Women 55+ Building Muscle

anonymouse37 · January 2020

Any women have success building muscle after 55? If so, did you eat a surplus of calories? How much muscle were you able to build? How long did you lift? Read a few articles that give the impression a few pounds is what you can realistically hope for.

springlering62 · February 2020

I’ll bite.

I started at age 57, 221lbs in September 2018. At the time I was doing yoga and averaged 10,000+ steps per day. I began at 1470 calories.

A couple of months - and a dietician consultant - later, I added in Pilates, more walking, and at her suggestion bumped up to 1700. She later bumped me up to 1800.

I started weight training exactly one year ago. My trainer asked me to increase my calories based on the amount of exercise I did, so I went to 2030. My weight at that time, after five months of deficit/calorie counting was 172.

She doesn’t have me doing super heavy weights. My personal best bench is 110, and squats about 90. She has me doing a lot of machines, leg days, dumbbells, bamboo benching (which I love), and occasionally a “trap”, which is kind of like a metal crinoline with weights on it. You stand inside the “skirt” and lift it.

I tried one of the online lifting apps, but got completely reamed out by my trainer who saw me, for lack of technique, and dire warnings I was going to hurt myself. She was no doubt right. I do wonderfully well with form with someone standing over me, but as soon as I don’t, I come unglued and forget how everything works. For me, lifting remains something mystical and scary, probably because in my head I still carry a fat interloper mindset. I train far better with a trainer, enjoy it more, and definitely get more out of it. There’s many MFPers, however, who’ve had utmost success with the self motivated apps and programs, and god bless em for their success.

I just did a one year follow up with my dietician, who did some very minimal tweaks, but basically told me “keep doing what you’re doing, it’s working for you.”

I also started running some, but am sticking more to walking with a backpack while I “train” for a long distance walking trip in Europe where I will wear it several hours a day.

I’ve lost just under 80 pounds. I’m lean and slim (which still sounds false, coming from my mouth), and I’ve got nice arm and back muscles, killer thighs and calves (I could push a semi out of the way via a leg press in an emergency lol), abs that are tight as steel bands when they flex, and I have the cutest, rolypoly’ist, squishiest, jiggliest poochiest belly you’ve ever seen. I can twist it like Play-Doh and sometimes it will stay there.

I’ve “plateaued” in the last month or two, but have also slimmed down noticeably and either the muscles got bigger, or are more visible, or both.

If someone - including yourself- tells you that at 55 you can’t lose weight easily, you can’t built muscle or endurance, you can’t, you can’t, you can’t, well believe me, just look around this message board for users who can prove them wrong.

The only thing you have to do is commit to change, and follow through.

anonymouse37 · February 2020

Thanks for sharing your story. That is an impressive weight loss! Sounds like you are doing it right! Do I understand that you weigh 172 and are lean? That is very inspirational.

I have been just idly wondering what is possible, looking for inspiration and experience I guess. I lost around 20 lbs, going from 150-ish to 130-ish. I am focused now on building some muscle. I have been focused on the bodybuilding for only a month or so. I am on a pretty traditional program -- heavy compound movements - 8-10 reps mostly. Definitely getting stronger. Not sure yet if I am getting leaner or more muscular. I think so sometimes, other times I think not. It's weird to not be trying to lose weight. Harder to see progress for inspiration to keep going. Thinking to take pictures after six weeks to see if anything looks better.

Good luck on your journey -- both fitness and in Europe!

springlering62 · February 2020

I was as low as 139 before Thanksgiving, but was up almost ten pounds after a month in Europe for a wedding.

I guess my body treated it as one of the "re-feeds" they talk about here. The weight came back off pretty quick, except the last three pounds. I was really frustrated, because this is the longest run I've ever had without going over on calories, but then I realized I had thinned out, muscled up a little, and felt noticeably stronger.

I don't know enough about weights to give advice, but I do feel like doing weights has certainly helped me, and I don't do the heavy heavy weights others do. Mine are pretty unimpressive, but I'm consistent. I do weights twice a week with a trainer, occasionally going in and doing the Smith machine and bench on my own. I also do flow yoga and mat pilates daily. (I have the luxury of being retired.)

IMHO, the three disciplines seem to complement each other very well, and I enjoy the variety. The weight training helps with upper body strength, which helps with the yoga, which returns the favor with more upper body strength. The pilates builds core strength, the yoga flexibility.

Do take pictures. I had none til I started training, and my trainer insisted on taking photos weekly. It was embarassing at first, but now I'm glad she did it. I posted some before, during and afters on the Halp!!! thread a couple of weeks ago, and seeing them clustered together was an eye opener, versus seeing them strung out amongst hundreds of others photos on my phone.

Best of luck to you. Hope you find a routine that works for you, and that you enjoy as much as I do!

Women 55+ Building Muscle

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