Tag Archives: build muscle in old age

How To Evaluate Your Coach/PT.

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7 Reasons To Fire Your Trainer.

YOU NEED TO COUNT CALORIES.

Calories are an extremely inaccurate measure of a macronutrient because of the way in which the body utilises that macronutrient to produce energy via chemical reactions, especially regarding how a ‘calorific’ measurement of a foodstuff is even achieved.

The measurements on labels can be wildly inaccurate, up to 20% either way. Protein is rarely used directly as a potential fuel source, but rather for growth and maintenance, enzyme catalysis, hormonal messengers, immune defence, transport & storage, structural support, and fluid & pH balance.

Only in starvation will protein be used for energy production, and it is most likely to come from recycled protein from growth & maintenance that occurs all the time, which also includes the remnants of a fat cell when the body is utilising fat as an energy source. Only when the starvation period goes beyond many weeks will protein from lean mass be broken down and used to create energy.

YOU NEED TO GO LOW-FAT.

Fat is an essential nutrient which we require in larger quantities than is currently advised.

It’s involved in hormone production, vitamin absorption, and cellular structure. The brain is over 60% fat and needs essential fatty acids (omega-3 and omega-6). Contrary to some, it is the preferred fuel substrate. (Carbs are not an essential nutrient, but are dealt with urgently in a mixed meal, as an overplus concentration of glucose in the blood is deleterious to the body.)

If the body is predominantly using fat in the form of ketones at the time of a mixed carb/fat meal. The body will attempt to bring blood sugar levels down to homeostasis, suppressing ketone levels and stimulating glucose uptake in muscles and other tissues, including fat cells. The homeostatic level of glucose in the blood is about 1 gram per litre.

Some commentators conflate the process of prioritising carbs by arguing that it demonstrates that carbs are a preferred fuel when, in fact, it’s a damage limitation process.

As pointed out earlier, carbohydrates are non-essential exogenously, as we can produce all the carbohydrates we need for normal daily function.

IF IT FITS YOUR MACROS.

‘If it fits your macros’ is an asinine statement. It’s an atrocious approach to nutrition. Because of the absurd variance of what you could consume and what its effect could be.

YOU NEED CARBS TO FUEL YOUR WORKOUT.

This statement is incorrect for the majority of healthy gym goers. As stated earlier, carbs are not essential. If a client’s diet is carb-dominant, it can take many weeks to transition from being carb-dominant to being predominantly a fat-burner. It can take a while for a trainee to be comfortable training while in ketosis as opposed to running on glucose.

MOVE MORE EAT LESS.

Move more than what? Eat less than what? I’ve witnessed gym goers attend class after class and complain they cannot get fat-loss results.

I’ve also heard these same people say they eat next to nothing. It’s quite conceivable that ’moving less’ and ‘eating more’ could achieve the results these trainees are striving for. There is a good reason for this, and it’s about understanding the physiology of the human body.

There is a sweet spot where the right amount of stress on the human system will garner the best results. Too much stress will put the body into a defensive mode. Fat is a protective and valuable resource, and in a stressed state, the body will not easily give up fat, even in a nutritional deficit.

Likewise, working out too hard will not lead to positive results. It will lead to higher inflammation levels and an inability to recover quickly. Just like diet, there is a sweet spot for the amount of exercise one should do to gain the best results. More is not better, in most cases.

CARDIO IS THE BEST WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT.

I have summed up why in the previous paragraph. Cardio is also catabolic, which means all types of tissue break down, not just fat, but also lean mass. Long-term, strength training is by far the better approach for the average gym-goer looking to recomp their body. Muscle tissue is more demanding of energy, the look of muscle is more aesthetic, and muscle is denser, meaning you could look slimmer without the scale changing. A person’s muscle mass is also a predictor of their longevity and general health status.

YOU NEED TO EAT LITTLE AND OFTEN.

Eating is anabolic, which is not all bad. It means the body is building tissue, but not just building muscle; it also means storing fat. When insulin is permanently elevated, the body cannot utilise body fat for creating energy, which also means that the body is in a constant state of low levels of inflammation, as eating causes an inflammatory response. The optimum is two to three meals a day at most. The composition of these meals is also important. They need adequate fat and protein. The amount of protein in a meal needs to be enough to serve the body’s physiological requirements.

Build Muscle At Any Age?

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What You Need To Know To Be Successful.

The human body never loses it's ability to adapt to stresses that we put on it. These adaptations can be good or bad or both in various amounts. The body is in a constant state of breaking down, building and repairing new tissue as a result of the daily stresses of life.

Basically there are two opposing hormone groups. Catabolic (breaking down) and Anabolic (building).

The main catabolic hormones are Adrenaline and Cortisol. These are released when ever we encounter stressful events or sressful periods during our daily life.
Anabolic hormones include Human Growth Hormone, Testostrone and Estrogen. These help us build and repair tissue.

Building muscle is an adaptation to a stress that we put on the body by way of performing resistance exercises. As we age the ability to gain muscle and strength does decline but we never lose it.

To be successful we have to create an enviroment that is more anabolic than catabolic.
In men and women, Human Growth Hormone and Testosterone levels decrease over time.

We can raise these by performing strength training which in turn can help us increase lean mass. Nevertheless, there is a balancing act between optimum training and overtraining. This is the case at any age but the older we are, the finer the margins for error.

There are several factors that we have to optimise as we age to be successful in building muscle and strength. All of these would be unique to each individual.
*The right amount of training.
*The optimum nutrition.
*Rest and recovery.

The right amount of training.

The right amount of training should be just enough to ilicit a stress, recovery and adaptation in your body. More is not better and too much will result in a negative benefit.
For the most part, to continue to get stronger and bigger muscles, the "right amount" will involve "progressive overload". Progressive overload is the increase in one or more of the variables, intensity, frequency and volume.

The Optimum Nutrition.

The optimal nutrition is going to fuel workouts, help build muscle, aid recovery, improve healthy hormone levels. Protein is an essential nutrient that we have to eat to help facilitate the growth and repair of cells. This includes muscle. If we don't eat enough protein the breakdown of tissue will outway the building of new tissue. This is not the environment for muscle growth.
The generally excepted protein intake target for muscle growth is .6gms to 1.2kgms of protein per lb of bodyweight. Fat is another essential nutrient that we have to eat. It helps in the production of important hormones and the obsorbtion of nutrients. Fat also protects our organs and keeps us warm.
20% to 35% our our daily calorie intake should be from healthy fats.

Rest and Recovery.

Rest and recovery and most importantly, sleep, from training and generally from daily life stresses, are so important and underestermated in these modern times.
Sleep is probably the #1 factor to focus on. Especially when it comes to building muscle and strength. Inadequate recovery will prevent the body adapting in the desired manner. Recovery from training will happen but adaptation may not.

So in summery, yes you can build muscle at any age. At the very least you can maintain your muscle mass by doing regular resistance exercise workouts. If you want to live a long active life, staying strong is probably the single most important thing you can do.