5 Simple "Rules" For More Muscle

True or false?

Is it true or false that once you hit the age of 35, your chances of building a decent body are all but over?

At least once a week, I get an e-mail that goes something like this:

"I'm 37 and wondered to what extent is my age an obstacle to muscle growth? What are my chances of ever having the kind of muscles that would be worthy of appearing on the cover of Men’s Health?

Here's my answer…

False: Even in your late 30’s or early 40’s, you can still build a great body that wouldn’t look out of place on the cover of a fitness magazine.

Yes, it’s true that you probably have more “stuff” going on in your life at 37 than you did when you were 21, which can make it more difficult to focus on eating right and exercising regularly. The enthusiasm you had for exercise, especially if you haven’t seen the results you were hoping for, may be on the wane. You might feel that your body can’t handle the kind of punishment you used to dish out in your early 20’s, and takes longer to recover than it used to.

But none of this matters.

The fact is that your body still has the ability to build muscle and burn fat no matter how old you are. At 36 years of age, I’m making some of the best gains of my life, simply by applying these five "rules" to my training program:

1. Never do more than 2 days of "maximal effort" training in a row.

By maximal effort, I'm talking about anything that involves working at or close to 100% of your capacity, be it weight training or cardiovascular exercise. If I've done two days of heavy weight training, for example, on the third day I'll do some light(ish) steady-state cardio (e.g. 30-45 minutes at 75-80% of my maximum heart rate) as opposed to a shorter bout of “all out” interval training.

2. Use "light" days on a regular basis.

At the moment, I’m using the 4-day version of the Maximum Muscle Plan. On Monday, I'll do "maximal effort" work for the chest and lighter training for the back (and by "lighter training" I mean lower volume and non-maximal effort). On Thursday the pattern is reversed – maximal effort work for the back and lighter training for the chest. The same principle applies to other muscle groups. This "heavy/light" pattern allows me to use a training frequency that's optimal for muscle growth, helping my body recover and grow more quickly.

3. Give your legs a break.

With the current trend towards doing a lot of heavy lifting AND regular high-intensity interval training (HIIT), it’s no wonder that a lot of people are getting injured or complaining about “burn out” and mental fatigue. One of the reasons is that legs take longer to recover than other muscle groups. When you train the legs, you involve more muscles and more motor units than when you train smaller muscle groups (such as the arms). And it’s not just muscle fibers that need time to repair and recover. Your central nervous system (CNS) also gets fatigued and needs a chance to recover, which it can’t do if you’re training your legs “all out” on a regular basis.

4. Use deloads regularly.

A "deload" (sometimes called unloading) involves taking a planned and structured break from "all out" training. Deloading doesn't mean doing no exercise at all. While there are many ways to deload, the method I prefer is to reduce the number of sets per exercise by around 50% while maintaining the weight and number of repetitions used in the previous week. Here's an example:

Week 1: 3 sets of 8 reps with 90kg
Total training volume = 3 x 8 x 90 = 2160kg

Week 2: 4 sets of 6 reps with 100kg
Total training volume = 4 x 6 x 100 = 2400kg

Week 3: 5 sets of 5 reps with 110kg
Total training volume = 5 x 5 x 110 = 2500kg

Week 4: 2 sets of 5 reps with 110kg (DELOAD)
Total training volume = 2 x 5 x 110 = 1100kg

5. Give your body a complete 7-14 day rest every 6-12 weeks.

No matter what your age, I think it's a good idea to give your body a complete 7-14 day rest for every 6-12 weeks of hard training.

Whether you decide to take a break after 6 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks or whenever is a personal choice. Everyone is different. If you're feeling motivated and your strength is still going up, there's no reason to stop. But if you're starting to notice some of the early signs of overtraining, such as changes in mood, more frequent illness, a poor appetite or just a general lack of motivation, then it's time to take a break.

When I take a complete physical and mental break from training (to go on holiday, for example) I always come back feeling refreshed and motivated. Minor muscle or joint "niggles" have cleared up. I seem to have more energy.

What's more, the extra rest and recuperation will often leave you stronger than you were before taking the break. This isn't because of a dramatic increase in physical capacity. Rather, the fatigue that built up over the previous 6-12 weeks was just "masking" your strength. And the extra rest just lets you display the strength that's always been there.

Taking a break can be hard to do, especially if you're the "hard driving" highly motivated type who feels guilty about missing a workout. But sometimes you do need to take a step back in order to take two steps forward. If it's been a while since you've given yourself a week off from the gym, then do it now. It's something I highly recommend.

About The Author
Christian Finn holds a master's degree in exercise science, is a certified personal trainer and has been featured on BBC TV and radio, as well as in Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Muscle & Fitness, Fit Pro, Zest and other popular fitness magazines.

If you're stuck in a rut with your current exercise and diet plan... fed up with only losing a pound here and there... or still skinny after months (or even years) of trying to build muscle and gain weight... click here now for instant access to his step-by-step muscle-building and fat-burning workout routines.

15 Responses to “5 Simple "Rules" For More Muscle”

  1. Baz  on September 21st, 2009

    I'm trying to gain muscle at the moment and gathering as much information as I can to get things right. This really helps. Thanks a lot!

  2. Terry  on September 21st, 2009

    Thanks for the tips Christian, I will give some of these a try.

  3. Ian Richardson  on September 22nd, 2009

    I had to learn all of this stuff the hard way, jusy wish i'd known about it sooner might have saved a lot of time and effort

  4. Christian Finn  on September 22nd, 2009

    You're welcome. Good to hear you found it useful.

  5. bigjimfrey  on September 26th, 2009

    In June of 2008 I had a DEXA scan that showed me at 21% bodyfat. In June of 2009 I had another DEXA scan that showed me at 15% body fat with a 5 lb increase of lean tissue. That isn't that bid a deal for a 40 year old. But I think it's a big deal for me because I just turned 60 in August.
    Just thought I'd post this for those who think that you might be too old to put on muscle.

  6. Christian Finn  on September 26th, 2009

    For those who don't know, DEXA (short for dual energy x-ray absorptiometry) is a very accurate way of measuring changes in body composition. Going from 21% to 15% body fat, while also gaining 5 pounds of muscle, is an impressive achievement no matter what your age.

  7. tsa35  on September 27th, 2009

    Do you have beginners weight information for women. I am 55 pounds over weight. I need help figuring out what to start with. Just what to do. If you could help that would be wonderful.

  8. Christian Finn  on September 27th, 2009

    If you're just starting out, the best thing to do is keep things as simple as possible. Moving more and eating less is the key to success when it comes to weight loss, and finding ways to build those habits into your lifestyle will help you keep the weight off in the long run.

  9. Ginsu  on September 27th, 2009

    37 is great...what about 70?

  10. Christian Finn  on September 27th, 2009

    Even in your 60′s, 70′s and beyond it's still possible to burn fat and build muscle, although the chances of building a "cover model" body (if you don't have one already) are going to drop as the years go by.

  11. mary moloney  on September 27th, 2009

    I want to make everyone feel really good by telling them that I am 66 yrs old and a gramaof4...my licence plate. I am Canadian and have been following Christian's advice for a long time now.I've had aerobics and swimming for most of my life and at age 58 I became certified as an instructor here in Canada. I've taken up boxing and love it the best!!!keep working out! has a euphoric affect!I've had comments on my triceps and calf muscles..which is fun. I also box at my local gym and am the only one who does!
    My trainer is a friend as well and once a week I drive an hour out to see her where I box and as she is as well an RMT I get an hour of this as well, by the time I'm headed home I feel I'm floating!!!Just keep moving that BOD!!! Mary

  12. Christian Finn  on September 28th, 2009

    I hope I'm still that active at 66!

  13. BALWANT SINGH  on January 24th, 2010

    Hi Finn ,
    I have followed your instructions from 009 onward and I have lost total body weight of 24 kg. I was 89 kg whereas now I am 66 kG .My height is 5 ft 4 inches and waist size reduced from 39 Inches to 32 inches .I could not get muscles while I am doing cardio + medium intensity workout 4-5 days week . I pure vegetarian . Secondaly I have stubbron fat at lower abs . How to get rid of it and haow to develop muscles .

  14. BALWANT SINGH  on January 24th, 2010

    Oh yes I am 38 years old and I have mentioned my achievments on Blog of BBC Hindi Service with your reference .This blog is in hindi but could be translated .here is the link http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/hindi/2009/10/post-41.html 13:52 IST, 18 अक्तूबर 2009 BALWANT SINGH HOSHIARPUR ,PUNJAB:

    खान साहब साईकल का महत्त्व मेरे लिए क्या है यह मैं बताना चाहूंगा | दरअसल मैं 35-36 साल की उम्र में ही 89 किलो वज़न व 40 इंच कमर साइज़ के साथ दैनिक जीवन में बड़ा असहज महसूस करता था | आज 8-9 माह की मेहनत से मैंने 22 किलो वज़न घटाया व कमर साइज़ भी 32 इंच तक मेन्टेन की है | यह मैं इसलिए लिख रहा हूँ क्योंकि वज़न घटाने का सिलसिला मैंने मई 2008 को एक साईकल मात्र 3500 रूपये में खरीदने से शुरू किया | क्योंकि इतने वज़न के साथ मैदान पर दौड़ना मुश्किल हो रहा था | हालाँकि साईकल चलाने के साथ -साथ जिम , स्वीमिंग ,लम्बी दौड़ को हफ्ते में 6 दिन के रूटीन में शामिल किया | आज अगर मैं लगातार 9-10 किलोमीटर तक दौड़ सकता हूँ तो बस मेरी साईकल की बदौलत | और फरवरी 2009 तक मेरा वज़न 22 किलो तक कम हो गया | वैसे यह टिपण्णी यहाँ तर्कसंगत नहीं लगती परन्तु साईकल मेरे लिए क्या मायने रखती है बस यही बताना चाहता हूँ | आलम यह था कि रात को 11 बजे के बाद भी साईकल चलाने निकल जाता था |
    बाकी मेरे ऑनलाइन फिटनेस गुरु Christian Finn (14 Hares Run Mawsley Northamptonshire United Kingdom NN14 1TG) ने काफी मदद की व कई बार व्यक्तिगत तौर पर समस्याओं का ईमेल से निदान किया | यह साहब BBC TV प्रोग्राम Body Hits नामक प्रोग्राम पर भी आ चुके हैं |
    शायद साईकल के बिना मैं अपने लक्ष्य को हासिल नहीं कर सकता था या यूं कहें कि प्रेरित न हो पाता |
    Ofcourse you are my fitness guru and I am highly obliged to you > You have changed my life Now I can run for 15 kilometers continously. Life was measurable with a weight of 89 kg with height 5 feet 4 inches and waist size 39 inches .

  15. Christian Finn  on January 25th, 2010

    It's great to hear you've made such impressive progress Balwant!


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