Gaining muscle is never easy. It needs time, concentration, and lots of effort. And, when you fall into the ‘men over 40’ category, it becomes that much hard to notice gains.

You also can’t lift as much as you could while you were younger, plus it takes longer to recover from each workout.

There are ways to overcome these issues, though. After all, men in their 40s, 50s, and even 60s can still look shredded. You just have to be smart about how you work out.

We’ve done our homework and found 5 ways that can help you gain muscle if you’re over 40 and still want to be healthy—and ripped.

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1. Lift Less

Your body naturally can’t handle the kind of weights you could lift in your 20s or 30s. So, don’t force it. Use moderately heavyweights, where you don’t feel like you’re pushing yourself too much.

Heavyweights will cause aches and pains in your shoulders, elbows, wrists, and knees, and it will only get worse.

You should also moderate how much you lift within the week and the intensity of your workouts. This will allow your recovery to be faster.

It will also help you to gain muscle without burning yourself out. You will thus be able to gain muscle faster than if you were pushing yourself hard but taking longer to recover.

2. Eat Well

You don’t have to be a health nut and count calories on everything you ingest. Instead, simply focus on eating healthy and having enough protein each day.

When you’re working out to build muscle, your body consumes a lot of calories. So, it’s crucial that you don’t deprive your body of the nutrients it needs.

Whatever healthy diet you decide to have, just make sure that you eat more calories than you burn. This will help you recover faster. It will also keep you from feeling fatigued every time you want to work out.

3. Men Over 40 Should Rest Longer

When you’re over 40, one of the most vital things to focus on is resting. Your body needs more rest time so you can recover better.

We recommend working out for a maximum of five days a week. But ideally, try aiming for three days a week. And on rest days, avoid any intense physical activity.

When you train every day of the week, fatigue will build up. This will affect the quality of your sleep, and if you don’t sleep well, you won’t be able to recover well.

This will further impede your training progress, and you’ll eventually be forced to quit working out.

4. Don’t Rush

Many young workout enthusiasts will enter the gym and immediately start lifting the heavy weights.

While this method can work for them, anyone over 40 should not attempt it under any circumstances. Even if you’re in a hurry, warming up first is essential.

It could be low-intensity cycling, a quick jog on the treadmill or even a rowing machine. Basically, do any form of cardio that gets the blood pumping.

This will raise your body temperature, reduce the chances of injury as you work out, and improve your performance.

We also recommend starting your workout with an empty bar. This will help to prepare the muscles and joints for the forthcoming weights.

5. Stretch When Needed

For most people, static stretching generally doesn’t do much. A lot of research shows that it doesn’t do a lot to prevent injuries or even lower muscle soreness. However, it can still come in handy.

Some muscles sometimes feel tight—usually the quadriceps, hip flexors, hamstrings and glutarals and other times, one of your limbs might feel tighter than the other.

In such cases, stretching can be useful. Simply stretch the tight spots for 60 seconds each day. This should help to lower that tightness, and it can also help to increase your flexibility with those muscles.

Do you fall in the “men over 40” category? How has your workout changed?

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Busta Rhymes has been putting in that work in the gym and in his latest Instagram post he said one of his main motivations has been his upcoming album, Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God set to be released at the end of this month.

The rapper, 48, showed off the results of his dramatic weight loss journey on Friday, posting a before-and-after photo to document the major body transformation.

In the post, he shared the following:

“Don’t ever give up on yourself! Life begins right now!! My dedication is different! I would never put out an album and not be in the best shape of my life!! I respect myself too much and respect yall too much!! I’m only here to inspire!!

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See below:

View this post on Instagram

 

DON’T EVER GIVE UP ON YOURSELF!! LIFE BEGINS RIGHT NOW!!! MY DEDICATION IS DIFFERENT!! I WOULD NEVER PUT OUT AN ALBUM AND NOT BE IN THE BEST SHAPE OF MY LIFE!! I RESPECT MYSELF TOO MUCH AND I RESPECT Y’ALL TOO MUCH!!! I’M ONLY HERE TO INSPIRE!! #ELE2THEWRATHOFGOD DROPPIN’ 10.30.20 ???? PREORDER & MERCH AVAILABLE NOW!! CLICK LINK IN BIO‼️‼️‼️‼️ Thank you coach @victormunoz_proedge Thank you Legend @mrolympia08 Thank you King @kaigreene Thank you Icon @dominicandominator & @chefdeliche

A post shared by Busta Rhymes (@bustarhymes) on Oct 22, 2020 at 11:30pm PDT

His trainer is a celebrity trainer and diet coach Victor Munoz who often shares Busta’s progress on his Instagram.

 

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Lil something. @bustarhymes grinding. Blasting shoulders to the #max. @ifbbvictormartinez @willy_arango68 @jwcortes @popsdelarosa @melvnvs @orantesworld @mhpstrongusa @mdlatino #strong #teamproedgestrong #hiphop #music #movie #avenger #proces #getit @bigdlew

A post shared by Victor Munoz (@victormunoz_proedge) on May 6, 2019 at 1:23pm PDT

Munoz, is a native of Cuba, and among NYC’s first fitness professionals. He began shaping professional athletes, bodybuilders, celebrities, dancers, and regular folk, more than twenty years ago, back in the days of Jack Lalane.

A certified trainer and member of the International Sports Medicine Association, Munoz does not limit his work to the gym.

He’s also a skilled martial artist who teaches classes in eastern self-defense.

@victormunoz_proedge

His guidance in weight training and nutrition has pumped to physical perfection several leading male and female bodybuilders who have gone on to capture prestigious titles in competition and has provided a rehabilitative comeback for others, plagued with health problems.

For those in-between – men and women who’ve needed to shed 20 pounds, tone up, and look their best, Munoz has gotten them in the zone in record time. Via Pro-Edge.

About Busta Rhymes s new album

Busta Rhymes is set to drop his latest project Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God, on October 30th of this year.

This will be his 10th studio album which is the follow-up to his 2012’s Year of the Dragon album.

According to Pitch Fork – Extinction Level Event 2 will be a sequel to Busta Rhymes’ 1998 album E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front, which featured the hit singles “Gimme Some More” and “What’s It Gonna Be?!”

In 2015, he released the mixtape The Return of the Dragon (The Abstract Went on Vacation).

Watch a preview below:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

?10.30.20 THE PROPHECY WILL BE FULFILLED? #ELE2THEWRATHOFGOD #BustaRhymes – PREORDER & MERCH AVAILABLE NOW!! Click the link in Bio‼️‼️‼️ Directed by @thebiggerpicturebuda

A post shared by Busta Rhymes (@bustarhymes) on Oct 19, 2020 at 9:33am PDT

Should be dope, and well worth getting in shape for!

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There’s truly no love lost when it comes to love handles. These are sections of stubborn fat that stick to the front and sides of your stomach, and most of us would rather just get rid of them.

Love handles usually sneak upon us, and before we know it, we have a generous helping of fat around our midsection.

As easy as it is to get them, love handles are notoriously hard to lose. Many a man has struggled on the elliptical and doing countless abs, only for the slabs of fat to laugh at their efforts. But love handles don’t have to be a permanent resident. We’ve listed six ways you can use to get rid of that pesky flab.

Fiber Up

Add foods with soluble fibers to your diet, pronto. They help you to feel fuller for longer by slowing down your rate of digestion.

The fuller you feel, the less tempted you’ll be to grab a snack during the day. Your calorie intake will reduce, and with time, those annoying love handles will be relics of the past.

So, which foods have these soluble fibers? Look for fruits, vegetables, oats, nuts, beans and as a plus, these foods are also packing lots of nutrients. They will make you much healthier.

Go Organic

Yes, yes, we know. Organic foods can be a tad pricey. However, consider the benefits. For one, they are packing over 50% more omega-3 fatty acids.

Secondly, they also contain Conjugated Linoleic Acid or CLA. This has been proven to help in reducing fat around the midsection.

So, next time, don’t flinch at the asking price. Get your fix of organic cage-free eggs and grass-fed beef. A nice bonus is they also taste better.

Hit the HIIT

In a perfect world, we’d just do a ton of cardio and the love handles would burn right off. However, it doesn’t work like that. If you do too much cardio, you’ll just become a smaller version of how you look now; but the proportions will still be the same.

Instead, try some High-Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT. This is where you alternate between hard exercise and recovery in the same workout.

The beauty of HIIT is that your body will keep burning fat, even after you’re done working out. But don’t skimp on the cardio completely. A solid ten-minute cardio session after your HIIT workout is a nice balance.

Naturally, Shrink Love Handles By Bulking Up

Another way you can get rid of your love handles is to not focus on them so much. Instead, try to focus on other parts of your body. Build up the rest of your body, from your traps to your pecs.

When they inevitably increase in size, your love handles will look smaller in comparison and since you’ll be burning fat, that extra flab will also disappear eventually and give way to epic abs.

To achieve this, try to manage two to three total-body workouts each week. Then finish with interval training and some light cardio. You won’t just lose those bothersome love handles; you’ll also look like a proper beast.

Stop Stressing Out

Being stressed out can mess up more than just your mental health. It can also make your midsection rounder. This is because stress makes your body produce the hormone cortisol or the “stress hormone”. When you’re stressing out over something, your adrenal glands produce this cortisol.

While it’s normal to get stressed out or frustrated from time to time, being like this every day is not healthy. Your body will produce insane amounts of cortisol, which will build up around your midsection.

Also, you’ll also get some messed-up side effects, like digestive issues, headaches, and anxiety. So, just try to go to your happy place as often as possible so you can lower your stress.

Reduce The Booze

Do you drink alcohol more than society says you should? Then maybe you should try cutting back a little. When you indulge in alcohol a little too often, you can grow obese and increase your body fat, particularly in the midsection.

Drinking also makes you feel hungrier; it stimulates the brain cells that regulate appetite, which can make you eat more when you don’t really need to. In addition, alcohol is packed with sugar and calories, which will naturally make you plumper.

So, don’t forego booze entirely. Just try to cut back on it, and your body will thank you.