Maximus Gage
Our muscles are invaluable to us, allowing us to walk, run, climb and carry things. However, as we age, our muscle mass declines, with men losing 3-5% of their muscle mass per decade after age 30. This natural decline can be slowed or even reversed through strength training, which can also help to manage or prevent conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and osteoporosis. To build muscle, it is important to perform resistance training with weights, focusing on all the major muscle groups, and ensuring proper nutrition.
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What You'll Learn
Resistance training with weights
To get started with resistance training, you can use free weights like dumbbells, kettlebells, and barbells, or you can simply use your body weight for exercises like push-ups, lunges, or squats. If you're new to weight training, it's a good idea to start with lighter weights and gradually increase the resistance or weight as you build strength. You can also vary your routine by incorporating different types of equipment and exercises to target different muscle groups. For example, you can use resistance bands, which are colour-coded elastic bands that provide varying levels of resistance and are easy to travel with.
When designing your resistance training routine, it's important to focus on compound exercises that work multiple muscle groups at once. This way, you can get a full-body workout and target all the major muscle groups, including legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms. For example, squats, deadlifts, and lunges are excellent compound exercises for building leg muscles. Additionally, aim for at least two sets of muscle-strengthening activities per workout session, and gradually increase to three sets as you progress.
In terms of frequency, it's recommended to aim for two to three resistance training workouts per week. This can be in conjunction with aerobic exercises like walking or cycling, ensuring you get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week. However, if you're doing vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, 75 minutes per week is sufficient. Remember, it's important to have rest days between your resistance training workouts to allow your muscles to recover.
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Full-body workouts
If you are new to full-body workouts, it is recommended that you start slowly and build up your strength over time. You can begin with a warm-up, using bands and bodyweight to prepare yourself for the session. Then, you can move on to strength training, trying to increase the weights you are using each week, even if it is just by 1kg. You can also maximise volume by adding an extra rep each week.
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Nutrition and protein intake
The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight. However, newer research suggests that individuals trying to build muscle may need more than this. A large body of research supports the idea that a higher protein intake is associated with improvements in lean body mass and strength, especially when combined with resistance training. A 2020 meta-analysis found that protein intakes ranging from 0.5 to 3.5 grams per kilogram of body weight can support increases in lean body mass. The rate of increase in lean body mass from higher protein intakes appears to plateau at 1.5 to 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight per day.
To effectively build muscle mass, it is important to ensure you are consuming enough calories and the right balance of nutrients. This includes not only protein but also carbohydrates and fats. Many bodybuilders view carbs as detrimental to building muscle, but the right carbohydrates, such as whole grains, can help fuel activity and working muscles. Similarly, dietary fat is sometimes underappreciated, but it is an important source of energy and can help promote muscle growth.
The timing of protein intake is also important for muscle building. The process of muscle protein synthesis (MPS) is stimulated by strength training activity and protein consumption. To optimize MPS, it is recommended to spread protein intake evenly over meals and snacks throughout the day. A bedtime snack containing about 25 grams of protein can help stimulate MPS during the night. It is also beneficial to eat a meal containing protein before a workout, with enough time to digest the food.
There are many ways to increase protein intake, including eating lean meat, fish, eggs, beans, nuts, and legumes. Peanut butter is another delicious and high-protein food, but it is important to choose natural peanut butter with no added sugars. For vegetarians and vegans, careful planning can ensure adequate protein intake from plant-based sources.
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Leg strength and balance
Strong legs are important for improving balance and avoiding falls, especially as you age. There are many exercises that can help improve leg strength and balance, including resistance training, aerobic exercises, and bodyweight exercises.
Resistance training with free weights or weight machines is an excellent way to improve leg strength. Some good exercises to try include:
- Squats: This is one of the best resistance workouts as it works almost all of the muscles in the lower body. Keep your feet flat and push through your heels while keeping your torso upright and looking straight ahead.
- Lunges: Lunges improve strength and stability in the legs and work your core muscles, hamstrings, glutes, hips, and quadriceps. Ensure your knee doesn't go over your toes and keep your torso erect.
- Leg curls: This exercise targets the hamstring muscle group at the back of the legs. Curl your legs as far up as they can go and slowly lower the weight back down, ensuring the weights don't touch and lose resistance.
You can also try unilateral exercises such as the walking lunge, regular lunges, or split squats, which provide dynamic stability benefits in the hips and challenge the frontal plane of the body. The goblet adductor lunge is another excellent dumbbell leg workout that targets the adductor muscles and challenges strength and balance.
Additionally, bodyweight exercises such as step-ups, box jumps, and speed skater jumps are great for leg strength and balance. For step-ups, use a plyometric box or raised platform and ensure you step onto the center of the box to limit stress on the knee. Box jumps and speed skater jumps are explosive workouts that tone the legs and challenge your leg muscles.
Aerobic exercises such as hill sprints and dancing are also powerful ways to build muscle strength and improve balance. Aim for 4 to 6 sets of 10- to 20-second hill sprints with 3-minute breaks in between.
Remember to always warm up before your workout and cool down afterward. Start with lighter weights and build up over time to avoid injury. It's also important to rest and recover between workouts, stay hydrated, and focus on a well-rounded diet with adequate protein and carbohydrate intake to support muscle repair and growth.
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Flexibility exercises
There are many ways to do stretching exercises, including static stretching, which involves holding a stretch in a still position while you stretch different parts of your body. When doing each stretch, move your body until you feel tension in your muscles (it should not be painful). As your body adapts to this type of training, and you become more flexible, you may need to increase the range of movement to feel that slight tension. Aim to do flexibility training 2 to 3 times a week. Hold each stretch for 30 seconds and repeat the stretches 2 to 4 times each.
- Neck stretches: Sit upright with your shoulders down and look straight ahead. Slowly turn your head towards your left shoulder as far as is comfortable. Hold for 5 seconds and return to the starting position. Repeat on the right side. Do 3 rotations on each side.
- Lower back stretch: Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your arms by your sides. Slide your left arm down your side as far as is comfortable. Repeat on the right side.
- Leg stretch: Stand facing a wall, roughly one foot away. Step back with your right foot, bend your left knee, and extend your arms at a 90-degree angle in front of you onto the wall. Push your back foot into the floor and hold for 30 seconds. Bring yourself back to a standing position. Repeat with the opposite leg.
In addition to flexibility exercises, strength exercises are also important for improving and maintaining muscle health. This includes activities such as weight training and aerobic exercises.
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Frequently asked questions
A:
The only reliable way to improve your muscles is through resistance training. This involves using your muscles against moderate to heavy resistance, such as weight training.
A:
Resistance training stimulates muscle growth by encouraging your body to deposit more protein molecules into your muscles than it removes.
A:
Health professionals recommend doing muscle-strengthening activities two or more days a week. Each training session could take less than 20 minutes.
A:
Examples of muscle-strengthening exercises include weight training, using your body weight, or working against resistance.
A:
Yes, to build muscle, you should increase your protein intake. You should also ensure that your diet is nutrient-rich, with a focus on carbohydrates.
