As you grow, nutrients are absorbed in different ways. Therefore, certain factors must be taken into account in order to continue gaining muscle mass.
The assimilation of nutrients in the intestine is an important issue to consider as the years go by since the functions of the intestinal villi and their absorption capacity can vary after 30 years of age and onwards. Many of the nutrients that should enter the bloodstream do not do so, following the path to the colon and then to the rectum to be eliminated.
Another example of loss of capacity occurs during glomerular filtration in the kidneys. A 25-year-old person, for example, who takes NSAIDs to relieve pain due to a necessary situation, will metabolize them differently than a 55 or 60-year-old person, whose kidney function or work capacity is lower (almost 30% of functionality) due to the aging process. Similar situations occur in many other organs of the body after a certain age (vision, ovaries, testicles, skin, etc.).
So, when we want to get a person to assimilate nutrients, we must use or think about the universal rule of space and time. It is different to propose a nutritional plan to a 25-year-old man or woman compared to a 55-year-old, depending on the decade of life they are in. It is also vital to make people over 40 understand that muscle mass gain is influenced by a variable factor: the number of hormones we have in our blood circulating, that is, estrogen/progesterone, testosterone, and growth hormone. These hormones will help us to propose a strategy to achieve muscle mass gain in that decade of life.
The amount of protein in the daily diet should be by the level of physical activity performed, that is, starting with 1-1.2 grams of protein per kilo of weight per day should be the minimum, to be able to increase the intake according to the evolution over the weeks. Likewise, if the person is hormonally young (before 30 years old) higher values of up to 2-2.5 grams per kilo per day can be reached.
Exercises, where muscle fiber breakdown and inflammation are involved, are necessary (use of weights or machines), as well as mandatory absolute rest some days of the week during the plan. If we add pure aerobic exercises, we will unintentionally frustrate the gain of lean muscle mass.
We must be clear about which months of the year we are going to dedicate to building muscle mass to protect our joints, boost our metabolism, fill out areas of the body where the skin is more flaccid, gain strength, improve overall body weight, tighten the skin, gain functionality and increase the amount of serotonin in the blood, thus improving our mood. The consumption of complex carbohydrates is necessary to help provide energy for muscle anabolism.
The truth is that it is quite a challenge for humans to gain a few kilos of muscle mass and maintain it since everything depends on the maintenance we do throughout the year. Thus, if they manage to gain 2 to 3 kilos of muscle, but then reduce their caloric and protein intake, as well as their training, they will lose the gains. This causes discomfort for obvious reasons, but it is the law of the human body. Unlike a car, for example, which if it needs new tires, we buy them and that’s it, the human body is a divine machine with particular physical and mental capacities.
