Building Muscle: A Men's Guide to Bulking Up
Building Muscle: A Men’s Guide to Bulking Up
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Aging is inevitable, but a healthy lifestyle can definitely slow down the process.
Building muscle over 40 can be more challenging than in your younger years due to a variety of factors, including reduced muscle fibres, decreased skin elasticity, metabolism and energy. If you have been inactive for a few years and have not made a conscious effort to eat well, you’ll likely have lost a lot of strength (while gaining fat).
So when a guy over 40 signs up for personal training, you know he means business. Getting your headspace and schedule ready to kick-start a fitness change can take a couple of years of psyching yourself up. But one of the best things about men of this age is that they are usually humbled by the sudden challenge of their expanding waist line, something that was never a problem in their 30s. Revving up the metabolism is not just about will power. The reason that calories are being stored instead of burnt is lifestyle-related, but there are definitely ways to overcome this. For example, time management. Between job and family commitments, schedule in a solid hour to exercise, five days a week. Hire a trainer to set you up with a fast, effective muscle-building program that works a couple muscle groups at the same time (like lunge with a medicine ball twists or bicep curls). Train in a place where your kids can join you. Low impact exercises using your own body weight are a great way to spend quality family time together.
Injuries are something else to consider. By the time a man hits 40, there’s almost always something that needs to be worked around in his training. There are lots of ways to do an intensive workout while staying safe. Be creative and try new things. Start with a lighter weight and step it up when you get more confident.
For many exercisers, recovery time has the biggest impact on your training as you get older. Recovery takes longer — you can’t just “deal with it” like you may have been able to in your 20s. Successful training needs to include a recovery system with walking, icing, stretching and rest.
Diet is also important. Learn about nutrition and how to cook from home. Single men over 40 often experience weight gain as a result of routine eating in restaurants. “Resting metabolic rate (RMR) decreases about two to five per cent every decade past age 30, which amounts to about 50-100 fewer calories burned per day. Starting at age 40 in women and 60 in men, we lose six to eight per cent of our muscle per decade,” says Sheri Barke, MPH, a registered dietitian in private practice in Southern California.
Building Muscle: A Men’s Guide to Bulking Up
www2.canada.com
