Over 40 trying to get the muscle back

Ivy

Cathlete
Hi Ladies,

Just a brief history. I am over 40 and a couple of years ago I tried Tracy Andersons workout program and it did not work!! Watching her promos I thought well, I'm as short as she is and I'm petite so I thought maybe I could do these workouts and be successful. No disrespect to anyone who is now doing her workouts or who likes Tracy. To mimic Jillian Michaels, I will never have this little, lithe, Kelly Ripa type figure, if I were in great shape probably more like a Jillian Michaels.
My question is this I think the two years I spent doing Tracy's program were two years I did not have to waste. I miss the muscle I use to have and as I get older it is harder to put muscle on. I also like the feeling of feeling strong and I would rather have a round booty and strong arms and be heavier. I think muscle is youthful looking. I am currently using Creatine, CLA and L-Carnitine, and Protein as supplements. For you older ladies that have been successful, what other supplements or things have you done to help build that muscle. I'm also lifting heavy now and things are moving, slowly but moving. Also what helped that tire around the waist line, that seems to be taking forever.
Thanks
 
Hi Ivy. I'm 56. What has helped me is - STS! Also, XTrain, Gym Styles, RWH, cutting out sugar (including alcohol), drinking 3 liters of waters per day, lots and lots of sleep (can't eat well and train hard when not well rested), cutting down on bread, cardio several times per week (3 interval workouts and 2 steady state), and again, lifting heavy with gradual progression to avoid injury. Healthy ways to decrease stress were needed for me (high cortisol levels don't help!). I don't do supplements except a couple of protein shakes each week. But I do make sure I have fish and chicken and lots of colourful veggies and fruits, oatmeal, etc. to keep me well fuelled every few hours. It takes time but I don't know of any other way to get fit, strong and lean. Love to hear of other ideas, strategies over 40s have found helpful...
 
I'm sorry this is so long, but its such a complicated issue and I have evolved over years.

What works for me:
I have closed my eyes to the FDA food chart. I will not touch any foods that are GMO or processed. That includes processed salt and changed out to sea salt or Himalaya salt, because its an important nutrient for your adrenal glands. I have embraced the good fats to support hormonal health, adrenals and brain. Gut health is paramount, because everything runs on gut health, which connects to the brain. Fermented foods, sauerkraut, probiotics, kefir, certain cheeses, yogurts, etc., will go a long way here. Think about adding in a comprehensive digestive enzyme especially if you fart a lot after eating beans or certain foods :).

Stop eating every two hours which has been popular for years. The minuscule caloric burn from digestion is not worth the body losing connection to what hunger feels like, or the real benefit of lowering blood sugar. (If one is diabetic, please disregard of course.) Cancer cells feed on sugar. If you are not going to have any more children, or not pregnant...look into intermittent fasting which is one of the best ways to detox and rid the body of excess sugar. Starvation is not the goal, neither is chronically lowering caloric consumption. I stay away from seed oils: canola, soy, sunflower, corn, which go rancid and oxidize far too quickly. A side note about soy, most of the cadmium accrued in women's bodies is from soy products because of the pesticides used on soy. Go organic when eating soy. Cadmium directly negates absorption of potassium, calcium, magnesium, vitamin D and is the cause of 1 out of 5 women acquiring osteoporosis by age 65. But your doc won't tell you that, except prescribe calcium supplements or worse a prescription. Excess calcium will lodge in your arteries, lungs and heart (like it happened to me).

Gaining and maintaining muscle:
Lift weights, and go heavier. If you want to change the way you look, lift heavy. Periodize by 5 percent at least every two weeks and be consistent to build muscle. Those last two reps should be a struggle. My favorites are STS, Gym Styles, Slow & Heavy, 4DS and XTrain. I also am really loving ICE for intermediate days. Nutrient timing afterwards is so important. I usually take a whey protein shake after lifting and sometimes before with even better results. I believe in split sessions (two upper body splits and one lower body) and then one full body easy high rep workout weekly. Rest is imperative, you build muscle when you sleep. You must have a passion, do something you love (for me its mountainbiking) and I lift for riding. Try very hard to cut out negative feeling and stress, about anything when you are working out, because that is your time and you owe it to yourself.

I limit my stretching and favor Chi Gong instead. No yoga for me. My favorite form of lengthening and creating core strength and muscle balance is Pilates on a reformer.

Cardio:
Subtract your age from 180 and stay within that range for cardio that lasts longer then 45 minutes. Chronic Cardio is not healthy and will boomerang back in the form of cortisol stress and adrenal fatigue (which is very serious) plus it is not good for the heart on a long term basis. Working out in an aerobic state will burn more fat, then anaerobic plus it will build endurance like never before. I can attest to this method (Dr. Phil Maffetone) as an endurance athlete with several 50 and 100 mile mountainbike races under my belt. I am not discounting hiit workouts, as they are imperative once or twice a week but for no longer then 40 minutes. My hiit workouts are never longer then 30 minutes.

For me, strength training and interval training reduces body fat, maybe not affecting total body weight, but I gain/maintain my lean muscle mass. At this point in my life, I resist counting calories, and rely on my burn calories from lifting, working out riding, etc. I wear a Polar V800 to keep track and to let me know my present state, because I will always over-train if I'm not careful.

Supplements are hard to talk about because every one needs different things at different times of life. Also depends on your training level and what your goals are. For me my staples are:

Powdered Vitamin C - Nutribiotic 1/2 teaspoon daily.
Glutamine - NOW 1/2 teaspoon daily
MSM - Jarrow 1/2 teaspoon daily
Whey Protein - Blue Bonnet (their scoop and recommendation)
Collagen - Great Lakes (their recommendation)
Multi Vitamin (organic from Mega Foods or Garden of Life)
Omega 3 - Calamarine (Dr. Sinatra)
Astaxathin for my eyes and brain
Vitamin D - NutriGold 5,000 (I'm in Minnesota and need it)
Vitamin k2 -must take this if you are supplementing Vitamin D, super important
I also cycle in other items that are essentially herbs or roots

The rest of my nutrients comes from food and I'm basically Paleo and very low to the ground.
I eat walnuts, macadamia nuts, pistachios and two Brazil nuts daily.
Three eggs daily
Ghee butter
Avocados
Red palm oil
Coconut butter
Olive Extract or oil

Grass fed beef, lamb, fish (wild caught)

Okay, if you have read this far... roll the eyes!

Carbs are in the form of veggies, sometimes I will have quinoa or steel cut oats (but becoming more and more rare).

One simply cannot out-train a lousy diet or lifestyle and I've learned over the years that muscle is intertwined with a solid base of nutrition, hormonal health and rest. There is no need to over eat on protein either, I keep it at .75 percent ration per pound body weight. (Read about m-tor but its sooo boring.)

One more thing...but it may not be easy depending on what your job is. If you can change from sitting mostly...to standing mostly, it will have a profound influence on your overall health. Peace out, thanks for reading. I'm 57 and resist being put into an age box. Rock on ladies!
 
Hi Ladies,

Just a brief history. I am over 40 and a couple of years ago I tried Tracy Andersons workout program and it did not work!! Watching her promos I thought well, I'm as short as she is and I'm petite so I thought maybe I could do these workouts and be successful. No disrespect to anyone who is now doing her workouts or who likes Tracy. To mimic Jillian Michaels, I will never have this little, lithe, Kelly Ripa type figure, if I were in great shape probably more like a Jillian Michaels.
My question is this I think the two years I spent doing Tracy's program were two years I did not have to waste. I miss the muscle I use to have and as I get older it is harder to put muscle on. I also like the feeling of feeling strong and I would rather have a round booty and strong arms and be heavier. I think muscle is youthful looking.

I found your paragraph above very interesting. It gave me an insightful confirmation as to why some opt for a program,
workout method and/or trainer rather than another:):) Thanks for openly sharing with us.
Hope your opinion shared doesn't cause any DRAMA!

No wonder it did not work! Regardless of the age,it is just not the suitable method to meet your goal --- getting stronger and gaining
the round bit you are after;):p I agree with highlighted green above:)

My favorites are STS, Gym Styles, Slow & Heavy, 4DS and XTrain.

All advised above will help, as long as you are consistent, in meeting your goal. You can also cycle split with total programs
such as Muscle Max, STS Total and High rep. You can not go wrong with any cathe's weight segments and program.
The key is to constantly periodize your workout.

What works for me: Stick to a rotation. Not going with the flow ramdomly choosing whatever comes in my mind on that day.
I likely stray from my goal operating that way. Burnset from X-train is the weight segment I used,as far as, building muscles is concerned.:);)

Oh, Nutrition is also very important.

Wish you the very best and please keep us posted:)
 
Last edited:
I would say STS. I gained the most muscle and strength doing this program. I found I was stronger and could lift heavier than I believed. I like having a structured program to stick with. It kept me on track. I did do the 1rm and I think that helped a lot with choosing the weight I could manage.
 
I'm sorry this is so long, but its such a complicated issue and I have evolved over years.

What works for me:
I have closed my eyes to the FDA food chart. I will not touch any foods that are GMO or processed. That includes processed salt and changed out to sea salt or Himalaya salt, because its an important nutrient for your adrenal glands. I have embraced the good fats to support hormonal health, adrenals and brain. Gut health is paramount, because everything runs on gut health, which connects to the brain. Fermented foods, sauerkraut, probiotics, kefir, certain cheeses, yogurts, etc., will go a long way here. Think about adding in a comprehensive digestive enzyme especially if you fart a lot after eating beans or certain foods :).

Stop eating every two hours which has been popular for years. The minuscule caloric burn from digestion is not worth the body losing connection to what hunger feels like, or the real benefit of lowering blood sugar. (If one is diabetic, please disregard of course.) Cancer cells feed on sugar. If you are not going to have any more children, or not pregnant...look into intermittent fasting which is one of the best ways to detox and rid the body of excess sugar. Starvation is not the goal, neither is chronically lowering caloric consumption. I stay away from seed oils: canola, soy, sunflower, corn, which go rancid and oxidize far too quickly. A side note about soy, most of the cadmium accrued in women's bodies is from soy products because of the pesticides used on soy. Go organic when eating soy. Cadmium directly negates absorption of potassium, calcium, magnesium, vitamin D and is the cause of 1 out of 5 women acquiring osteoporosis by age 65. But your doc won't tell you that, except prescribe calcium supplements or worse a prescription. Excess calcium will lodge in your arteries, lungs and heart (like it happened to me).

Gaining and maintaining muscle:
Lift weights, and go heavier. If you want to change the way you look, lift heavy. Periodize by 5 percent at least every two weeks and be consistent to build muscle. Those last two reps should be a struggle. My favorites are STS, Gym Styles, Slow & Heavy, 4DS and XTrain. I also am really loving ICE for intermediate days. Nutrient timing afterwards is so important. I usually take a whey protein shake after lifting and sometimes before with even better results. I believe in split sessions (two upper body splits and one lower body) and then one full body easy high rep workout weekly. Rest is imperative, you build muscle when you sleep. You must have a passion, do something you love (for me its mountainbiking) and I lift for riding. Try very hard to cut out negative feeling and stress, about anything when you are working out, because that is your time and you owe it to yourself.

I limit my stretching and favor Chi Gong instead. No yoga for me. My favorite form of lengthening and creating core strength and muscle balance is Pilates on a reformer.

Cardio:
Subtract your age from 180 and stay within that range for cardio that lasts longer then 45 minutes. Chronic Cardio is not healthy and will boomerang back in the form of cortisol stress and adrenal fatigue (which is very serious) plus it is not good for the heart on a long term basis. Working out in an aerobic state will burn more fat, then anaerobic plus it will build endurance like never before. I can attest to this method (Dr. Phil Maffetone) as an endurance athlete with several 50 and 100 mile mountainbike races under my belt. I am not discounting hiit workouts, as they are imperative once or twice a week but for no longer then 40 minutes. My hiit workouts are never longer then 30 minutes.

For me, strength training and interval training reduces body fat, maybe not affecting total body weight, but I gain/maintain my lean muscle mass. At this point in my life, I resist counting calories, and rely on my burn calories from lifting, working out riding, etc. I wear a Polar V800 to keep track and to let me know my present state, because I will always over-train if I'm not careful.

Supplements are hard to talk about because every one needs different things at different times of life. Also depends on your training level and what your goals are. For me my staples are:

Powdered Vitamin C - Nutribiotic 1/2 teaspoon daily.
Glutamine - NOW 1/2 teaspoon daily
MSM - Jarrow 1/2 teaspoon daily
Whey Protein - Blue Bonnet (their scoop and recommendation)
Collagen - Great Lakes (their recommendation)
Multi Vitamin (organic from Mega Foods or Garden of Life)
Omega 3 - Calamarine (Dr. Sinatra)
Astaxathin for my eyes and brain
Vitamin D - NutriGold 5,000 (I'm in Minnesota and need it)
Vitamin k2 -must take this if you are supplementing Vitamin D, super important
I also cycle in other items that are essentially herbs or roots

The rest of my nutrients comes from food and I'm basically Paleo and very low to the ground.
I eat walnuts, macadamia nuts, pistachios and two Brazil nuts daily.
Three eggs daily
Ghee butter
Avocados
Red palm oil
Coconut butter
Olive Extract or oil

Grass fed beef, lamb, fish (wild caught)

Okay, if you have read this far... roll the eyes!

Carbs are in the form of veggies, sometimes I will have quinoa or steel cut oats (but becoming more and more rare).

One simply cannot out-train a lousy diet or lifestyle and I've learned over the years that muscle is intertwined with a solid base of nutrition, hormonal health and rest. There is no need to over eat on protein either, I keep it at .75 percent ration per pound body weight. (Read about m-tor but its sooo boring.)

One more thing...but it may not be easy depending on what your job is. If you can change from sitting mostly...to standing mostly, it will have a profound influence on your overall health. Peace out, thanks for reading. I'm 57 and resist being put into an age box. Rock on ladies!

Don't ever apologize, or roll eyes, at a long post, you matter and you have something to contribute. Thank You.
 
I'm sorry this is so long, but its such a complicated issue and I have evolved over years.

What works for me:
I have closed my eyes to the FDA food chart. I will not touch any foods that are GMO or processed. That includes processed salt and changed out to sea salt or Himalaya salt, because its an important nutrient for your adrenal glands. I have embraced the good fats to support hormonal health, adrenals and brain. Gut health is paramount, because everything runs on gut health, which connects to the brain. Fermented foods, sauerkraut, probiotics, kefir, certain cheeses, yogurts, etc., will go a long way here. Think about adding in a comprehensive digestive enzyme especially if you fart a lot after eating beans or certain foods :).

Stop eating every two hours which has been popular for years. The minuscule caloric burn from digestion is not worth the body losing connection to what hunger feels like, or the real benefit of lowering blood sugar. (If one is diabetic, please disregard of course.) Cancer cells feed on sugar. If you are not going to have any more children, or not pregnant...look into intermittent fasting which is one of the best ways to detox and rid the body of excess sugar. Starvation is not the goal, neither is chronically lowering caloric consumption. I stay away from seed oils: canola, soy, sunflower, corn, which go rancid and oxidize far too quickly. A side note about soy, most of the cadmium accrued in women's bodies is from soy products because of the pesticides used on soy. Go organic when eating soy. Cadmium directly negates absorption of potassium, calcium, magnesium, vitamin D and is the cause of 1 out of 5 women acquiring osteoporosis by age 65. But your doc won't tell you that, except prescribe calcium supplements or worse a prescription. Excess calcium will lodge in your arteries, lungs and heart (like it happened to me).

Gaining and maintaining muscle:
Lift weights, and go heavier. If you want to change the way you look, lift heavy. Periodize by 5 percent at least every two weeks and be consistent to build muscle. Those last two reps should be a struggle. My favorites are STS, Gym Styles, Slow & Heavy, 4DS and XTrain. I also am really loving ICE for intermediate days. Nutrient timing afterwards is so important. I usually take a whey protein shake after lifting and sometimes before with even better results. I believe in split sessions (two upper body splits and one lower body) and then one full body easy high rep workout weekly. Rest is imperative, you build muscle when you sleep. You must have a passion, do something you love (for me its mountainbiking) and I lift for riding. Try very hard to cut out negative feeling and stress, about anything when you are working out, because that is your time and you owe it to yourself.

I limit my stretching and favor Chi Gong instead. No yoga for me. My favorite form of lengthening and creating core strength and muscle balance is Pilates on a reformer.

Cardio:
Subtract your age from 180 and stay within that range for cardio that lasts longer then 45 minutes. Chronic Cardio is not healthy and will boomerang back in the form of cortisol stress and adrenal fatigue (which is very serious) plus it is not good for the heart on a long term basis. Working out in an aerobic state will burn more fat, then anaerobic plus it will build endurance like never before. I can attest to this method (Dr. Phil Maffetone) as an endurance athlete with several 50 and 100 mile mountainbike races under my belt. I am not discounting hiit workouts, as they are imperative once or twice a week but for no longer then 40 minutes. My hiit workouts are never longer then 30 minutes.

For me, strength training and interval training reduces body fat, maybe not affecting total body weight, but I gain/maintain my lean muscle mass. At this point in my life, I resist counting calories, and rely on my burn calories from lifting, working out riding, etc. I wear a Polar V800 to keep track and to let me know my present state, because I will always over-train if I'm not careful.

Supplements are hard to talk about because every one needs different things at different times of life. Also depends on your training level and what your goals are. For me my staples are:

Powdered Vitamin C - Nutribiotic 1/2 teaspoon daily.
Glutamine - NOW 1/2 teaspoon daily
MSM - Jarrow 1/2 teaspoon daily
Whey Protein - Blue Bonnet (their scoop and recommendation)
Collagen - Great Lakes (their recommendation)
Multi Vitamin (organic from Mega Foods or Garden of Life)
Omega 3 - Calamarine (Dr. Sinatra)
Astaxathin for my eyes and brain
Vitamin D - NutriGold 5,000 (I'm in Minnesota and need it)
Vitamin k2 -must take this if you are supplementing Vitamin D, super important
I also cycle in other items that are essentially herbs or roots

The rest of my nutrients comes from food and I'm basically Paleo and very low to the ground.
I eat walnuts, macadamia nuts, pistachios and two Brazil nuts daily.
Three eggs daily
Ghee butter
Avocados
Red palm oil
Coconut butter
Olive Extract or oil

Grass fed beef, lamb, fish (wild caught)

Okay, if you have read this far... roll the eyes!

Carbs are in the form of veggies, sometimes I will have quinoa or steel cut oats (but becoming more and more rare).

One simply cannot out-train a lousy diet or lifestyle and I've learned over the years that muscle is intertwined with a solid base of nutrition, hormonal health and rest. There is no need to over eat on protein either, I keep it at .75 percent ration per pound body weight. (Read about m-tor but its sooo boring.)

One more thing...but it may not be easy depending on what your job is. If you can change from sitting mostly...to standing mostly, it will have a profound influence on your overall health. Peace out, thanks for reading. I'm 57 and resist being put into an age box. Rock on ladies!
Hi DirtDiva, I enjoyed reading your post (didn't need to roll the eyes!! - lol). You are amazing as to how you keep yourself healthy. I am the same age as you and it's encouraging to see all of the things you do. Again, thanks for sharing this, I found it extremely interesting.
 
I agree that it is so different for everyone. The big challenge is finding what works for YOU. I will be 60 this year, and have finally figured out what gives me muscle and keeps it on. For me it's lifting heavier than ever, and doing cardio at bootcamp (I do 8 of them a week) at my local gym. It isn't just steady cardio (like running... which I was doing for years and years...), but cardio intervals interspersed with weights, and then do a separate weight training program.

Also, as mentioned... cut the sugar. All of it. That includes alcohol and if you're hard core, it includes fruit too. It will lean you out.

Another caution... something I have learned in the last 2 years... heavy weight is good, but proper form is more important. If you're lifting a weight that causes your form to be bad, you aren't doing yourself any good. You are better off lowering your weight and performing the move properly. So while it is about heavy weight, it isn't always about going heavier
 
Another caution... something I have learned in the last 2 years... heavy weight is good, but proper form is more important. If you're lifting a weight that causes your form to be bad, you aren't doing yourself any good. You are better off lowering your weight and performing the move properly. So while it is about heavy weight, it isn't always about going heavier

Omg, you said it woman!!! I have my own gym and there are times poor form is hard to make a man understand, especially advice from a woman... that heavy weight at the risk of injury is just not worth it. There is a huge difference between doms and a slow-onset injury, or immediate injury for that.
 
I am soo glad I started this thread. I found all the recommendations to be both helpful and interesting!!! It's true that as you get older your body can be like a jigsaw puzzle and your trying to get the pieces put together to complete your individual puzzle and make it work for you. Well different things work for different people and it's good to know what works for others because it may work for you. I too refuse to be put into a box because of my age and I don't want to look 16 but I am determined to be the best me I can possibly be.
As far as the Tracy Anderson series, she suggests that her program needs to be given the proper amount of time and what I meant to say was that I gave it two years of my time and it just didn't work for me.
The older I get the more important feeling strong and healthy becomes to me and lifting heavy is the thing that does that for me. Once again, I feel that muscle is youthful and it helps to combat future issues that come with age. I think someone could really capatalize on a magazine that was aimed specifically at women 40 and over who lift weights and I mean weights heavier than 3 and 5 lbs, not that it is bad to lift that amount, no disrespect I just meant heavier lifting.
 
As far as the Tracy Anderson series, she suggests that her program needs to be given the proper amount of time and what I meant to say was that I gave it two years of my time and it just didn't work for me.

2 years is more than enough to gain some result... No disrespect to any fan. Two long precious years without any result is a waste of time.

TA is way out of my radar as far as my health,fitness and enjoyment are concerned. That is the least I would quote
for now:):)

All the very best moving on:)
 
I'm surprised Ivy, at the "waste of time" comment. What was it that made you continue so long with something you say now was not useful? As far as that goes there have been several programs and techniques I've spent time doing and go back to, each time, finding something new or interesting about them or myself. Some I try and I don't have the ability for, most notably running, yoga, & Pilates, only to go back later and find some ability, and then again later still, to find usefulness and value. Tracy Anderson Method is the most interesting to me, it's organic, undefinable, and ever evolving, like art.

I wonder, Dirt Diva, after discovering all these wonderful things that work, how many things have you tried over the years? I try and refine all the time. It's more like art to me, evolving as you uncover more techniques & tools to express your life.
 
I agree that it is so different for everyone. The big challenge is finding what works for YOU. I will be 60 this year, and have finally figured out what gives me muscle and keeps it on. For me it's lifting heavier than ever, and doing cardio at bootcamp (I do 8 of them a week) at my local gym. It isn't just steady cardio (like running... which I was doing for years and years...), but cardio intervals interspersed with weights, and then do a separate weight training program.

I am 54 and this is similar to what I do. I do one day of lifting heavy, I run 2 days a week and other days I do cardio intervals with weights. In these workouts weights = dumbbells, barbells, medicine balls, kettlebells, sandbags. I have been doing this for a while and have gotten good results.
 
A few years back Cathe had posted this as to her own program. I found it to be a good guideline.
3 weeks heavy
1 week random
3 weeks light
1 week random
 
I admire all you "older" women who are still making strength gains. I'm 47 and think a lot about all the research out there about how important it is for older people to lift heavy, etc. I had an interesting revelation a few weeks ago when I finally got around to figuring my 1RM - first time I've ever done that. I've always known I'm lifting mostly in the endurance zone, which is what my 1RM tests showed. I made up a nifty chart showing all the percentages and where I should be lifting for strength and hypertrophy. I studied it for a while .... and decided that really, I'm just not interested. :)

I'm in pretty decent shape, although sometimes it's a challenge to stay that way due to some aches and pains. But that's not the reason I don't want to lift more. I just think I lift enough. As much as I love that muscular look (Jai has always been my fitness idol), I just don't want to put in the work to achieve it. And besides, I have enough trouble finding clothes that fit as it is. ;-)

This is in no way a criticism of heavy lifting. I love to read the posts about it, Cathe's blog, etc. Keep it up, ladies! No matter what our goals are, lifting is FUN!
 
That is also what I like about this crew, what is good for one is not necessarily good for another. I was asked what I didn't like about Tracy? Well, her approach is different and I don't deny that it may work well for some people it just didn't work as well for me. The reason I stayed with it for so long was because she does suggest that you give her program awhile to work because it's not like the average programs out there, so I stuck with her Metamorphosis method for two years and I thought that was more than enough time to see if it should be working for me. Coming back to a more traditional approach works better for me to gain and keep muscle, as new ways of working out come to light I won't discount new methods or new theories, it's just that her particular program was not the way for me.
 

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