Why Gaining Muscle Matters (and How to Do It)
Muscle is the largest organ in your body, making up about 40% of your total body weight. It plays a huge role in how you burn energy, stay active, and go about your day. Muscles can adjust and change depending on what you do with them. For example, when you exercise, muscles can grow stronger, but when they’re not being used much, they can weaken and shrink. As we get older, it’s natural to lose some muscle mass and strength, so keeping our muscles healthy becomes really important if we want to stay independent and keep doing the things we love. The good news? Muscle loss doesn’t have to be a given. By focusing on both good nutrition and regular exercise, you can maintain and even improve your muscle strength as you age.
Why strong muscles matter more than you think
After you reach the age of 30, your body naturally starts to lose muscle mass – about 3% to 5% with each passing decade. Over time, that adds up. In fact, men can lose as much as 30% of their muscle mass over their lifetime. This gradual decline, known as sarcopenia, is a normal part of aging, but it’s made worse by a sedentary lifestyle. The less you move, the faster it can progress. For women, muscle loss becomes even more significant for women during perimenopause and after menopause. That’s because the natural drop in estrogen levels during this time accelerates muscle breakdown. So if you’re in your 40s or 50s and starting to notice changes in your strength or energy, you’re not imagining it – it’s your body signaling a need for support. Why does this matter? Muscle isn’t just about looking toned. It is essential for almost everything we do. It keeps you mobile, helps protect your bones and joints, supports your metabolism, and even helps with balance and stability. Without enough muscle, everyday tasks like carrying groceries, climbing stairs, or getting up from a chair can become more difficult over time. Even more importantly, low muscle mass has been linked to a higher risk of falls and fractures, osteoporosis, heart disease, and a weaker immune system. Strength training and regular movement can help preserve, and even rebuild, the muscle you may be losing. And it’s never too late to start.
Understanding muscle protein synthesis
If you’ve ever hit the gym lifting weights, you’re probably familiar with the muscle soreness that can sneak up on you a day or two later. This is known as delayed-onset muscle soreness, and while it can be uncomfortable, it’s a sign that your muscles are repairing from exercise. While soreness isn’t required for muscle growth, the breakdown of muscle cells is essential for muscles to grow, thanks to a process called muscle protein synthesis. Around 20% of muscle tissue is made up of protein, and during any movement, when muscles are stressed, muscle protein breaks down. This breakdown causes mechanical damage to the muscle fibers, which triggers the body’s repair process, resulting in soreness. To fix this damage, the body produces amino acids that bind to muscle proteins, repairing and rebuilding them in a way that leads to bigger muscles. Whether muscles grow or shrink comes down to the balance between muscle protein production and breakdown. Muscles grow when the body produces more muscle protein than it breaks down.
The one-two punch for stronger muscles: nutrition and resistance training
Whether you’re in the thick of perimenopause or menopause, or simply looking to stay strong as you age, getting enough of the right nutrition and exercise is key to maintaining and growing muscle mass throughout your lifetime. Together, the right foods and movement work hand-in-hand to help your muscles stay strong, resilient, and ready to support you through every stage of life.
Fueling your body for growing muscles
Protein. Often referred to as the “building blocks of life,” protein is essential for survival because it’s found throughout our bodies—in bones, cells, hormones, enzymes, and muscles. Protein is particularly crucial for muscle growth, as it plays a vital role in muscle protein synthesis, which helps repair muscle tissue after exercise. So, if you’re working on building muscle, it’s important to make sure you’re getting enough protein in your diet. How much protein do you need? Protein needs vary from person to person, but for most people who aren’t particularly active, the minimum recommended daily amount to prevent muscle loss is about 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight. For example, a person weighing 150 pounds (68 kg) should aim for about 54 grams of protein per day to maintain muscle mass. For those who exercise regularly, the amount needed increases. Strength trainers, in particular, should aim for up to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. So, a 150-pound person who works out regularly would need around 108 grams of protein per day, which can be spread out throughout the day if preferred. Protein can come from both animal and plant-based sources. Animal-based options include meat, eggs, and dairy products, while plant-based sources include lentils, beans, nuts, seeds, quinoa, and soy products. Some of the highest-protein foods include lean chicken breast (54.5g per 6 oz.), lean pork chop (52.7g per 6 oz.), tuna (50.8g per 6 oz.), beef skirt steak (48.7g per 6 oz.), firm tofu (43.5g per 1 cup), lentils (17.9g per 1 cup), low-fat yogurt (14g per 1 cup), pumpkin seeds (8.5g per 1 oz.), and eggs (6.3g per large egg). Whole milk and soy protein products have also been shown to support muscle protein growth, especially after resistance training. Vitamin D. Just like protein, vitamin D plays a big role in keeping you healthy. It helps your immune system stay strong and allows your body to absorb calcium, which is essential for maintaining healthy bones. Vitamin D also supports muscle growth, function, and contraction. Low levels have been linked to higher risks of obesity, heart disease, and even some cancers. And when it comes to your muscles, getting enough vitamin D can help preserve and even rebuild strength as you age. A quick blood test can tell you where you stand. Levels above 20 ng/mL are generally considered healthy, while anything below 12 ng/mL is usually a sign of deficiency. Your body makes vitamin D through sun exposure, just 10 to 15 minutes of sunshine on bare skin a few times a week. You can also get vitamin D through your diet. Fatty fish like salmon, tuna, and trout, as well as egg yolks, are great natural sources. Many foods are also fortified with vitamin D, including dairy milk, plant-based milk alternatives, certain cereals, yogurt, and orange juice. For many people, taking a vitamin D supplement is the easiest and most reliable way to meet their needs. Both D2 and D3 are available, but D3 is typically more effective at maintaining healthy levels over time. The general recommendation is 600 IU per day for adults under 70 and 800 IU for those over 70, but your doctor will be able to recommend the right dose for you.
Picking up weights to build muscle
Resistance training is one of the best ways to maintain and build muscle mass. To keep your muscles strong, you need to balance muscle protein breakdown and muscle protein synthesis. For muscle growth to happen, the amount of protein being built up must outweigh the protein being broken down. This requires stressing the muscles enough to trigger their repair and growth. Unlike aerobic exercises like walking, running, or cycling, resistance exercises – such as weightlifting, using resistance bands, yoga, squats, and push-ups – help strengthen muscles by making them work against a weight or force. Don’t have free weights? You can use everyday items like soup cans or milk jugs. Even carrying groceries, doing wall push-ups, or squeezing a tennis ball can give your muscles a great workout. If you’re ready to kick off a new resistance training routine, here are some guidelines from The American College of Sports Medicine (ACM) to help you get started, with tips for progressing as you go. A few important things to remember before you dive in: if you’re just starting out with resistance training, be sure to take it slow and make small changes to avoid injury. And as always, before starting any new exercise program, be sure to check with your doctor to make sure it’s safe for you. Start by aiming to work your whole body two to three nonconsecutive days a week, focusing on major muscle groups like your hips, legs, chest, back, shoulders, arms, and abdomen. As your strength and endurance improve, you can gradually increase the weight, number of exercises, sets, and reps, or even the frequency of your workouts. It helps to have a plan that matches your goals—whether you’re aiming to get stronger, build muscle, or improve your endurance. Here’s how to think about it in simple terms: If your goal is to get stronger: Stick with fewer reps using heavier weights. Try doing 1 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps using a weight that feels challenging by the last few reps. Rest for 1 to 2 minutes between exercises. As you progress, you can increase the weight and do fewer reps (even as low as 1 to 6 reps per set) with longer rest breaks, up to 3 minutes. If your goal is to build muscle: Use moderately heavy weights and aim for that sweet spot of 8 to 12 reps per set. Start with 1 to 3 sets if you’re newer to training. Rest for 1 to 2 minutes between sets. If you’re more advanced, you can increase the number of sets and sometimes even use heavier weights for fewer reps or lighter weights for more reps, depending on your training plan. If your goal is to build muscular endurance: Use lighter weights that you can lift for longer, around 10 to 25 reps per set. Go for 2 to 4 sets and keep your rest breaks short, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. This style is great for improving stamina and supporting daily activities or sports. No matter your goal, the key is to challenge your muscles consistently and increase the difficulty as you get stronger. That could mean adding weight, doing more reps, or shortening rest time, whatever helps you continue making progress.
References: 1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6566799/ 2. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1186/s12970-018-0215-1 3. https://www.myfooddata.com/articles/foods-highest-in-protein.php#data 4. https://www.gssiweb.org/sports-science-exchange/article/sse-107-protein-consumption-and-resistance-exercise-maximizing-anabolic-potential#articleTopic_6 5. https://www.prescriptiontogetactive.com/static/pdfs/resistance-training-ACSM.pdf
