Over 40 and Want Muscle? This Trainer-Backed 7-Move Plan Gets Results – Fitness Volt

Youth is a superpower. In your 20s and 30s, your body is at its peak in terms of physical potential and resilience. You’re primed to build muscle and strength relatively quickly and easily, while you’re also less prone to injuries.

And, if you DO hurt yourself, in most cases, you’ll quickly heal and bounce back.

Of course, you still have to put plenty of time and energy into training. However, with youth on your side, you can afford to miss a few workouts, train a little haphazardly, and relax your diet from time to time while still making excellent progress.

Sadly, those “decades of superpower” eventually pass, and your 30s become your 40s, 50s, and beyond.

At first, any age-related changes are pretty insignificant—a little less energy, a few more aches and pains, an extra inch around your waist—but gradually they become more noticeable. You’ll probably find that you can’t train as long or as hard as you used to, diet slip-ups have a more noticeable effect, and your gains are slow or even non-existent.

In short, after hitting their 40s, most people can’t train like they did in their 20s. Trying to do so is a fool’s errand, and the workouts that you used to crush when you were younger will instead crush you.

The good news is that, even in your 40s, you can still build muscle and strength. But you will need to modify your training to reflect your changing physiology.

In this article, I share a tried-and-tested seven-move workout plan designed for exercisers in their 40s and beyond.

Building Strength and Muscle at 40 and Beyond: Your 7-Move Blueprint

As an exerciser in your 40s, the last thing you should do is follow a split routine designed for young bodybuilders or powerlifters. While such programs can be effective, once you hit your 40s, these plans are almost impossible to recover from and will break you down more than they build you up.

I’m a veteran lifter and personal trainer in my late 50s, and many of my PT clients are in their 50s, too. So, take it from someone who has learned the hard way—your workouts must change as you get older!

In my experience, full-body workouts are best because they allow for more rest days, and you only need to find the time and energy for 2-3 workouts per week.

Because, let’s face it, as well as the physical changes associated with getting older, you’ve probably got more responsibilities than you did when you were 20 or 30. Gym time is a luxury that few can afford, so it’s best to invest it wisely.

So, with all that said, here’s your seven-move training plan for building strength and muscle in your 40s and beyond!

Warming Up 

Of course, every good workout should start with a proper warm-up, and that’s especially important for older exercisers. Warming up prepares your muscles and joints for what follows and primes your nervous system for optimal performance.

Warming up doesn’t need to take long—10-15 minutes should be sufficient:

• 5-10 minutes of easy cardio
• Dynamic joint mobility exercises
• Dynamic flexibility exercises
• 1-2 easy sets of your first couple of exercises

Warmed up and ready to go? Then let’s get to work!

*AMRAP = As Many Reps as Possible. Pump out reps until your form starts to fail. Try to get within 1-3 reps of failure. It’s okay if your rep count decreases from set to set. This is normal and shows that your muscles are fatiguing.

Related: Training After 50: 7 Exercises to Avoid (and Safer Alternatives)

Inside the Exercises: Benefits, Form, and Alternatives

There are two ways to do any exercise—the right way and the wrong way. The right way is safe and provides the most bang for your buck. In contrast, the wrong way is more likely to cause injury and is usually less effective.

To that end, here are step-by-step instructions for each exercise plus hand-picked alternatives you can use to customize your workouts. I’ve also included justifications for all the main exercises, so you understand why they’ve been included in this training plan.

1. Heels Elevated Goblet Squat

Target muscles: Quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, core.

As a former powerlifter, I’ve spent more than my fair share of time in the squat rack. While barbell back squats are an excellent exercise, I’ll be the first to admit that they can take a toll on aging knees and backs. In my experience, the heels elevated goblet squat is much more joint-friendly, and it’s also a great movement for home exercisers.

How to do it:

1. Hold a dumbbell in front of your chest. Keep your upper arms close to your sides.
2. Brace your core and pull your shoulders back and down.
3. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, heels resting on weight plates or similar.
4. Keeping your torso upright, bend your knees and squat down until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor. Go deeper if you can.
5. Drive your feet into the floor and stand back up.
6. Reset your core and repeat.

Alternatives:

• Dumbbell squat
• Trap bar squat
• Leg press

2. Deficit Push-Up

Target muscles: Pectoralis major, triceps, deltoids.

The humble push-up is one of the most underrated exercises, and most lifters soon ditch it for the bench press. However, bench presses are notoriously hard on the shoulders, and many people get too tied up in how much they’re lifting, missing out on the benefits of moderate loads with perfect form. Deficit push-ups are a humbling, joint-friendly exercise that rivals the bench press for building muscle and strength (1).

How to do it:

1. Using push-up handles, yoga blocks, or any other 4- to 6-inch-high platforms, place your hands about shoulder-width apart and walk your feet out and back so your body is straight.
2. Brace your core and squeeze your shoulders down and back.
3. Bend your elbows and lower your chest down below the level of your hands. Keep your upper arms close to your sides.
4. Extend your arms and repeat.

Alternatives:

• Decline push-ups
• Floor press
• Dumbbell bench press

3. Neutral Close-Grip Pull-Up

Target muscles: Latissimus dorsi, biceps, forearms.

As a rule, wider stances and grips tend to be harder on your joints than those that keep your limbs close to the midline of your body. Certainly, wide push-ups, pulldowns, and wide-stance squats are joint killers! Neutral close-grip pull-ups are easy on your elbows and shoulders, and while they are challenging, they’re also one of the best ways to beef up your back and biceps.

How to do it:

1. Hang from your pull-up bar with your hands facing inward, slightly less than shoulder-width apart.
2. Pull your shoulders down and back and brace your core.
3. Without swinging or kicking, bend your arms and pull your chest up to your hands.
4. Descend under control and repeat.

Alternatives:

• Machine or band-assisted neutral grip pull-ups
• Close neutral grip lat pulldowns
• Close neutral grip cable rows

4. Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift

Target muscles: Hamstrings, gluteus maximus, core.

Single leg exercises deserve a place in everybody’s workout. They teach you how to balance, which is a skill many people lose as they get older. Additionally, single-leg movements are the best way to identify and fix left-to-right strength imbalances. You won’t need a lot of weight for this exercise, so they’re also easy on your lower back.

How to do it:

1. Stand with your feet together and a dumbbell in each hand (optional).
2. Shift your weight over onto one leg, bending your knee slightly for balance.
3. Hinging from the hips, lean forward and lower the weights down the front of your legs. Extend your other leg out behind you.
4. Descend until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings.
5. Stand back up and repeat.
6. Do the same number of reps on both legs.

Alternatives:

• Kickstand Romanian deadlifts
• Barbell Romanian deadlifts
• Single-leg hip thrust

5. Dumbbell Farmer’s Walk

Target muscles: Core, forearms.

Fitness experts love to use the term “functional exercise” to describe movements that mirror the demands of everyday life. That said, some of these so-called functional exercises are anything but—they’re more like circus skills. The farmer’s walk is a true functional exercise—just lift and carry a heavy weight in each hand. This exercise will do wonders for your full-body strength and grip.

How to do it:

1. Place two dumbbells on the floor and stand between them. Brace your core.
2. Squat down and, without rounding your lower back, grab the dumbbells and stand up.
3. Keeping your arms straight and shoulders down but tight, go for a walk around your training area.
4. Continue for the prescribed distance or until your grip begins to fail.

Alternatives:

• Trap bar carry
• Bear hug carry
• Waiter’s walk (weight held overhead)

6. Bulgarian Split Squat

Target muscles: Quadriceps, gluteus maximus, hamstrings, core.

The Bulgarian or rear foot elevated split squat is a fantastic exercise for building stronger, more muscular, more capable legs. Working one leg at a time, it’s also a great hip mobilizer while being extremely lower back-friendly. This exercise is the cornerstone of my leg workouts—and while it can be hard to master, you’ll love the results.

How to do it:

1. Stand with your back to a knee-high bench.
2. Bend one leg and place your foot on the bench behind you.
3. Hop forward into a split stance.
4. With or without a dumbbell in each hand, bend your legs and lower your rearmost knee to within an inch or two of the floor.
5. Drive your front foot down into the floor and stand back up.
6. Do the same number of reps on both legs.

Alternatives:

• Conventional split squats
• Step-ups
• Lunges

7. Cable Woodchop

Target muscles: Obliques, rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis.

Ask most people to name a core exercise, and they’ll probably say crunches, sit-ups, or planks. While these are fine exercises, they only really target the muscles on the front of your abdomen—the rectus abdominis. They do nothing for your oblique or waist muscles. Cable woodchops are both spine-friendly and one of the best oblique exercises around.

How to do it:

1. Attach a D-shaped handle to a high cable machine.
2. Hold the handle with both hands and then stand side-on to the weight stack.
3. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Brace your core and extend your arms.
4. Keeping your elbows straight, rotate your upper body, drawing your arms down diagonally.
5. Return to the starting position and repeat. Do the same number of reps on both sides.

Alternatives:

• Pallof press
• Resistance band wood chop
• Turkish get-up

Closing Thoughts

Getting older doesn’t mean giving up on gains—it just means training smarter. With the right exercises, the right approach, and a little consistency, you can still build strength, muscle, and confidence well into your 40s, 50s, and beyond.

Give this plan a go for the next few weeks and see how your body responds. Train hard, listen to your joints, and don’t be afraid to modify as needed. You’ve got plenty of good training years ahead—let’s make ‘em count!

Related: Building Muscle After 50: Guidelines and Workout Program

References:

Fitness Volt is committed to providing our readers with science-based information. We use only credible and peer-reviewed sources to support the information we share in our articles.

1 – Kikuchi N, Nakazato K. Low-load bench press and push-up induce similar muscle hypertrophy and strength gain. J Exerc Sci Fit. 2017 Jun;15(1):37-42. doi: 10.1016/j.jesf.2017.06.003. Epub 2017 Jun 29. PMID: 29541130; PMCID: PMC5812864.