Strength Training and Building Muscle for Older Lifters (40+)

I waited until I was a couple of years into my 40s before writing this article, but now I’ve turned 42, and having trained many older lifters, I feel I have enough experience to advise on this.

The first thing I would say is don’t baby yourself. Far too many people give up training hard far too early because they think they’re too old, when they just need to train better and smarter. They could get away with a lot when they were younger and not get hurt, but you have to train smarter when you're older.
  • Use good form (no ego lifting) and be patient with progressive overload
This advice holds true at any age, but it becomes particularly crucial as you get older. when you’re older.  In your twenties, you might be able to get away with poor form, rushing to increase the weights and reps,  and escape without significant injuries or discomfort. Doing this when you're older will eventually catch up with you.

You still want to be trying to achieve progressive overload, but you don't want to force it by changing your form. I've seen people try to add reps, or increase the weight, and then reduce the range of motion, do the eccentric quicker, swing their body, and the reps look completely different. If your form has to change, then you haven't made progress and haven't gotten stronger. Progressive overload is when you add reps or weight while still using the same form. Rushing to add reps or weight when you're not ready greatly increases your injury risk when you're an older lifter.

Strive for every rep to be perfect, done with good control, and use the same standards for every rep. Controlling the eccentric for around 2 seconds) helps standardise your form.   ​

This doesn't mean you won't be training and pushing the sets hard. It just means you need to push the sets hard while maintaining good and consistent form.
  • Listen to your body: If something hurts, stop and do something else.
I won’t ever push through pain now (pain, not normal training stress). If something hurts, I'll stop and do something else. This might seem obvious and just common sense, but most people won’t do this. Injuries take longer to recover from when you're older, and by pushing through pain, you can easily make a minor niggle into a more serious injury. Stopping when you first feel something can prevent many problems.
Sometimes, certain exercises might cause you issues even with good form. If this is the case, ditch the exercise and do one that doesn't hurt.
Training shouldn't be the cause of you walking around with aches and pains all the time.
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​At 42 years old, I don't experience any aches or pains, and training significantly enhances my quality of life. This is how it should be.
  • Take longer to warm up
I now do twice the amount of warm-up sets compared to when I was younger. It takes me a little longer to feel ready for my first work set these days, but doing this has kept my joints healthy and ensured I'm ready to perform the exercise. I'll often repeat warm-up sets if my body still feels a bit stiff.
  • Be careful with how much volume and frequency you do. Joints can take longer to recover
When you're older, your joints take slightly longer to recover compared to your muscles.  When I was younger, I never thought about my joints. I could do as much as I wanted, and there was never a problem. Now I sometimes feel ready to hack squat again, but my knees need an extra day to recover compared to when I was younger, or my knee gets achy if I do too many sets. It's the same with other joints.
There's not a hard rule on this, but you might do better if you reduce the frequency or volume you train a bit, especially if you're having joint issues. Having extra rest days compared to when you were younger might be beneficial. 

  • Incorporate mobility work​
In my twenties, like many, I enjoyed naturally good flexibility without any effort. However, as the years passed, I noticed a decline in my mobility, leading to minor issues that would only worsen if I didn’t address them. Most older clients I train come to me with limited mobility.

Fortunately, improving mobility doesn’t require a significant time commitment. Just ten to fifteen minutes of dedicated mobility work each day has made a remarkable difference in my overall flexibility.
Don’t become the person who struggles to bend down or squat due to tightness. Prioritizing mobility now will pay off in the long run, keeping you agile and pain-free as you age.
  • Incorporate cardio
As we age, prioritising heart health becomes increasingly important. I've known several individuals who are only a few years older than me who faced heart-related issues, which serves as a reminder to take proactive steps for our cardiovascular well-being. Monitoring your blood pressure and cholesterol is essential when you're older, and regular cardio helps keep them at healthy levels
Improving your cardiovascular fitness aids in recovery after workouts, but also helps ensure your cardio isn't the limiting factor when you're lifting weights, ensuring you can push your sets hard and keep going through the whole workout. 

The heart is your most important muscle. You need to look after it

Low-impact cardio like incline walking is good for older people.
Everything I've mentioned is things everyone should be doing anyway, but most don't when their younger, as they can get away with it. Everyone should be using good technique, not ego lift,  don't continue an exercise that hurts, look after your joints, do cardio, mobility, and warm up correctly.
It just becomes essential when you're older!

​I hope that if you take anything from reading this, it will be there you can still train hard, you just have to do things correctly.