Gaining Muscle in Your 30s and 40s: 10 Tips for Natural Lifters
Training hard is important, but so is allowing your muscles to rest and recover. Learn 10 tips for gaining muscle as a natural lifter in your 30s and 40s.
![Author profile image](https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1665040707919257604/YBQogDkX_normal.jpg)
Rob - Nothing Barred Fitness
I help dads become their kids' superheroes with a simple nutrition philosopy and workout programs that take less than 60 mins/week.
![Header media for article](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ft_l7U3XoAI1uu6.jpg)
-
10 things you need to be doing if you want to gain muscle as a natural lifter in your 30s and 40s pic.twitter.com/gAnHz0CyIw
— Rob - Nothing Barred Fitness (@Rob_NBF) April 18, 2023 -
1. Prioritise Recovery.
— Rob - Nothing Barred Fitness (@Rob_NBF) April 18, 2023
Muscles don't grow in the gym. They grow when you rest.
Train hard, but recover harder.
Younger guys can recover quicker, but you should allow 72-96 hours recovery per muscle group after a hard training session. -
This doesn't mean you can't train on consecutive days.
— Rob - Nothing Barred Fitness (@Rob_NBF) April 18, 2023
You've just got to split it up so each muscle group rests for the required time.
E.G.
Monday: Push
Tuesday: Pull
Wednesday: Lower
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Push
and so on -
2. Stay consistent
— Rob - Nothing Barred Fitness (@Rob_NBF) April 18, 2023
Remember that something is better than nothing!
You'd be surprised what you can achieve with short workouts if you show up with intensity, focus and a drive to get some quality work done.
Don't go weeks without working out. -
After a workout, you've got a limited amount of time to USE your new strength gains. Or lose them.
— Rob - Nothing Barred Fitness (@Rob_NBF) April 18, 2023
This "supercompensation" window is when you need to build on your new strength to get stronger still. pic.twitter.com/kNUfkDo2Xw -
3. Train HARD
— Rob - Nothing Barred Fitness (@Rob_NBF) April 18, 2023
You'd better not be stopping your sets with more than 5 reps in reserve...
Ideally you should be training to within 0-3 reps in reserve (mixing up your intensity).
If you've got more than 5 reps in reserve, it's a warmup. -
4. Prioritize sleep!
— Rob - Nothing Barred Fitness (@Rob_NBF) April 18, 2023
I know it's hard when you've got kids, you need to work late and be up early, but try your best.
Human growth hormone is released during the deepest stages of sleep, so try to get more sleep & avoid broken sleep.
Read this thread:https://t.co/594azllrBD -
5. Eat enough.
— Rob - Nothing Barred Fitness (@Rob_NBF) April 18, 2023
You won't gain muscle if you're always dieting and eating salads.
Focus on fat loss if you need to for now, but if gaining is your goal you should be eating lots of quality food.
Track it, and have a small surplus (10% over maintenance). -
One mistake people make is they overdo this.
— Rob - Nothing Barred Fitness (@Rob_NBF) April 18, 2023
You need to eat enough, but not too much.
Slamming down all the calories you can is how you get fat.
When you get fat you'll have to cut and that won't help your goal of gaining muscle.
Track your calories and be in a SMALL surplus -
Macrofactor will help massively here as it will adjust your calories as you go to make sure you're gaining at the right rate.
— Rob - Nothing Barred Fitness (@Rob_NBF) April 18, 2023
Use my code for 2 weeks free (ROBNBF)https://t.co/YxtU15vUQy -
6. Track your lifts
— Rob - Nothing Barred Fitness (@Rob_NBF) April 18, 2023
One of the biggest mistakes I see people making (that I made myself) is not tracking their lifts.
You should be setting PRs in every workout.
Not a 1 rep max, a rep PR.
Start every set knowing how many reps you need to hit to be better than last time. -
7. Eat enough protein.
— Rob - Nothing Barred Fitness (@Rob_NBF) April 18, 2023
1.6g per kg of your bodyweight is the minimum amount of protein you should be eating.
Most studies don't find a benefit from eating more (but it doesn't hurt)
Animal sources are better due to the higher concentration of essential amino acids.
Track it! -
8. Distribute your protein evenly
— Rob - Nothing Barred Fitness (@Rob_NBF) April 18, 2023
This isn't a bro-science myth.
Just focusing on total protein intake isn't as good as splitting it up.
Only 2.5-3g of leucine is needed to maximally spike MPS, which lasts for 3-4 hours.
Get a decent serving of protein around every 4 hours. -
9. Fit the program to your life
— Rob - Nothing Barred Fitness (@Rob_NBF) April 18, 2023
I had to cut my workouts to 20 minutes 4x per week & my results didn't suffer.
I've put this plan (customisable for your schedule) into my program 20 Minute Muscle!
Get it here (66% off for next 24 hours)https://t.co/jAlDkEfE9B -
That's the end of this thread.
— Rob - Nothing Barred Fitness (@Rob_NBF) April 18, 2023
If you found it useful please retweet the first tweet to help someone else!
Follow me @Rob_NBF for more threads on building muscle and losing fat with the minimal time investment.https://t.co/JfsGtOqTbQ -
Want 21 free high protein recipes?
— Rob - Nothing Barred Fitness (@Rob_NBF) April 18, 2023
Get them here:https://t.co/WIrxanaRFw -
P.S. Want personalised programming, guidance, support and accountability?
— Rob - Nothing Barred Fitness (@Rob_NBF) April 18, 2023
Work one-on-one with me and achieve guaranteed results.
Click the button below to send me a DM.
(Note: Investment required, but results are assured)https://t.co/LqkD5DQdtu