If You're Over 40, You Should Lift Weights And Eat Protein. Here’s Why

May 16, 2018

It's long been known in fitness circles that people who want to get fitter and stronger should lift weights and add protein to their diet. Now researchers have found even more evidence to confirm that this is true - especially for middle-aged people.
 

Protein has long been a dietary mainstay for bodybuilders, gym rats, and everybody else who are dedicated to building muscle. That's because muscle is mostly made of protein. Lifting weights creates tiny tears in the muscle, and it takes extra protein for the body to heal these micro-tears. Over time, the process of tearing and rebuilding muscles results in muscle and strength gain.

But what about people who aren't dedicated bodybuilders? Does protein intake matter for them, too? Researchers decided to take a look at data from all kinds of people - including men and women of all ages and all fitness levels - to see if protein benefited them. All of the people studied in the review lifted weights, but some had just started, while others had been doing it for years.

The results? The researchers discovered that eating more protein did indeed help everyone build more muscle, regardless of their gender, the amount of time they'd been working out, and their age. In fact, people who ate lots of protein gained 25% more muscle mass and 10% more strength than those who didn't!

The researchers found that people may benefit from eating significantly more protein than most nutritionists currently recommend. To maximize strength and muscle gains, people should eat about 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of their body weight.

The review found that the benefits of lifting weights and eating lots of protein were especially pronounced for people over the age of 40. People in this age demographic tended not to get enough protein in their everyday diet, and they often struggled to put on as much muscle as their younger counterparts. However, middle-aged people who did eat enough protein while adding weightlifting to their workout routine saw similar strength and muscle gains as younger people.

So if you're over the age of 40, don't resign yourself to getting weaker or being unable to get fit - you might just need to hit the weight room and change up your diet to see results.
 

Another finding of the review was that any type of protein works for muscle gain. So if you hate protein shakes, there's no need to choke them down. Instead, focus on adding more lean meat, beans, eggs, and nuts to your diet.

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