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Finding It Hard To Build Muscle After 40? Add Creatine To Your Routine
It's not just anecdotal—good health is harder to maintain as you age. And one of the most noticeable changes is that your fitness level seems to stagnate and you start to lose muscle (even with your same rigorous workouts). Muscle loss actually starts to occur in your 30s and you lose as much as 8% each decade—so by the time you cross 40, you can start to feel the effects.
However, building muscle and strength at any age is possible with the right habits. Here, we dive into physiological changes of aging that make gaining muscle more challenging, plus one underrated lifestyle hack to complement your workout routine.
The link between aging and muscle health
There isn't just one contributing factor to muscle loss. It's usually a combination of factors.
Reduced muscle protein synthesis
After age 40, and more noticeably after 50, your muscles' response to protein intake and resistance training is blunted. Meaning: Your body isn't able to generate new muscle tissue as easily as before. You need more of both to get the same muscle-building effect.
Overcoming these changes: Getting enough protein throughout the day is even more vital as you get older. Most people benefit from getting around 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight a day. So, for someone weighing 130 pounds, getting around 130 grams of protein a day (give or take) is a good goal.
Also, progressing your weight choices during workouts is essential. If you keep picking up the same weights or doing the same exercises at the gym, that load will (eventually) no longer be enough to stimulate muscle protein synthesis.
A decline in anabolic hormones
Certain hormones that support muscle growth—like testosterone and estrogen—decline with age.
This often hits women the hardest during perimenopause and in the post-menopause years when estrogen levels drop. Estrogen helps with muscle repair and regeneration1, and its decline can make workouts less effective for building lean tissue.
After menopause, the rate of muscle loss per year and decade declines at an even quicker rate.
Overcoming these changes: Menopause is something all women go through. Eating enough protein and participating in strength training sessions at least twice a week is especially critical for women over 40—whether signs of perimenopause are present or not. If you're new to strength training (and it's totally OK if you are—society hasn't always encouraged women to lift weights), here's a great four-week at-home program to get you started.
Stress
Stress fluctuates during each life stage and can definitely heighten in midlife as you try to balance a hundred things at once (like busy schedules with kids and helping your parents manage their health).
Chronic stress causes the hormone cortisol to be chronically elevated—and this hormone also promotes muscle breakdown2 and fat storage over time.
Overcoming these changes: It's impossible to eliminate all stress, so having effective coping mechanisms in your toolbox is a must. We gathered 10 science-backed ways to deal with stress here.
Add this one thing to your routine
Eating enough protein, doing strength training (with progressive overload), and managing stress are the foundational components of building muscle.
But if there's one more thing to add to your routine, it's creatine.
Once something only athletes and extreme fitness enthusiasts leaned on, creatine is an effective supplement to help everyone put on muscle—no matter your age or current fitness level. (And it may even be more beneficial for women than men.)
Creatine works by acting as a source of quick energy for your muscles. Research shows that even after a few weeks of consistent use, creatine helps increase your training capacity so you're able to lift heavier, recover faster, and push more reps—helping you get the most out of each workout to effectively build muscle3.*
So, what's the best supplement? You should always look for a creatine powder (not gummy and here's why) that provides 3 to 5 grams of creatine monohydrate (the effective dose for supporting muscle health).*
mindbodygreen's creatine with taurine+ is a great option, with 5 grams of creatine per serving and 2 grams of taurine, an amino acid that further supports muscle health and longevity.*
Reviewers agree that it's helped them see progress at the gym.
Love, love, love
The takeaway
Keeping with your same exercise routine and diet isn't going to help you build muscle in your 40s like it did in your 20s (sigh). It's important to level up your protein intake, pick up heavier weights, and manage stress.
One additional simple habit is starting a creatine supplement. Here's how you should take it to get the most benefits.
