Tips on how to gain muscles efficiently when you're 40

Tips on how to gain muscles efficiently when you’re 40

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I am in my 40 already and I begin to worry with my muscle condition and health in general as I have the tendency to live a sedentary lifestyle. Working-out in the gym is now my best option to stay fit and gain more muscles. But one question keeps lingering, can I still improve my muscles and become sexy and firm with my age?

Building muscles when you are 40 and above is a difficult thing to do compared to when you are still in your 20s. But to gain muscles at a later age is certainly achievable when done properly and efficiently. Of course working out at younger age is much easier to do because of a more potent release of hormones. But this does not mean being 40, you may stop working out. Bottom line is allow more time for muscle recovery from heavy work outs and put balance in your workout regimen without sacrificing cardiovascular conditioning.

Here are some simple tips for 40 year old males on how to gain muscles effectively:

1. Warm-up properly before starting to lift heavy weights. When you’re 40, your body takes longer to warm up and get loose. You easily suffer and tightness, stiffness of muscles that leads to injury. The best warm-up exercise involves getting on a piece of cardio equipment like stationary bike and perform for 10 to 15 minutes before the actually weight lifting. Another common option is walk on a thread mill for about 15-20 minutes.

2. Moderate weights. When you start your weight lifting, use moderate weights with which you can complete 8 to 12 repititions for upper body exercises and 12-20 repititions for lower body routines. The lower weight-more rep scheme is advised when you’re 40 years old since it help build muscles faster with less potential of injury. Include circuit training and free weights as the former allows you to give your shoulders, back, arms, chest, abs, glutes, hamstrings, and calf muscles more concentration. Perform strength training at least 3 times in a week.

3. Cardiovascular exercises. Cardio routine for 3 times a week is a must to cut fat and increase metabolic rate if you’re aiming to gain muscles. When you have reached 40 metabolism is vital as this implies how fast your body burns the calories which is certainly faster when you’re in your 20s or 30s. Low-impact cardio is ideal when you’re 40 as this does not stress your heart. This includes walking for at least 25 minutes. Do not run as it will put too much stress on the kness and joints. Once you’re starting to improve your conditioning process, pick up the pace, but stay with slow jogging or fast walking for the first four weeks of your workout program.

4. Proper Diet. Eat protein-rich diet. If you’re 40 and aim to gain muscles, you must eat proper food. Avoid junk food and processed meat. Cut out on fast foods, fried foods, and very oily food. Add tomatoes in your meal as this contains antioxidant like lycopene and may prevent you from getting prostate cancer. Brocolli is also good in fighting the top two killers for men 40 and above, heart diseases and cancer. Drink 64 oz of water everyday for this helps in lubricating your muscles, joints and tendons. Sports drink contain more sugar and sodium. Water washes out toxins that may accumulate in your body.