Muscle loss despite weight lifting?

[Anonymous]

Focus more on your largest muscles--legs. Eat more protein and get more vitamin D (sun or vitamin).

I am 59 and have gained 3 lbs of muscle in the past year doing this (while losing 12 lbs of fat). My doctor is obsessed with my muscle mass not decreasing while losing weight and monitors me every 3 months.

[Anonymous]

I take a ton of Vitamin D. How do you get up to the required protein? I have a really hard time with it, even though I eat protein (chicken or fish, sometimes red meat) twice a day.

[Anonymous]

It's part of ageing. You can try lifting heavier, but be careful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You didn't say how many sets and reps you are doing, but try to drop the reps down to 6-8 and sets at 3. Your last set you should be at failure at 6. And like PP said, increase the number of days you are lifting.

Are you following a plan for each muscle group?

I'm 56 Menopausal and restarting strength training. I do:
Day 1 Back and Biceps
Day 2 Shoulders & Triceps
Day 3 Active rest - 30 min treadmill and 30 sec sprints 4x
Day 4 Legs
Day 5 Chest & Shoulders
Day 6 & 7 Active rest

I do Abs after every workout and walk 45mins

Try to find a plan that works for you. Have your exercise mapped out and record your progress.
Keep going!!

I don't think this workout is really appropriate for...anyone. If it works for you, that's great but to build muscle and/or strength, science says MOST people need 10-12 sets per muscle group per week if you are an intermediate lifter. More sets if you are an experienced lifter and less if you are a beginner. I will guess OP is an intermediate lifter. If I were OP, I would lift 4 days a week. Something like

M: Chest, Back, and Legs 6-7 sets each. plus core mobility
Tu: Shoulders and Arms: 6-7 sets each plus core mobility
Wed: Rest
Th: Same as Monday (feel free to change the exercises) plus core mobility
Fri: Shoulders and Arms but shoulders and arms get work from doing chest and back so this can be similar to Tues or you can do 3 sets of each and add in more core or mobility.
Sat and Sun: Rest

As for effort, every set should be until you only have 2-3 reps in reserve. I go until I have 1-2 reps in reserve because I can't really tell when I have 3. : )

I'm 53 as well and as I get older I feel like single leg and single arm exercises are very important to include so, for example, Monday might be all 2 arm or 2 legged exercises and Thurs might be all singles. Monday maybe be traditional chest press, chest flies, or dips, pull ups, two are rows, goblet squats, barbell dead lifts, leg curls...and then Thursday would be single are presses, single arm rows, single arm lat pull downs, split squats, single leg RDLs, etc.

Lastly, I'm going to say that...as long as your effort is that every exercise is to 2-3 reps before failure and you are consistent, you are fine. Often adding weight to the exercise and muscle depends on nutrition, calories, sleep, etc. For example, if you are in a caloric deficit, it's very difficult to add size and strength; however, you should be cutting fat. But keep on lifting! Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You didn't say how many sets and reps you are doing, but try to drop the reps down to 6-8 and sets at 3. Your last set you should be at failure at 6. And like PP said, increase the number of days you are lifting.

Are you following a plan for each muscle group?

I'm 56 Menopausal and restarting strength training. I do:
Day 1 Back and Biceps
Day 2 Shoulders & Triceps
Day 3 Active rest - 30 min treadmill and 30 sec sprints 4x
Day 4 Legs
Day 5 Chest & Shoulders
Day 6 & 7 Active rest

I do Abs after every workout and walk 45mins

Try to find a plan that works for you. Have your exercise mapped out and record your progress.
Keep going!!

I don't think this workout is really appropriate for...anyone. If it works for you, that's great but to build muscle and/or strength, science says MOST people need 10-12 sets per muscle group per week if you are an intermediate lifter. More sets if you are an experienced lifter and less if you are a beginner. I will guess OP is an intermediate lifter. If I were OP, I would lift 4 days a week. Something like

M: Chest, Back, and Legs 6-7 sets each. plus core mobility
Tu: Shoulders and Arms: 6-7 sets each plus core mobility
Wed: Rest
Th: Same as Monday (feel free to change the exercises) plus core mobility
Fri: Shoulders and Arms but shoulders and arms get work from doing chest and back so this can be similar to Tues or you can do 3 sets of each and add in more core or mobility.
Sat and Sun: Rest

As for effort, every set should be until you only have 2-3 reps in reserve. I go until I have 1-2 reps in reserve because I can't really tell when I have 3. : )

I'm 53 as well and as I get older I feel like single leg and single arm exercises are very important to include so, for example, Monday might be all 2 arm or 2 legged exercises and Thurs might be all singles. Monday maybe be traditional chest press, chest flies, or dips, pull ups, two are rows, goblet squats, barbell dead lifts, leg curls...and then Thursday would be single are presses, single arm rows, single arm lat pull downs, split squats, single leg RDLs, etc.

Lastly, I'm going to say that...as long as your effort is that every exercise is to 2-3 reps before failure and you are consistent, you are fine. Often adding weight to the exercise and muscle depends on nutrition, calories, sleep, etc. For example, if you are in a caloric deficit, it's very difficult to add size and strength; however, you should be cutting fat. But keep on lifting! Good luck.

Actually I guess doing a body part only once a week could work if you do enough sets but how do you get 12-14 sets in one work out for a body part? 6 sets of pull ups and 6 sets of rows? I personally wouldn't like that nor would anyone I train with...but I guess it could work. Sorry about that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's part of ageing. You can try lifting heavier, but be careful.

This. I'd be really careful of your shoulders, they have a lot of little muscles and a shoulder injury is incredibly debilitating.

[Anonymous]

Yeah. Overhead shoulder work is really terribly menopause.

Shoulders are not where you want to be lifting heavy you can do better work with body weight for shoulders

I wouldn't bother with micro muscles like biceps and triceps. Get them with back and chest. And definitely legs!

Creatine is your best friend for a recovery. Definitely get a micronized creatine into your diet

There are some really great influencers on tiktok who go over all the weight training you should be doing in menopause

[Anonymous]

Watch Jesse Korytko. So many great tips

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Watch Jesse Korytko. So many great tips

Thank you! Who are the others people are following?

[Anonymous]

Wow this is all super helpful. To the person who posted the (correct) plan with 6-7 sets. How many reps per set?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I take a ton of Vitamin D. How do you get up to the required protein? I have a really hard time with it, even though I eat protein (chicken or fish, sometimes red meat) twice a day.

I try to have a protein smoothie every morning, a can of tuna for lunch and hard boiled eggs for snack. I’m not a big meat eater, but dinner is some of whatever my family is eating.

[Anonymous]

Fatigue happens. It could be hormonal. It could be energy/food consumption related. It could be sleep. But def don’t write off continuing to lift. It’s less important that you are going up in weight than you are just lifting and lifting consistently to failure - some days are just harder than the last. There are so many factors that go into it.

Plus, there are lifts and certain muscles that you’ll work that are not fit for heavy weights. And doing a 8 pound weight without ever really increasing the it in pounds, will do the job without causing injury.

I am not an expert, but closing in on 50 and actually seeing muscle for the first time in my life - Which I owe to consistency and small gains over time, but not all the time. I do Caroline Girvan workouts. Free on YouTube or minimally priced on an app. The programs are an awesome way to follow a routine that hits needed muscles on certain days with needed rest for worked muscles throughout the week. I’d give it a look. She does not specifically target menopausal women, but has so many routines you could find something that suits you for sure!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fatigue happens. It could be hormonal. It could be energy/food consumption related. It could be sleep. But def don’t write off continuing to lift. It’s less important that you are going up in weight than you are just lifting and lifting consistently to failure - some days are just harder than the last. There are so many factors that go into it.

Plus, there are lifts and certain muscles that you’ll work that are not fit for heavy weights. And doing a 8 pound weight without ever really increasing the it in pounds, will do the job without causing injury.

I am not an expert, but closing in on 50 and actually seeing muscle for the first time in my life - Which I owe to consistency and small gains over time, but not all the time. I do Caroline Girvan workouts. Free on YouTube or minimally priced on an app. The programs are an awesome way to follow a routine that hits needed muscles on certain days with needed rest for worked muscles throughout the week. I’d give it a look. She does not specifically target menopausal women, but has so many routines you could find something that suits you for sure!

Thanks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you're lifting the same weight it's probably not muscle loss per se. If you're sleeping and eating enough, you might need to change your routine to stimulate your muscles in a different way.

Maybe that's it. I've been doing the same exercises for years.

Ah, that is part of the problem then.

[Anonymous]

I highly recommend adding a creatine supplement. And adding in at least one more day a week of strength training.

Also, are you following a specific training plan? I use the Peloton app for strength training (and pilates!) and follow the HardCore on the Floor calendar. The variety and constant challenge has done wonders for my body.