Is it possible to build muscle after 60 years

What Scientists Say

You can gain muscle mass even if you are in middle age (40 to 60 years old) or overseas.

Markas Bamman Director of the Center for Exercise Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham

Our lab and others have repeatedly shown that older people also grow and get stronger muscles.

As part of the study. conducted by Bamman, men and women aged 60–70 were involved in strength training. Muscle development in them proceeded at the same rate as in 40-year-olds.

But the muscle growth process is different in young and old people.

Skeletal muscle is made up of different types of fibers. When we reach middle age, they experience two types of changes.

Markas Bamman

Some fibers die off, especially if the muscles are not loaded with exercise. Sedentary adults lose 30 to 40% of their total muscle fiber by age 80. The remaining fibers shrink and atrophy with age. If we exercise, the size of the atrophied muscle fibers increases, but not their number.

It turns out that despite training, you will not increase the number of muscle fibers. However, the atrophied fibers will start working and grow in size, so the muscles will still get bigger and stronger.

How to Exercise to Promote Muscle Growth in Middle and Old Age

The bottom line is to exercise regularly, gradually increasing the weight. Start hitting the gym and create a workout plan.

To start the biochemical processes necessary to increase the strength of muscle fibers, it is worth exercising to the extent of muscle failure.

In Bamman's study, participants trained with specially selected weights to allow subjects to complete 8 to 12 reps until exhaustion. After that, it was time for rest. Participants repeated each set two or three times and hit the gym three times a week.

If you have never done strength training, consult a fitness trainer or training professional with people over 40.

A good example of the fact that you can build muscle even in old age is the 73-year-old crossfitter Jacinto Bonilla, who does as much as many young people have never dreamed of.