How long can you stop training before your muscle starts to disappear?
Most people take a week off, see that their muscles look a little deflated in the mirror, and assume the worst. The real answer is far more reassuring, and it is not what most lifters over 40 have learned.
These questions all came from members inside my Eat More Lift Heavy community, people serious about strength training over 40.
Here are the 6 questions I'm answering (shoutouts to EMLH members!):
- Tim E. - How long can you rest between reps before it counts as a separate set? (resting 2-3 seconds between squat reps, and 10 seconds between deadlifts)
- Ajana B. - When she eventually hits perimenopause, what effect will it have given she's already built a foundation of strength training and whole-food eating?
- Denise M. - Is creatine a benefit while doing Eat More Lift Heavy, and is there a better time to take it?
- Desiree F. and JC - Best exercises to grow glutes, how often, and how many sets/reps (Desiree), plus how to grow glutes without the quads taking over or getting too muscular (JC)
- JC - On a 0-10 scale, how important is eating protein right after lifting, and what stalls if you don't? (she now trains after dinner around 7:30-8pm)
- JC - How many days of not working out before you start losing your gains?
Join Eat More Lift Heavy, the 26-week coached program where adults over 40 build the nutrition and training skills to preserve muscle, lose fat, and manage their physique for life:
https://eatmoreliftheavy.com
Wits & Weights is the evidence-based podcast for strength training over 40, body recomposition, muscle and longevity, fat loss over 40, and healthy aging. Hosted by Philip Pape, creator of Eat More Lift Heavy and Fitness Lab.
Timestamps
0:00 - 6 questions being answered today
2:22 - Resting between reps (when does a set count as 2 sets?)
7:04 - What perimenopause does to muscle and bone, and what protects it
12:17 - Why the scale jumps when you start creatine
16:19 - Building a strong physique without bulking up
19:17 - Bigger glutes without bigger quads (muscle specialization)
27:47 - Does protein after a workout (the anabolic window) matter as much as you think?
31:21 - How fast you really lose muscle, and the minimum to keep it
Episode Resources
💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - a 26-week evidence-based strength training for men and women over 40 and fat loss program to build muscle after 40, lose fat, and maintain your results (even in perimenopause and menopause)
📱 Get Fitness Lab - AI-powered coaching app for strength training after 40, body recomposition, and evidence-based nutrition. Daily coaching that adjusts to your energy, recovery, and schedule. No calorie counting, no guesswork.
👥 Join our Facebook community - Build muscle after 40, improve body composition, and lose fat with evidence-based nutrition. Support for lifting weights, hypertrophy, fat loss, and hormones.
👋 Ask a questionor find Philip Pape (strength training & fat loss nutrition coach) on Instagram & thanks for making us one of the best fat loss podcasts for men & women over 40! 🙏
