How To Build Muscle After 40 (Best Strategies & Benefits)

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The aim of this video is to show you how and why you should learn how to build muscle over 40. At the Fit Father Project, it’s our main aim to help you and your family create the habits you need to live a healthier and fitter life. Building muscle is only one of the areas we can help you with. We also have videos on nutrition, weight loss, meditation, sleep, and many other ‘lifestyle’ areas. Let’s dive on in!

First off, why do you need to build muscle after 40? Well, as we age, our muscle mass starts to decrease naturally. This is called Sarcopenia and is responsible for an 8-10% loss in muscle tissue every decade of our lives. As muscle tissue is the main driver of our metabolic rate (around 2.5 - 3 times more metabolically active than fat), the more muscle you lose and the slower your metabolism becomes.

*Reason #1 – Boosts Metabolism

Building muscle after 40 helps to reduce this natural muscle loss I've mentioned above, called Sarcopenia, so maintains your metabolism at a higher rate. This means the aesthetic look of your body will not go to that stage of looking frail and aged, or worse, grossly overweight, but will maintain a strong looking physique and a body with a highly active metabolism.

*Reason #2 – Functional Strength

As mentioned above, losing muscle tissue can push you to that state of being frail and losing ‘functional strength’, which is basically your ability to complete ordinary, functional tasks to their full capacity. Men that continue to lose functional strength in their later years can end up being reliant on others and often need nursing home care.

*Reason #3 – Better Brain Function

Another solid reason to gain muscle after 40 is to improve your brain function and memory. This is a fascinating subject and something you wouldn’t usually expect, but research is showing that having a stronger body also leads to a stronger mind and better brain function. The improvement in your mitochondria and intracellular metabolism benefits your brain as well as your body!

**Tips To Get Started

*Tip #1 – Full Body Training

The safest way to start building muscle after 40 is to partake in full-body training sessions. These types of workouts use the best compound muscle-building exercises to condition your body, build muscle, and help you stay stronger as you age.

*Tip #2 – Upper/Lower Body Split

Your next step, as you learn how to gain muscle after 40 is to split your workouts into an Upper/Lower body split routine. This means you work all the major muscle groups in your upper body in one session and all those in your lower body on a separate day. This type of training is more intense, but still allows good recovery time between workouts.

*Tip #3 – Avoid Splits Routines

Splitting your muscle groups down any further after the age of 40 is not recommended, purely because of the recovery ability you have as you get older. It is not as high as it was when you were in your 20’s and maybe 30’s, so sticking with full-body or upper/lower splits is my recommendation for building muscle after 40.

*Tip #4 – Modify For Safety

My last tip here is to BE SAFE! As you get older, it’s not just muscle tissue that’s affected, but your joints and general body wear and tear too. Your joints have been through 40+ years of work, children, exercise, etc. so you need to protect them. Warm-up and cool down properly, use safe exercises, and work with weights that you can push your limits, but manage without causing injury. Safety and injury prevention is key to long-term success.

Your friends here at the FFP,

-Dr. Balduzzi + The Men's Health Experts @ The Fit Father Project

**Disclaimer: This information is for reference purposes ONLY and cannot replace personal information you can and should discuss with your Doctor. If you have any concerns about your health, you should see your Doctor immediately. Results vary by individual, so we do not guarantee you will get the same results as any shown here or on our website.

[djkell]

I'm 44 with a 18 month old son. This gives me hope being able to keep up with him until adult hood . Thank you

[jj]

This is great. I showed this to my father. He's getting back into weightlifting. This will really motivate him. He's always concerned about brain function so this will really get him working out.

[antwoinebrown]

I have to get back to it. I am a stroke survivor and I lost 62lbs recovering from my stroke. I love this video. Its show me I can still get my body back in shape.

[oeleveoleve.]

thank you doctor. Im 70 . i do bike, swimn laps, and lift some weight and calistenia. I feel healthy and fit. learn a lot with your videos. one most important to me is keep my flexibility and my blood pressure ok.

[iriabee]

I'm going to be hitting 40 soon so this is really important info for me.Thanks.

[MohamedMohamed-byiy]

I'm 40, started lifting weights 5 years ago, yes weightlifting is really necessary for men as we get older.

💪🏻 Thank God I'm healthier, stronger and looking way younger than my friends whom don't lift weights.

[Iso]

I've been weight lifting for around 13 years and I will say this, in my 20's, building muscle happened with just about any weight lifting and diet method that I tried. Now that I'm in my 30's, I can't get away with just lifting and eating a lot of food. I'm sure it doesn't help having had multiple bicep tendon and rotator cuff injuries that always seem to resurface no matter what I do...

[HooglesonInc]

It's never too late to get in shape and build muscle. You'll thank yourself when you do.

[penhdog]

How to build muscle over 40. 1) get a trainer 2) book in a plan 3) turn up

[bongbonganabu]

Thanks to God, i see your video before i get 40. Im now 36 years old and starting to build my muscle.

[stvo]

The closer I get to 40 the more I realize how important (and hard) it is to build muscle. I had no idea building muscle helped with brain function too. Thanks for the tips, I always learn something new from your videos.

[umbroraban]

I am almost 50 now and I have been going to the gym for almost the last 25 years. Every time I go the gym I get reminded of the ageing process I am going through. Tendonitis, joint pains, back pain, loss of strength are just a few signs that life is not eternal. But I have always been able to motivate myself to keep on training and running as this is the only way to tell your body that the show is not over and there are still a number of years to come. During all these years I have been able to try different training programs. The most effective for me is a hybrid between full body / HIIT / split training. Here is an example:

1. Full body circuit (no rest between the sets)
=>Dumbell shoulder press
=>Pull-ups
=>Push-ups
=>Dumbell squats
Do this circuit for 4-5 times. Its brutal, but it is so effective

2. After the circuits I concentrate on one muscle groups per day together with either biceps of triceps
Example of chest + Biceps
=>Bench Press in superset with Cable Fly's
=>Inclined Dumbell Press in superset with Pull Overs
=>Biceps Barbell Curl in superset with seated inclined Dumbell Bicep Curl
=>Hammer Curls

I am vegetarian but I eat dairy and I drink one beer a day. After my trainings (about 8 'o clock AM) I eat a small bowl of oats with some nuts. The rest of the day I do not eat until evening at about 7pm. This bowl of oats is like heaven to me... I have 0 fat and feel good. That is what we aim for in life.

[JoeMG]

Hey everyone, I'm new to this group and I'm super happy that I found you all.  

Here is a little about me; I’m 46, haply married and I have 4 kids all under 10. 

I have been exercising 3 times a week for the past 20 months and I love it.  It’s my little escape from the crazy house if you know what I mean. 

My workouts go for about an hour in the morning, I start with a 15 min mile run, move to a 30 min strength training, and then finish up with another 15 min mile run. 

My question is this, I am tired, a little sore, and just feeling spent afterward, this will go on for most of the day and it is not easy to do my daily duties.  I feel good, but just spent, can anyone relate? Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can take, drink or eat to help with the physical recovery?

Thanks again.

[polyglotmacuacua]

Great video. Very informative and motivating.

[aslahmohamed]

Wow its nice . I hope to try this. Thanks for share.

[IvanaChapman]

Great video! I put most of my coaching clients on full body programs and the results tend to be better than with body part splits.

[sarefin]

You made my day You are the real deal, the best motivation for those we are 40 plus !!! Thanks !!!

[dorismullins]

I am glad to find this video and your channel because this is what I was looking for.

[nicolemartin]

This video was very informative and inspiring! It's great to know that we can still put on muscle after 40 and into our older years. The benefits that Dr. B covered makes the hard work and training well worth the pain! It would be a dream to feel young and be functional over age 70+ and to fend off dementia. Definitely something to strive for! thanks!

[malcolmmetty]

quite an essential talk DR Balduzzi, brilliant comprehensive analysis on muscle mass loss, metabolic rates and strategies to maintain and strengthen muscle after age 40.