How Much Muscle Can You Build Naturally Over 50?

I want to talk about the guys in the thumbnail of this video, myself included. One of the first things you’ll notice is that we’re very lean and shredded.

This is different than muscle growth, this is more about displaying the muscle you have, and I can say that I am a good example of how lean you can get naturally over 50, but if your goal is to build muscle, then you don’t want to be this lean.

Okay, I gotta talk about Mike O’Hearn. He’s 54 years old, claims he’s natural and has been drug tested a lot; never failed a test, but his fat-free mass index is around 27, which is a full 2 points over what’s considered naturally possible for the genetically gifted, making him a poor example of what the average guy over 50 can achieve.

But something that’s a good indicator of how much muscle you can naturally add is health. Maximizing our health reduces the amount of age-related decline we experience, allowing us to build muscle like a much younger man.

Over 50? Age well with these researched backed tips.

Optimize your hormones

Genetic muscular potential calculator

Before we leave the topic of health, we should talk about testosterone; it’s a primary hormonal driver of muscle growth, and statistically, it goes down as we age. But research is discovering that it’s more connected to health and body composition than age. Again I’ll leave a link in the top comment to a video that explains this.

Next, we’ll talk about genetics, including muscle and bone structure. Philip Ricardo Jr is the guy in the thumbnail I haven’t talked about a natural Masters Olympia champion.

To compete in the natural Olympia, you must be drug tested and agree to be randomly tested throughout the year to the World anti-doping agency standards.

He’s 5’ 9”, and his competition weight is between 175 and 180 lbs., which for a natural, is a big guy. It’s commonly thought African Americans can build muscle better than Caucasians. But is this true?

I found a few studies indicating they naturally have more muscle mass, with one study stating it was about 5% more than us white guys.

I could only find one study related to muscle growth, and it found no difference between the races' ability to build muscle

It could be broken down even further; for example, there is an exceptional amount of strong men that come from Iceland and they have a reputation for being big and strong.

Muscle insertions affect how big individual muscles can grow. If you have high calves, it will be much harder to build that muscle.

With biceps, when you flex your arm, the less distance between your forearm and where the bicep peak starts, the better your genetics for building big biceps.

This can happen with any muscle. Our lats can have high or low insertions, those with low lat insertions are able to build bigger and fuller backs. The good news is just because we have one area that doesn’t have good insertions doesn’t mean our whole body is that way.

The larger your skeleton, the more muscle you can build.

Casey Butt has done the most research on this and has developed a calculator using our wrist and ankle measurements to help us determine our natural potential.

Menno Henselman has a version of the calculator, and I like it the best.
I am currently about 13% body fat.

my desired fat percentage, 10%. height is 5’9”, I weigh 161.

My wrist circumference is 7,” and my ankle circumference is 8.25.”

my natural maximum weight would be 183.8 lbs at 10% body fat. I see 165 to 170 lbs at 10% body fat as a more realistic goal, bringing my fat-free mass index in between 22 and 23

[FitandFormula]

Over 50? Age well with these researched backed tips.

Optimize your hormones

Genetic muscular potential calculator

[vlnow]

As an older guy, the biggest single thing i have noticed is the older i get the longer recovery time i need.

[hoofgripweightlifting]

I’m 51. Thanks for keeping it real. Thanks for giving me hope. And thanks for the inspiration.

[malikshabazz]

Mike O'Hearn is about as natural as Dubai and Las Vegas.

[veqhwmv]

What a well put together video. As a 51 year old who used to lift, and now getting back into it, you covered some really good base points. All in just a few mins without getting too technical. I’m about to watch that follow up video too. Thanks!

[laowai]

51 and working out on and off since 17. Never been stronger. Always been muscular and have even been asked if I have taken roids. Not sure how accurate inbody records are but reviewing the last 4 years of lifting have put on 4 pounds of muscle. Challenge now is to reduce body fat and maintain muscle.

[TheHardTruth]

Amazing video. I’m 45 years old. 50 will be here in the blink of an eye. Great to have access to info like this 🙌🏾

[donniegrande]

Mike O'Hearn all natty still benches 400 plus, squats 500 and dealifts 500 💪🏼

[themancuniancandidate]

I'm 55, and have always been fairly fit, but have been diligently hitting the gym for a little over a year and seen some good results. But my results have tended to be in the form of toning up the muscle I have rather than building much new muscle. I've lost weight, which I assume is fat loss, but a combination of old injuries to knee and shoulder limit my ability to increase weight without them flaring up.

[alexsax]

Thank you for the quality of your videos!

[FitnessAndLongevityWithHan]

I’m 53 and I can say with experience that it’s not about HOW MUCH muscle you can build… it’s about having a good balance of muscle. Too much of anything is not a good thing because it distracts from balance. Speaking of which.. as your age.. it’s more about having balance, cardio fitness, flexibility, and full range of motion mobility. Motion is lotion and ageing is a sitting disease. Focussing on just muscle development is a myopic focus on vanity and will lead to results less satisfying than the feel good you get from a diversified exercise approach

[davidjones]

Great Thumbnail
Great video as always nice one Sir 🤘

[duncanwalshfitnessweightlo]

Great stuff!! Keep pushing for us guys over 50 [well over!]😄

[TorBoy]

Thanks for covering strength training and health topics for the older guy. I appreciate it.

[DarkHorse]

Sir I'm 25... Have been watching ur videos for one year... Truly u are an inspiration, not only for the older people.. But for the young adults like My aim is to look like u when I will be in my 50s.... Respect from India!!!

[colingreen]

What an excellent informative video, in under 6 mins to.
You are the real deal Lawrence. 💪✊

[konstantinostselios]

Thanks for the effort and encouragement very well informative video I’m 50 I used to be in a great physic after 2 decades of letting go I’m trying again true very hard to put on muscle but as long as I’m at healthy level kind of fit I’m ok have a great day

[VPOFIT]

Interesting video. I am 57. I can only fit one finger between my forearm & bicep. Guess I was fortunate. Thanks

[barisciano]

In my mid sixties and still find it doesn't take all that much work to look passably fit in a tee shirt. Mostly about keeping off the flab for me. Love handles have always been an issue....I gave up long ago in that department.

[ydmoskow]

To get to the goal weights you mention, 165 to 170 at 10% body fat would require you adding about 10 pounds of muscle. I this that it quite an ambitious goal to achieve in your late 50s