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, 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.
Truth is, your body still has the ability to build muscle and burn fat no matter how old you are.
In fact, a recent study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research concludes that "the muscle size and strength response to resistance training is not influenced by age in any practical manner" in your thirties [1].
As you can see in the figure below, the increase in biceps size after a 12-week training program was very similar in both the young and older subjects.
Althought the younger subjects had a greater increase in strength (measured by the change in 1-repetition maximum), the researchers point out that the effect is relatively small and that people in their thirties should not let it put them off training.
A similar study, this time by University of Oklahoma researchers, also shows that middle-aged men (35-50 years old) get almost identical results to college-aged men (18-22 years old) following 8 weeks of resistance training [2].
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In terms of muscle growth, both groups got very similar results (a gain of 0.9 kilograms in the college-aged men and 1.1 kilograms in the middle-aged men).
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Both groups also gained strength in both the bench press (3.2 kilograms for the college-aged men and 6.2 kilograms for the middle-aged men) and leg press (25 kilograms for the college-aged men and 18.2 kilograms for the middle-aged men).
- More interesting still, the middle-aged men actually LOST, on average, 0.5 kilograms of fat. In contrast, the college-aged men GAINED an average of 0.5 kilograms of fat.
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 = 2750kg
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.
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References
1. Lowndes, J., Carpenter, R.L., Zoeller, R.F., Seip, R.L., Moyna, N.M., Price, T.B., Clarkson, P.M., Gordon, P.M., Pescatello, L.S., Visich, P.S., Devaney, J.M., Gordish-Dressman, H., Hoffman, E.P., Thompson, P.D., & Angelopoulos, T.J. (2009). Association of age with muscle size and strength before and after short-term resistance training in young adults. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 23, 1915-1920
2. Kerksick, C.M., Wilborn, C.D., Campbell, B.I., Roberts, M.D., Rasmussen, C.J., Greenwood, M., & Kreider, R.B. (2009). Early-phase adaptations to a split-body, linear periodization resistance training program in college-aged and middle-aged men. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 23, 962-971
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