Reviewed by Stuart Phillips, PhD
You’ll find muscle-building “rules” all over the Internet.
“Chug protein immediately after your workout—don’t miss that anabolic window!”
“Lift the heaviest weights you can manage. If you’re not lifting-to-failure every set, you’re not going to grow.”
“If you want to get stronger, you have to be taking creatine, BCAAs, HMB, beta-alanine, and [insert whatever muscle-building supplement is trending].”
While well-meaning, the above advice comes mostly from the body-building and powerlifting worlds. And, to be fair, if your or your client’s work revolves around getting trophy-worthy swole or strong, some of it’s worth heeding.
But if your (or your client’s) goals involve improving health, feeling comfortable in your clothes, and staying strong and muscular enough to age well and tackle life with gusto…
… do body-building and powerlifting rules still matter?
The short answer: Not really.
To understand why, however, you’ll need the more thoughtful answer—which this article provides.
You’ll discover:
- How much time to put in at the gym to build and maintain muscle mass, strength, and power over time
- What to eat to support your strength-training routine
- Two muscle-building lifestyle habits that no one is talking about
- Which supplements help slow age-related muscle loss—along with a popular one that doesn’t
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The underappreciated benefits of muscle strength
If you’re old enough to remember the 1980s, you’ll recall that the pursuit of health and wellness looked like slipping into silky dolphin shorts, and popping Richard Simmons into the VCR to get your heart pumping.
But strength training? Back then, it was for people who wanted to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger—not your everyday health seeker.
A lot can change in a few decades.
We now know…
Resistance training does more than merely produce bigger and stronger muscles.
For one, muscle tissue is metabolically active.
Each pound of muscle burns about 6 Calories while at rest—and much more during movement.
It may go without saying, but a healthier metabolism can help you stave off fat gain and its associated health risks as you age.
(That said, body fat isn’t the best proxy for overall health. Find out why: Is body fat good or bad?)
Next, strength training improves heart, lung, and overall health almost as effectively as cardio, says Stuart Phillips, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster University and one of the world’s top researchers on muscle, resistance training, and their impact on health.
Here are some receipts to back this up:
In a study of 12,591 people, resistance training was associated with a 40 to 70 percent drop in cardiovascular events like heart attack and stroke.1 In a Danish study of 50 people, resistance training outperformed cardio at reducing a dangerous type of fat surrounding the heart (called pericardial fat). 2
Increased muscle mass3 4 5 6
- Improves insulin sensitivity, and safely uses or stores excess blood sugar
- Slows cellular aging
- Secretes protective substances (called myokines) that regulate inflammation
- Protects the lining of the arteries
- Improves aerobic capacity
All of the above health benefits add up to reduced risk of…
- Type 2 diabetes 7
- High blood pressure 8
- Dying from cancer 9
- Heart disease 10
- Depression and anxiety 11
- Osteoarthritis 12
- All-cause mortality 13
Can’t cardio do all of that, too?
It helps. (All forms of movement do, really.)
But resistance training provides a couple of perks that cardio doesn’t, especially as you age.
By preserving strength and muscularity, resistance training improves stability and prevents falls, the leading cause of injury for people 65 and older.
Muscle mass also cushions your bones. So, if you do fall, you’ll be less likely to break something.
We’re not here to pit cardio against resistance training.
That would be like saying vegetables are more important than fruit. Cardio and strength training both benefit overall health and longevity in synergistic ways. Ideally, we all do both. 14
Resistance training just doesn’t get the credit it deserves.
Because of these underappreciated health benefits, Dr. Phillips and several colleagues recently penned a paper (more like a manifesto) arguing that physical activity guidelines should give resistance training greater emphasis. 15
The vicious cycle of age-related muscle loss—and what to do about it
As we age, it becomes harder to maintain muscle and strength.
Partly, that’s because we tend to move less. However, even if you worked out as much in your 60s and 70s as during your 30s, you’d likely still grow weaker and smaller.
“Older skeletal muscle is more anabolically resistant than younger skeletal muscle,” says Dr. Phillips.
That means, as you age, muscle protein synthesis (the building of new muscle) slows while muscle breakdown accelerates.
You lose more muscle than you build—so size, strength, and power diminish.
Though Dr. Phillips and other scientists are still unraveling the causes of age-related anabolic resistance, some known factors include:
▶ Lower levels of sex hormones, especially estrogen and testosterone. 16 17
▶ Chronic underlying inflammation that rises with age. This decreases protein synthesis and promotes muscle protein breakdown, leading to muscle loss.
▶ Increased levels of body fat, which, in excess, can exacerbate inflammation, especially if you gain it deep in the abdomen (also called visceral fat).
▶ Increased cellular aging. Over time, the energy production centers of our cells (called mitochondria) grow less efficient. Also, an increasing number of old cells go into senescence. These damaged cells hang around, releasing harmful chemicals.
The withering away of muscle tissue accelerates over time, thanks, in part, to a vicious cycle:
- Inflammation and inactivity lead to muscle loss.
- Thanks to that lost muscle, your metabolism slows. You may experience increased weakness and fatigue, leading to reduced movement and exercise, along with an increase in body fat. This cycle of more body fat and less muscle can result in further inflammation. In your 40s, these losses may be subtle, but in your 60s and beyond, muscle and strength loss can intensify. It is important to focus on strategies to maintain muscle strength, size, and power over the years.
One effective strategy is to lift heavy weights, as muscles respond to the demands placed on them. Strength training sessions can help build and maintain muscle, with optimal frequency being two to three sessions a week. It is important to lift weights that challenge you, with a perceived effort of 7 to 9 on a scale of 1 to 10. Including a mix of different rep ranges and exercises can help maximize strength and muscle building.
Another important strategy is to consume enough protein, as it stimulates muscle growth. Protein needs increase with age and activity level, with recommendations ranging from 1.6 to 2.2 grams per kilogram of body weight for regular exercisers over 30. Including protein-rich foods in your diet can help support muscle growth and maintenance. It is also important to eat protein around exercise, but there is no need to stress about a specific “protein window” after a workout. As long as you consume protein within three hours of your workout, your muscles will have what they need. If you choose to work out on an empty stomach, having a protein shake is a good idea. The human body absorbs protein more efficiently from animal sources than from plants. Plant-based athletes and physique competitors may need to increase their protein intake by about 10 percent to ensure optimal performance. However, for the average person not competing on stage, the slight difference in protein absorption between animal and plant sources is unlikely to have a noticeable impact. Focus on consuming enough protein overall from a variety of sources, rather than fixating on whether it comes from animals or plants. 32
(So many gains!)
Have fun.
Fun works for similar reasons as social connections: It helps you implement your big impact strategies more consistently.
Keep fun in mind when deciding how to strength train.
Bench press your kid, crank Nirvana while you do pushups at the park, get workout gear you feel fly in, watch Selling Sunset while you’re on the treadmill, and set small, satisfying challenges for yourself.
Whatever helps you inject a little pleasure or a sense of play into your workouts.
(Not an exercise lover? Read this: How to exercise—when you don’t like to exercise)
Small impact strategies
Small impact (or frankly, no impact) strategies are what you’re most likely to hear people debating about on the internet and at the gym.
However, this stuff is likely only responsible for between zero and ten percent of your progress (and ten is probably pushing it).
Below we’ve listed four of the better-researched muscle-building supplements.
Note that each supplement, in isolation, likely results in such a slight difference that you might not even notice it, says Dr. Phillips. When taken together though, they may offer synergistic benefits that could nudge you into ten percent territory.
(BTW: Despite all the buzz about branched-chain amino acids—or BCAAs—they’re not likely worth the hype. Find out why: What are BCAAs, and are they worth it?)
Creatine monohydrate
This cheap, nearly-tasteless powder has been used and researched for decades.
Creatine helps muscles to contract, speeds recovery, and increases muscle strength and power. However, it only modestly benefits muscle growth.
Bonus: Creatine may also improve short-term memory and mental clarity. 33 34
▶ Recommended dose: 3 to 5 grams a day
Omega 3 fatty acids
Possibly because of their anti-inflammatory effects, omega 3 fatty acid supplements seem to lead to small increases in strength. 35
Other research indicates that the supplement may help prevent and treat sarcopenia as people age. 36
▶ Recommended dose: 1 to 3 grams of combined EPA and DHA
Vitamin D
A deficiency in this sunshine vitamin can interfere with muscle growth. 37
However, taking vitamin D when your vitamin D levels are already sufficient won’t give you an edge.
▶ Recommended dose: 1000-2000 IUs daily—or dose recommended by your doctor—until normal serum levels are restored
Caffeine
When consumed before a workout, caffeine can help increase muscle strength and power during your session and lower your perceived exertion. 38
However, the recommended 3 to 6 milligrams per kilogram of caffeine can trigger anxiety in some. So, start low.
Experiment with 100 milligrams, roughly the amount in eight ounces of brewed coffee.
If you feel great and want more mojo, increase your dose as needed.
▶ Recommended dose: 3 to 6 milligrams per kilogram of body weight
From sedentary to strong
When Dr. Phillips teaches exercise science, he asks his students to imagine this scenario:
“You wake up tomorrow, smoke a pack of cigarettes, eat fast food every meal, and take fewer than 1,200 steps.”
The students cringe and shift in their seats. Some ask, “Why would I ever want to do that?!”
Dr. Phillips replies: “How you feel right now is how some of your clients will feel when you tell them they need to take 10,000 steps a day and do three hour-long strength training sessions each week.”
For most, that’s overwhelming. After all, between 70 and 80 percent of people are doing no strength training at all. 39 40
If you’re a coach, you have an opportunity, but also a challenge: Make muscle-building a priority, but also accessible.
If you start clients with just a 10-minute program they can do twice a week, you’ll move many of them from “sedentary” to “active.” From there, you can add more—if the client feels ready.
Your clients will feel like they’re winning—and their muscles will too.
References
Click here to view the information sources referenced in this article.