Seniors Can Still Bulk Up On Muscle By Pressing Iron Our muscle mass decreases at surprising rates as we get older. But researchers found that people older than 50 can not only maintain but actually increase their muscle mass by lifting weights.
“You can always get stronger and change the trajectory of your muscle health.” Though you might not see improvement in days, you likely will in weeks. For example, one German review found measurable increases in muscle size occur in as little as six to nine weeks of consistent strength training in adults older than 60.
But as you age, many of the biological processes that turn exercise into muscle become less effective. This makes it harder for older people to build strength but also makes it that much more important for everyone to continue exercising as they age.
Luckily, the loss of muscle mass is mostly reversible. Numerous experts recommend resistance and weight training as the best ways to rebuild muscle. And in addition to building muscle mass, this type of exercise increases bone mass, which is another key to remaining mobile as you age.
Strength training is the secret to muscle growth for older adults. It's best to do this with light weights and to work slowly. Slow movements with lighter weights force your muscles to work harder. If you don't have a set of weights, you can use your body weight with resistance exercises like push-ups and squats.
Adding a little bit more muscle to your body and decreasing your fat makes you look leaner, not bigger. So lifting heavier weights with fewer reps (eight to 12 on average) and working until you're fatigued is more effective at toning muscles than lifting lighter weights.
A 10-pound dumbbell can help you better perform some bodyweight exercises. For example, it can act as a counterbalance, helping you perfect difficult moves like the single-leg squat. Holding the weight in front of you makes you more steady.
Seniors Can Still Bulk Up On Muscle By Pressing Iron Our muscle mass decreases at surprising rates as we get older. But researchers found that people older than 50 can not only maintain but actually increase their muscle mass by lifting weights.
No matter what your age, you can improve your fitness.
If it's been a long time since you've exercised and you're feeling less than fit, you might think that it's too late to make a change. But you're wrong. You can improve your fitness at any age.
Fifty may be the new 40, but convincing your abdominal muscles of that may take some work. Although it's possible to flatten your abs over 50, you do lose muscle mass at the rate of about 3 to 8 percent each decade after the age of 30 and at a rate even faster than that once you've passed 60.
Position your arms in front of your hips with the insides of your arms facing forward. Raise your forearms toward your shoulders while keeping your elbows by your sides. Lower the weights with control to complete the repetition. Perform eight to 24 reps, three times per week.
During any static hold exercise you're creating and, here's the key word, sustaining tension in the muscle(s), says Luciani. “Increasing time under tension is going to increase muscle breakdown. More muscle breakdown means more muscle growth when those muscle fibers repair,” she says.
So, how often should you train your arms if you are looking for optimal muscle growth? You can train arms between 2-6 times per week. The more frequently you train arms, the less you should do per day. If you train arms twice per week, you'll do 2-3 exercises per session with 3-4 total sets.
"Our model offers a physiological basis for the idea that muscle growth mainly occurs at 70% of the maximum load, which is the idea behind resistance training." This was the answer the researchers came up with: around 70% of your maximum weight on any given lift is ideal for building muscle.
To tone your arm muscles, consider starting with 2- to 3-pound dumbbells, all the way up to 5- to 10-pound dumbbells for women and 10- to 20-pound dumbbells for men. Once you can do 12 to 15 repetitions with little effort, it's time to increase the weights.
The Bottom Line on Lifting Weights Daily
"Lifting weights every day is safe so long as you are resting other muscle groups," Brathwaite says. Split routines, where you train different muscle groups on different days, are great for this. If you don't, you run the risk of an injury or a plateau.
How long it takes to build muscle and see results. Gaining muscle is a slow process. It can take about three to four weeks to see a visible change. You'll see some real results after 12 weeks, but it "all depends on your goals, and what type of strength training you are doing," says Haroldsdottir.
You need to be hitting the weights at least three days per week. The research says that at the very least, training a minimum of two days per week is needed to maximize muscle growth.