Portlandprincess asked me for advice about muscle building. I am no expert, but happy to start a discussion.
I won't give a biography, but surfice to say I have no expertise, but am a life long dabbler. Back in my thirties, though you would never have guessed it to look at me, I could do 3x12 squats with a bar weighing the same as I did (72kg?) across my shoulders, and do 2 or 3 pull ups from hanging. So, stronger than most women. Life moved on, and I never achieved that again.
I'm 57, but only just menopausal. It seems possible that I could get back and keep some of that strength. Definitely if not now, then never.
Currently I only have my bodyweight and a pull up bar, so I have set myself a measurable goal of one pull up. I expect this to take months, at least. I will discuss my approach to that below, if anyone is interested. Beyond that, I will do exercises to build muscles, focussing on upper body and core, as my cardio works my legs.
I haven't put together a routine yet. Hopefully this discussion will encourage that. Here are some exercises I am starting with:
Wall sit
It is a lower body exercise, but you can measure progression with a watch, so useful to know you have improved.
Australian pull up
It's all I can do with the pull up bar for now.
Wall press ups
Will progress to proper press ups when I can.
Various crunches
Got to build that beach body!
Plank
Amazing exercise, and another you can measure your progress with a stopwatch. ____________________________________
That's it for now. I will build a more formal routine starting with these exercises over the next few weeks.
Please share what you doing or planning to do to build muscles, and we can work learn from each other. I've got a few YouTube clips I have found, and may share them below.
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Wall sit: couldn't be simpler. Just sit against a wall as if there was a chair there. It's really hard! According to Wikipedia (yes, it has it's own Wikipedia page) it's used to discipline soldiers.
Australian pull up: I didn't know what this was yesterday, but found it when I realised I couldn't even hang from a pull up bar, let alone do a negative (the technique I used to develop the strength to do a pull up previously) . I needed a baby move. Anyway, found this video. Seems a good guide, plus he is easy on the eyes. 👀
That’s all brilliant! Apparently muscle memory is a thing - if we’ve done it before we’re more likely to be able to do it again.
I too am having a push to build muscle for convenience (it’s annoying to struggle to get my bike on the roof of my car), for menopause & old age protection, and of course for vanity.
The blurb says that exercises that work multiple muscles are the best. However, I have a broken back (not paralysed) so my quads take on every possible job, to spare my glutes & hamstrings. I therefore am ensuring some of my lower body exercises that are quite specific. I also should not do exercises that lock my wrists at 90 degrees as I have carpel tunnel syndrome. Plenty I CAN do though!
I do various exercises on my biceps, triceps, shoulders & chest with a pair of 3kg dumbbells. Too light now & heavier ones coming... apparently lifting the arms above the head develops that shoulder cap at the top of the arm.
Core - sit ups & bicycle crunches - careful to do these slowly so I am not cheating & being careful of my neck. That’s also broken. (Note: don’t drop babies). I do the plank but I am rubbish at it. 1min is a real struggle. Looking forward to seeing a physio to tell me why & where I am going wrong.
Legs & glutes - side leg raises with ankle weights, stationary lunges, sumo squats (wide leg & toes turned out) with a 3kg weight.
I can do a lot more than I could 3 weeks ago, just need to keep going & not get distracted. Taken 4 days off all of that to garden compulsively but on the bright side my muscles have had good recovery time!
I hope to consult a personal trainer over all this in time, but finding the right one who can understand my various physical constraints is important.
Thanks! That's great. A really impressive routine.
You might find what you need is a physio, who can review medical history and help you put together a routine that works to your strengths and weaknesses. You could then take that to PT who could work with you moving forward. There are physios who specialise in sports. I think a physio would be more expensive per hour than a PT, but probably worth it.
Agree strongly re physio. I have asked a very experienced physio friend for help (as a client), but she is a bit fraught this minute. I don’t feel I can go elsewhere just yet, but there’s no immediate urgency as I am moving forward as I am. My arms & shoulders actually look better & feel harder in just a few weeks. In fact quite a lot of my body feels quite hard just now! (Not my bum OF COURSE).
Oh it’s not too bad. It could have been worse- my spinal cord could have been severed! It just means now that I am a bit stiff about the hips, I can’t sit cross legged, have huge quads & a flabby bottom. In comparison with being in a wheel chair only able to move my eyes. I’m very blessed.
It was not my mum who dropped me as a baby I should hasten to add... 🤣
I have a nomination for worst dr of the 1970s though. Why does this baby cry so much? It’s very annoying. You’d plucking cry if you had an undiagnosed broken neck and lower back sir!!
I’m really interested in gaining muscle as it makes such a noticeable difference not only to your body shape, but everyday life activities become much easier! I’ve got two pairs of dumbbells - one lighter, one heavier - that I use for a variety of exercises.
I often follow videos by HASFIT on YouTube, as they are fantastic at showing you full, challenging workout routines. I tend to split my sessions, and mix it up with cardio days as shown.
M: 4 mile run
T: Upper Body
W: 3 mile run
T: Lower body
F: Upper body
S: 5 mile run
S: Active rest
I also include a 10 minute ab videos most days! I’ve certainly noticed a difference - I never used to be able to do sit ups or press-ups but now I can easily do over 15 reps. I’m surprised at the progress you can make without a gym! However, I would love to be able to attempt a pull up but I don’t have a bar😩
Press ups and triceps dips are both pushing exercises that work the triceps and chest. Doing both without any pulling exercises could lead to muscle imbalance. You need to add pulling that works back and biceps.
Grab a full milk bottle and do bicep curls or bent-over rows, or try doorway curls; an exercise I just "invented", but of course a quick Google showed me I wasn't the first to do so.
I guess this topic is separate-but-linked to your other recent and very interesting post about transition from weight loss to maintenance.
First off, these are the good kind of problems to have, and a result of your dealing effectively and over time with the less good ones! 😀 Congrats for that!
Second, building more functional strength is really important as we age. Strength training means stronger bones less likely to break, stronger core so less likely to fall or suffer lower back problems and more likely to maintain normal ranges of movement and flexibility, and more muscle mass (or less age-related loss) so higher basic metabolic rate so better than pure cardio for avoiding weight gain.
Here are a few links you might find useful to check out:
not a new link and quite an old school approach but very sound. I like the focus on bodyweight over weights or machines as more elegant as well as more practical.
I’m impressed by your goal for a pull-up. That is one of my goals too, I also used to be able to do them when much younger. There is a good discussion here about how Australian pull ups only partly help prepare for a vertical one.
You mentioned cardio taking care of lower body ST. You might still want to include squats (with weights as you progress) and maybe deadlifts as well as lots of core. These set you up for the upper body stuff and by keeping you balanced reduce injury risks.
In all moves please focus on good form over quantity, and progress with care (I popped a thigh muscle trying too hard at lunges even though I had built up over some weeks and thoroughly warmed up on the day.)
Sorry if all this is too obvious. Also I’m aware that I am ignorant of likely differences between ST for a man in his sixties and a woman a few years younger.
Really helpful thank you. Will be checking out the links
Well I got back to the weights last night after 6 days off (Compulsive gardening). I SO nearly got into bed & read my phone... but I did it. It was hard. Maybe it was that hard last time but I have forgotten. I am finding static lunges surprisingly hard. I used to do lots of dynamic lunges but I don’t think they target my very weak glutes enough. I found the videos you posted really helpful & helped me to check my technique on my core & crunches.
As you may have seen from some of my last few weeks weigh ins on wednesdays I have begun strength training a bit more. On the one hand I want to gain more muscle on the other hand I'd rather not go back up to 14st which I hit just today. I am hoping some is water weight though because yesterday I weighted in at 13st 11.
Still working out what is best for me but can't wait for classes to start back at the gym I'm at.
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Muscle, DNA and Metabolic rate has a lot to do with weight loss.
This goes against the grain! 
Types of exercise 
Lose Fat Without Moving A Muscle YACON ROOT MAX
