How to Build and Maintain Muscle Mass Effectively

Part 1: Overview

We are on those early January days when some of us may be shaping our wellness goals for the year ahead. Years ago, a common resolution, especially among women, was to lose weight. But now we can notice an increasing number of people, again especially women, choosing the opposite: to increase their muscle mass and gain weight as a result. Women no longer want to be as tiny and frail as possible; they want to be strong and powerful!

Why is muscle mass important?

Muscle mass is important at any age, for any gender:

• Muscles support our bones and soft tissues. Having strong muscles doing the work protects our joints and bones, and the risk of issues like arthritis or fractures lowers.
• Muscles are metabolically active and use a lot of energy even at rest, helping us keep our body leaner and our processes, like glucose metabolism, in top form.
• Strong muscles help us be self-sufficient with daily activities like carrying groceries, hoisting our luggage, opening jars or standing up from sitting. This is even more important as we age and muscle mass naturally declines.
• Studies even show that people with higher muscle mass have better prognosis with important illnesses like cancer.

Muscles are key for our lifespan and health span.

Who can benefit the most from strong muscles?

Everyone!

But if I had to pick one group, that would be women, specially middle-aged women.

Biologically, women tend to have less muscle mass than men due to the hormonal environment. Testosterone, which is one of the anabolic (“constructive”) hormones that drive muscle mass gain, is lower in women. As estrogen, the main female hormone (also an anabolic one), decreases around menopause, muscle loss rate increases. For this reason, it is important to start from a high amount of muscle mass, that is easier to build during the pre-menopausal years when estrogen levels are high. And when the peri and post-menopause years arrive, implement lifestyle actions to slow down the loss.

Based on all this:

• the logical priority for younger women (up to 35 years old) is to build as much muscle as possible
• mid-aged woman (35 to menopause, average in the USA is 51) can find a balance between building and maintaining
• older women to prioritize maintaining – although building is still possible (just harder).

The two key components to build and maintain our muscle mass

To build muscle mass we need to:

1. optimize our diet
2. do the right type of exercise.

The diet provides the building blocks like protein, energy and minerals, and exercise the right stimulus to make the most of the building blocks.

Diet alone, for example eating large amounts of protein, won’t promote muscle gains unless our body “thinks” that more muscle is needed as a result of the right stimulus (exercise).

On the other hand, exercise alone will help maintain our muscles, but – and this is a BIG BUT – only if we provide our body with the building blocks needed. Otherwise, exercise can have the opposite effect:

• Exercise causes micro-damage in our muscle, which is good because then the muscle is repaired stronger. However, if the body is not able to repair the muscles because it doesn’t have “raw material” (nutrients), then intense exercise can be detrimental and weakening.
• Protein stores – that is, our muscles – can be used as fuel for energy to support exercise, especially if we exercise fasting or under fueled in general.

In summary, both diet and exercise go hand in hand, in the right dose, for muscle mass support.

What to eat for muscle mass support

To support our muscle mass, we need to consume enough protein and energy (calories). Preferably from whole foods, with abundance of plants like lentils, soy or quinoa, and perhaps other lean proteins like chicken or fish:

• Protein: the building blocks for our muscle!
  • How many grams of protein you need per day is calculated from your body weight. Based on the recently released Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2025-2030, for muscle gain, aim for at least 1.6x of your body weight in kg. For example, if you weight 60 kg, you would need a minimum of 96 grams of protein daily. Older people need even higher amounts, due to less efficient absorption.
  • Up to 2.5x body weight in kg is generally considered safe.
  • Higher amounts can cause metabolic issues like gout, renal problems and even bone loss. More is not necessarily better when it comes to protein.
  • The body cannot store protein, therefore it’s recommended to distribute the intake throughout the day. Aim for about 20-30 grams per main meal, and 10-15 grams per snack.
• Energy (calories):
  • required to support exercise.
  • How many calories you need is going to be very dependent on your exercise level and other factors, like if you just want to maintain or build. Please use an online calculator like this one from Mayo Clinic.
  • For muscle gain, a caloric surplus is needed.

In a future article, I will provide examples of high protein menus for both the omnivore and plant-based diets.

And how about supplements for muscle gain, like creatine or protein powders? I will cover this in a future article as well.

How to exercise for muscle mass support

Strength training is key for muscle mass. Muscle responds to tension stimulus, and there are different ways to achieve this: either with heavier weights & lower repetitions, lighter weights & more repetitions, or playing with the angle of the force applied. In general, high weight & low repetitions is preferred for significant gains.

As a general rule, beginners can start with 2 full body strength sessions per week, focusing on basic movement patters like squats, step ups, lunges, deadlifts, rows, push ups or shoulder press. Start lighter, even with your body weight only, and progress to 3-4 series of 6-8 heavy repetitions for muscle hypertrophy, or 2-3 series of 10-12 repetitions for muscle maintenance/toning.

Eventually, more sessions per week can be considered, with split per muscle group. My recommendation is up to 4 sessions a week, 2 for the front of the body (pushing upper body muscles, quads, front abs), and 2 for back of the body (pulling upper body muscles, glutes/hamstrings, obliques). I personally prefer to train upper and lower body on the same session as I find it more efficient, but splits per upper/lower are also common. I will provide more specific examples of exercise routines and splits in a future article.

Cardio exercise is necessary for cardiovascular health, however excessive cardio can hinder muscle mass gains, especially if done fasting.

Modalities like barre, yoga or Pilates can be considered as a complement. These styles are great for muscle control, stability, flexibility, coordination, posture improvement and mindfulness, however in general they do not provide enough stimulus for hypertrophy.

Hybrid cardio and strength disciplines like HIIT, crossfit or bootcamps can be used too for variety, nevertheless these tend to be more demanding so I would not recommend them for beginners. One you have a baseline of cardio and strength and are familiar with the move patters, they can be used sparingly (1-2 times a week).

Rest: the invisible training

As I already mentioned, muscles do not grow when we train. They grow after, when they are repaired and our bodies try to adapt to the additional demands. For this reason, rest and recovery days are critical for muscle gain and maintenance.

My recommendation is to include at least one day of full rest per week, and maybe 1-2 additional active rest days when light activities like gentle yoga, Pilates or low impact cardio can be performed.

Other practices like heat therapy (sauna), cold therapy, foam rolling, red light therapy, compression boots or socks, massage, and sleep (including naps!) can be used to aid in recovery.

And speaking of sleep: this one is non-negotiable.

Conclusion

Gone are the days when women just wanted to be tiny, and muscles were exclusive of body builders. Muscles are for everybody, regardless of gender, age or abilities. Muscles keeps us self-sufficient, healthier and leaner as we age. A lifestyle that supports muscle mass is our insurance for the future, for our health span. Nutrition that includes enough protein and energy, strength training, moderate cardio and rest are the stepping stones.

Stay tuned for part 2, 3 and 4 of this article series, where I will provide examples of eating plans, training plans and my opinion about supplements to support muscle mass.

Be strong, be well,

Isabel