Strength training

Building muscle after 40: The science of getting stronger when recovery slows down

Dr. Bruno Rodriguez, DPT, CSCS: Strength, Recovery, and Physical Therapy Expert

Jan 26, 2026 · 10 min read

Men over 40 can still build muscle and strength, but anabolic resistance and slower tissue repair often extend recovery from heavy sessions to roughly 48–72 hours, meaning the hypertrophy stimulus has to be higher to meaningfully trigger muscle protein synthesis. Here’s how to adjust training volume and target 30–40 g of high‑quality protein (~3–4 g ...

What causes newbie gains? The science behind rapid strength growth

Dr. Bruno Rodriguez, DPT, CSCS: Strength, Recovery, and Physical Therapy Expert

Dec 23, 2025 · 10 min read

Newbie gains are caused primarily by rapid nervous-system adaptation—especially improved motor learning and motor-unit recruitment—so most strength increases in the first 4–8 weeks occur before substantial new muscle is built, and untrained lifters can gain more than 5× as much strength over 21 weeks as trained lifters. Here’s how this short 6–12 month “hyper-responsive” window ...

How many calories do you burn lifting weights, really?

Dr. Bruno Rodriguez, DPT, CSCS: Strength, Recovery, and Physical Therapy Expert

Dec 06, 2025 · 12 min read

Harvard’s exercise tables estimate that 30 minutes of weight training burns about 112 calories for a 155‑pound man and about 133 calories for a 185‑pound man (roughly 223–266 calories in 30 minutes if the lifting is vigorous). That’s less per minute than running, but the payoff is that consistent strength training helps preserve muscle and ...

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Building muscle after 40: The science of getting stronger when recovery slows down

What causes newbie gains? The science behind rapid strength growth

How many calories do you burn lifting weights, really?