of the peri menopausal health benefits. I LOVE it! Going 3 times a week, actively look forward to it.

I get the post exercise buzz I'd never experienced, I can see changes in my body, I opened my own jar of pickle rather than giving it to dh! Today I actually managed to do some planks (my bete noir), improved my weights and went back for an extra set of sled pushes for fun!

Still very overweight but that's not what this is about. It's about pretending I'm superman on the chest fly machine or trying to beat last weeks results. Next week I start on the squat rack in the scary section!

Protein is a constant battle here (vegan). I track using MFP and I know I am not getting enough. I am about to start supplementing with a vegan protein shake. The advice up thread about seeing a dietician who specialises in plant based diets is good - I might investigate that.

Please can I ask the best protein drinks people use? Not vegan please.

Absolutely. I started at 49

Yes.

Took up weight training in my early 40s in the midst of perimenopause hell. Did a body recomposition programme which increased my muscle mass while losing body fat.

Diet is a huge part of building and maintaining muscle. I eat around 120g of protein a day.

MyProtein is good - I used them before we went vegan. Good range of flavours.

Yes as a runner/cyclist that was always my mantra, weights were boring, as was working out indoors. But I didn't get the strength and muscle growth required by your body that weight training provides. I actually enjoy my training sessions with Caroline Girvan and even though I ran 50 plus miles a week before I never had the quads, hamstrings and glutes I have now. Not to mention improved core body strength and sculpted arms. My running has improved as a result too, it's all positive.

I aim for 1g protien per lb of body weight but anything over 0.8 is good to start building muscle. I highly recommend getting some vegan protein powder, personally I use protein works and then things like tofu, Linda McCartney sausages and quorn. (Apro do a hood chocolate protein milk as well!) Might be worth tracking for a bit to make sure you're getting enough. But the biggest game changer I've found is buying a Ninja Creami. Find it so much easier to to get enough protein when all I have to do it eat ice cream 😂 X

Agreed it also is so good for aligning posture and long lean muscle, no bulking up. I find it easy to do , but feel it the next day!!

Weights are really important as you get older apparently. I now have properly defined biceps and triceps. I got a personal trainer to show me how to lift weights properly and give me a programme and I go once or twice a week just for weights, doing exercise classes the rest of the time for some cardio. I've just turned 60 and am in better shape than I've ever been, apart from being slightly overweight.

Of course you can!

I am in my 60s and have better muscles than DD in her 20s.

I remember my mum in her 50s and 60s. She had lost muscle and struggled to do things like walking upstairs and holding her grandchildren for more than a few minutes. I assumed (and I guess she did too) that it was just a natural part of aging. It's not!

At my gym most of the fittest women are 50 or older. They have time to dedicate to their fitness.

I am fitter and have far more muscle than I ever did in my 20s, 30s, 40s.

I'm in my 40s and have been strength training in a gym for about 8 years.

My posture is better, my arms and legs are more toned then they have ever been but more importantly I love it! It's an incredible feeling, getting stronger 💪

I'm also investing in my fitness and health for the future, which is reassuring.

I could've written this. I'm late 50's. My muscle definition when I flex or have a pump can look a bit scary tbh. Way more than my DD's both in their 20's. They are not overweight but don't have the time/focus on muscle building and protein intake as I do.

It definitely works. I'm a PT, @AliceMay55 , if you want any advice, pm me or ask on the thread. And before anybody says it, I'm not touting for business. I offer advice anonymously because I like to help people.

https://exrx.net/Lists/Directory is a good resource, and a good workout will have 6 basic compund lifts:

• Horizontal push (i.e. press up variant)
• Horizontal pull (i.e. row variant)
• Vertical push (shoulder press)
• Vertical pull (pull up)
• Hip hinge movement (dealift)
• Squat movement (lunges)

Good luck!

I started working out with weights/dumbbells in my mid-60s. Four years later I am seriously fit and my bingo wings are long gone.

I could not have imagined where this journey would take me when I started. The turning point came when I discovered Caroline Girvan. She is by far the best weight trainer on youtube.

These days I work out 5 or 6 times a week, for 45 to 75 minutes at a time. I always do one of CG's sessions, plus a 3-5 minute plank, a dozen or so push-ups and some cardio/HIIT with Growingannanas, as well as warm-up and cool-down.

To me doing weights has been nothing short of life-changing.

Yes. Regular weight training, either in a class like BodyPump, or with a PT. Aim to train every other day, and with a healthy diet, and you should start to notice a change in tone in about 2 weeks.

I did, all done at home - running/walking/hill wanders built muscle on lower half; yoga (quite gentle and not loads); and runners' strength and mobility exercises all made a huge difference. I don't use any weights or anything as I've nowhere to put them but even so have toned up a lot with the above.

Only thing is it's harder work as you get older especially if you let yourself go like I did 🤣

Yes once you get into your 40s you should lift weights. You won't "bulk", you will just become leaner and burn more calories.

Disclaimer: I don't lift weights but do a weekly body weight conditioning class - sometimes we do have kit like kettlebells but usually not. It has made a big difference to me though. Body weight/resistance training is very good if you can't get to a gym or don't have the kit.

Or in about six weeks if you do it once a week like me. It works quickly!

Yes once you get into your 40s you should lift weights. You won't "bulk", you will just become leaner and burn more calories

Whether you 'bulk' or not is very subjective. What is 'bulking'? I'm in my late 40s and my muscles are growing, to the point that some people might not want their muscles to be so big. Isn't that bulking?

How much your muscles grow, and how they grow, is down to you body's abilities, what you do, and what you eat. So, some women may 'bulk', whilst others don't. Nobody can categorically say it won't happen.

You can do exercises that are toning not bulking. A PT should be able to show you.

There is no such thing as toning. What people mean when they say tone is lose weight and build muscle.

@Watchkeys i completely agree. I am absolutely loving how big and strong my upper body has become since I started weights seriously and lifting heavier 2 years ago and I want it to get bigger!
I am looking to reduce the ‘bulk’ on my legs though as they are fast responders and too many of my trousers and shorts no longer fit! I don’t want or need to lose weight( then my tits would disappear completely!)- it’s muscle- so I am now lowering the weights on leg days and often doing without any weights.

I’m mid 40’s and nearly 2 years ago I started going to fitness classes. Never done any exercise or fitness before. Started at 1 class and now do 3.
A bums and tums class (squats, sits ups etc) and 2 strength and tone classes (bar bell and dumbbells)
Im more toned, everything firmer, can see muscle definition in arms and shoulders.
I’ve lost several inches of stomach and hips, bum is more ‘lifted’

Toning is bulking. You just stop before you get big, and then maintain what you've built. No PT can show you how to 'tone not bulk'; they can only show you how to build muscle and lose fat.

What exercises do you think tone, but don't bulk?