How to gain muscle mass after 40

Yes, it's true, you probably have more on your mind, more responsibilities, commitments, and different priorities than you did when you were 21, which can limit how much time and effort you can dedicate to training and nutrition.

The enthusiasm you once had for exercise, especially if you never saw the results you expected, may have faded.

You may think that your body can no longer handle the “abuse” it could handle when you were 20 years younger and needs more time to recover (time that you don’t have).

But honestly, none of that matters.

Using the right approach and mindset, you can still build significant muscle mass after 40.

In fact, a study done by the University of Oklahoma compared people of different ages who trained using the same workout program for eight weeks, found that middle-aged men (35-50 years old) were able to build as much mass as younger guys (18-22 years old).

This is because basically, the rules for building muscle mass at 20, 40, or 60 are the same.

Yes, the number of times you've traveled around the sun can even affect how fast you progress.

The point is, age is not something we have control over or can change.

You can still make the best gains of your life simply by applying certain “steps” to your training.

If you train hard all the time, you'll start to feel minor aches and pains in your knees, wrists, elbows, and shoulders. Eventually, these aches can become so severe that they interfere with your workouts. It can take weeks, even months, for them to go away and you can return to training.

The solution is quite simple: if training hard on some exercises causes constant pain, train lightly on them. Training lightly, with more repetitions, is much better than not training at all or training to the point of injury and being away from the gym for a while.

It's very easy to tell yourself that the reason you're not gaining muscle mass is because you're not training enough.

While lack of effort is a reason many people fail to build muscle mass, there are people who train too hard and still don't get the results they expect.

Leaving the gym feeling like you've just gone a few rounds with Kimbo Slice might make you think your workout was effective. But if it's not part of a structured plan that moves you toward a goal, much of your effort can be wasted.

If you keep pushing your body to its limits every workout, a number of things can happen, none of which you'll like.

After a while of exhausting your body, during the night you'll start to experience that "alert but tired" feeling. At 2 a.m., you'll start wondering why you can't sleep. You'll wake up the next day with your heart pounding and feeling as tired as the day before.

You'll feel anxious and moody. Trivial things you don't even notice will start to bother you. Worst of all, your gym results will decline, and you'll gradually begin to feel weaker. Say hello to central nervous system fatigue!

Hard work is a tool used to stimulate physical improvement. It's a means to an end, not the end to a means.

Our bodies aren't machines, so we need rest from time to time. A simple way to rest and avoid the destruction described above is to take a "break" week (also known as a deload ) every 3–9 weeks of heavy training.

Three weeks of intense training followed by one week of light training is a well-accepted practice.

Resting every three weeks isn't strictly necessary for everyone. But if you only rest when you need it, many people end up ignoring it and never resting at all. And your body wasn't designed to be in "crazy mode" for 52 weeks a year without any rest.

In general, the more gains and experience, the more frequent rest should be. Those further from their genetic limit may rest less, as their body isn't capable of training so hard that it weakens so easily.

Some people have a body structure that allows them to perform certain exercises more easily than others.

You may not be “built” to do deep squats, deadlifts from the floor, pull-ups with a straight bar, or bench presses with a full range of motion.

If you have short arms and long legs, for example, you'll find it particularly difficult to deadlift heavy weight without rounding your lower back compared to someone with long arms and short legs.

But this doesn't mean you should give up on the deadlift. Look for a deadlift variation that allows for better execution.

If barbell bench presses hurt your shoulders, try floor presses, where the bar rests a few inches above your chest. Or use dumbbells with your palms slightly facing your body.

And don't worry if you can't squat until your butt touches your heels; there's no need to exaggerate the range of motion if it causes pain. Do it as low as possible if necessary to avoid pain.

The method for getting big after 40 is practically the same as at 20. People of different ages respond to training in similar ways, what will change is the speed at which you achieve results.