Have you ever dreamed of putting on muscle mass in your 40s or 50s? Here is a science-backed way that proves it is possible and can be done in a short span of time.
Working out is an important aspect of aging, and you have to do it if you want to remain fit and supple in the upcoming years. However, you might not have an ounce of an idea of where and how to start. Allow us to help you.
Getting jacked is not just for show. Aside from the visual appeal, understand that the functioning and capability of your muscles have a lot to do with your longevity and overall fitness. If you have healthier muscles, you are stronger, suffer less from back and shoulder pains, have a higher resting metabolic rate, and have less body fat. You can be less frail and live longer.
If you have more muscles than body fat, you can climb up more stairs and do more lifting without hurting yourself. You will look younger and feel as great as kids these days. Just think about that.
Get Around the Fact that We Don’t Have the Luxury of Time
One of the issues of getting into shape is time – many of us are unable to have workouts because we simply do not have time for it. We hear those gym rats spending one or two hours working out, and we just cannot do that because we have a lot of stuff going on in our jobs, careers, family, and hobbies getting in our way. We have so little time left in the day to go to gyms.
So, what will you do? People can still have gains in their 40s through physical training and spending less time in the gym. No need to become old, brittle, and dry.
Make Gains in a Shorter Amount of Time
There is a way to have workouts in a time-efficient manner. A paper titled ‘No Time to Lift? Designing Time-Efficient Training Programs for Strength and Hypertrophy: A Narrative Review’ examined the best methods of strength training in the shortest amount of time possible.
It says, “Weekly training volume is more important than training frequency and we recommend performing a minimum of 4 weekly sets per muscle group using around 6-15 rpm loading range (15-40 repetitions can be used if training is performed to volitional failure).”
That means training at least four times a week while sticking to between 15 to 40 repetitions per muscle group (shoulders, arms, core, and legs). Targeting lower ranges is better if you want to spend a shorter amount of time training. Well, you can go for higher ranges or until failure if you have the time and energy.
The paper also said that “Supersets, drop sets, and rest-pause training roughly halves the training time compared to traditional training, while maintaining training volume.” That means you have to stick to short pauses between workouts, no stretching, and no warmups that could extend the time spent on training.
Since the majority of your workout time is actually spent on ‘working out’ with little time spent on recovering, you spend less time exercising.
Doing the Bare Minimum Will Work
Science tells us that, to start gaining muscle mass, there’s nothing bad about sticking to the bare minimum. Your workout should consist of one lower-body exercise and one pulling- and pushing exercise for the upper body. Start initially on four sets and on lower repetitions, and increase it once you gain strength and endurance. You can change the speed, and reps, combine resistance with bands, and use gym equipment if preferred, as long as you stick to the formula.
For example, do squats, dumbbell rows, and chest presses on a training day, which targets the lower body and accomplishes a pulling and a pushing workout on the upper body. Accomplish, say 10 repetitions each, and then repeat four times. And yay, you did one training day! Do four training days in a week and you are good to go.
Stay tuned in to Silver Athletes for the best news on health and fitness. We have a lot of articles on that topic so you can be in great shape and live your best life now.
Getting Into Shape is Not Just a Dream Anymore
Seeing people remaining fit in their senior years is not a display of extraordinary feat. We showed that it is possible and how you can do it in a limited time.
There is no need to work out to failure or engage in very strenuous exercises, which puts you at risk for injury. Keep in mind that, if you got injured and recovering, there will be no workouts and no muscle gains.
You can save a lot of time by not doing warmups and sticking to a maximum of 30-second rests between workouts. Your movements should be fast, 1-sec up and 1-sec down. Sticking to lower repetitions can help you save your breath.
And there you have it. It is possible to gain muscle mass and live longer, healthier lives. A quick physical training done four times a week is all you need, and that is ideal for us who have very busy schedules and would prefer having fun and socializing. We strive to have a balanced life after all.
Credits to Mike Mutzel (founder of Myoxcience) and his informational video.