Can you build muscle over 40 years of age?

Need anyones help,i am 44 years old and been going to the gym for about two years now with no good result to speak about.Train about 3-4 times a week but still no results its getting depressing.Can anyone help with what i should be doing and also any thing that i can take?i am 105kgs and about 5foot 10 inches.
Thanks in advance.

Of course you can build muscle.

Give us some more stats.
Do you have excess bodyfat?

Diet will be the key I expect.

Afraid of that question yes i am over weight,one thing going for me is i have a big build to hide some of that.I think my diet is a problem.

With excess bodyfat, maybe it would be best to go on a cut first to get lean, then slowly gain muscle after that.

You may have very low testosterone levels. Get a check up and if you do have low levels the Doc may put you on HRT. then good days follow.

i have low test level, its 18nm/L and i am 23... its the same as that of a man in his 70s... and the doctors wont help me out. and thats on test boosters too!

Find another Doctor. You really aint having much luck in Shepparton are you? LMAO.

yeh man i am not... i have seen a few doctors... i seen an endo in melb too he thinks things are fine...

I was curious about that, I believe in the US it is fairly straightforward to get HRT through 'anti ageing clinics'. A doctor from the local medical Centre offered my grandmother in law hGH, but she has Alzheimer's disease.

And to the original thread starter, diet and regular exercise is key. You have to make sure you get regular sources of protein. A good place to start for information is:

Nutrition For Bodybuilding

Is testosterone tested by a blood test at the local GP? Any idea how much it costs?

A blood test is done. Should be for free if your Doc bulk bills.

I am just a month off 38 and building muscle, so it is quite possible. It's just slower than when you're 21.

Sylvester Stallone built up muscle at 60 for his last Rambo/Rocky movies He used steroids, but they don't create muscle while you're sitting on the couch, you still have to work hard - it's just faster than if you're clean.

Tell us about your workout, perhaps you just need to change it a bit - the body gets used to doing certain things, needs to be shocked sometimes - or perhaps take it up a notch, and so on. Or you could be using poor form, or not enough aerobic stuff - there are lots of possibilities.

gruggy

try going in bursts of short hard stuff really push it.make sure u warm up first .itshould fitten u up as well as make u fell good and strong within a few weeks ,stick to it its only a short time compared to the rest of your life.

i see alot of older blokes at my gym that go quite often aswell, and who dont seem to make a lot of gains, the things i notice about these blokes is there doesnt seem to be any structure in their routines and they dont seem to fully understand the excersise they are doing and thus have very poor form.

Maybe going back to the basics might be a good option for you, and incorporate your 3 main compound excercise, benchpress, squats, and deadlifts.

If you were to go to the gym 3 days a week, then maybe you could structure your workout like this.

DAY 1 (monday)

3-4 sets of 10 barbell squats (if you have any back issues you may choose to use a hack squat machine, but it is definately best to do it with barbell)
3-4 sets of leg extensions
3-4 sets of calf raises
3-4 sets of leg curls

DAY 2 (wednesday)
3-4 sets of flat barbell benchpress
3-4 sets on peckdeck
3-4 sets of shoulder presses
3-4 sets of upright rows

Day 3 (friday)
3-4 sets of deadlifts (you prolly need professional guidance on acheive coorect form for this lift)
3-4 sets of seated row machine
3-4 sets of lat pulldowns
3- 4 sets bicep curls
3-4 sets of tricep extensions

Dont be afriad to ask someone that works at the gym for a demo on proper technique, i think nailing the technique on these simple excersises alone will give you some good gains and when you have mastered them you can start changing up your workout from there.

Nutrition is just as important as the workout itself to make good gains, a good protein powder should be consumed 45 mins before your workout and within 30 mins after, and then a good high protein meal within an hour.
You should be consuming about 250gms of protein a day, mainly from whole foods such as meats.
http://www.proteindirect.com.au/products.html
the WPC is all you will need.

once you do master these excercises dont be afraid to push yourself and ask for a spotter if neccessary, some times that extra 5kg plate your scared to put on is not that scary once you start lifting it.

i hope this helps, and addresses the issues you have.

Program for Oldie

Thanks Shammo,

Sounds good, But I dont go to a gym. Used to but was hard to get there due to traffic, especially as I do shift work.
I have my own gym set. Ie: bench, leg curl, barbell, dumbell, sit up bench.
I am after a squat machine at the moment.
I understand the 'proper technique issue. Was told by a mate who is a body builder fanatic that i had wrong technique. Pity he only drops in every 6 months.
I will keep the routines in my book.
Many thanks

Steve

Yes it is a blood test, and cost depends on clinical notes and how medicare will interprets them I beleive, and if they are a bulk billing pathology company.

Alot of good posts already in the forums but in general key points:

1. Educate yourself. Eat right, exercise right. Set the right goals and steps.
2. Make a commitment. Determination. Motivation can get you started, but developing a habit is what keeps you going.
3. Evaluate and Refine.

-Mike

Stallone built zero muscle in his later years. He took drugs from day one, was training with Franco Columbo. He has taken drugs his whole life.

The OP has the same problem Stallone has now, low test. Stallone simply takes drugs to overcome it, the OP doesnt want to do that.

Regaining muscle in your 40's is much easier than building it. Test levels start to decline after around 28, and they simply keep dropping.

Lift heavy weights, eat an anabolic diet, check out girly pics, all those things will help with your test levels.

I'm 47 by the way.

Very funny. I like the girly pics best

Diet and determination

Giffo

PTC said:

Stallone built zero muscle in his later years. He took drugs from day one, was training with Franco Columbo. He has taken drugs his whole life.

The OP has the same problem Stallone has now, low test. Stallone simply takes drugs to overcome it, the OP doesnt want to do that.

Regaining muscle in your 40's is much easier than building it. Test levels start to decline after around 28, and they simply keep dropping.

Lift heavy weights, eat an anabolic diet, check out girly pics, all those things will help with your test levels.

I'm 47 by the way.

Click to expand...

the male testes produces roughly 300mg of testosterone per week for an average 18 year old, while producing roughly 75mg of testosterone per week for an average 40 year old.**

So in other words, while it is possible for a 40 year old to bulid muscle, it's a lot more difficult... a lot more.

Stallone built muscle for his final Rocky movie through using anabolic / androgenic steroids (almost got locked up by Australian customs for it too when he came here)... using them, there is exogenous testosterone introduced of a quantity roughly 400mg to 500mg a week.

And like Kyle said, with testosterone.. you can't just sit on the couch.. requires a lot of lifting so that the free-testosterone binds to the androgen receptors of the muscles in need of recuperation. Then when you feed protein and glucose, the more test... the greater the protein synthesis.


**No Citation