How can a woman build muscle after 50?

Start with the lifting. On The WarriorBabe Show's Q&A, Nikkiey says all of her 50-plus women should be weight training, whether they're beginners or advanced, and that she has women in their late 50s and 60s in her programs doing exactly that. She ties it to bone density and staying strong as you age, drawing on her years as an ER nurse seeing women over 50 come in with hip fractures. Her point is that it matters in your 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s.

Then feed the muscle. One WarriorBabe coach describes Cheryl, who arrived at 57 under-eating and overtraining. Over nine months to a year they worked her up to around 3,000 calories. She gained about 20 pounds while building muscle, then did a cut and looked more toned. She chose another build, then cut again, and gained even more muscle. Nikkiey explains that once you reach maintenance, a build means going into a surplus, adding roughly 300 to 500 calories, and that building is a whole different mindset because the scale will go up. She shares that her own weight went from 140 down to the low 120s and back up to around 145 to 150, yet her body looks completely different.

Lift heavier than feels comfortable. Luisa, 51, was once told she was too old to build muscle. Now in a build phase doing deadlifts, she shares that her coach pulled up her numbers and told her she was stronger than she thought and could lift more. On Ep. 170, Nikkiey shares that Lisa, starting around 50, dropped from about 153 to 131 pounds and then kept losing body fat while adding muscle over the following years.

If you've been eating too little and doing too much, that's not a personal failure. It's a plan that wasn't built for muscle. If you have medical conditions or concerns, work with your doctor as you change your training and eating.