Do Older Beginners Still Build Muscle From Lifting?
By Adi · October 12, 2026
In 15 untrained men averaging 57.5, 10-12 weeks of lifting added lean mass, though less than in younger men. Start, and be patient.
In a small 10-12 week study, men averaging 57 who had never lifted still built muscle, just less than men averaging 22.
The older group's muscle responded in the same direction as the younger group's, only with a smaller change. So for an untrained man starting around that age, the response was smaller but still there. Expect a slower build, and give it time.
What the study did
Researchers, including Brad Schoenfeld, took 17 younger men (average age 21.9) and 15 older men (average age 57.5). None of them had trained before. All of them did resistance training for 10-12 weeks, and the two groups did a similar amount of it.
They measured lean body mass and the thickness of the thigh muscle (the vastus lateralis). They also took thigh muscle samples before and after, and counted 2106 proteins in them. Proteins are what muscle is built and run from, so this shows how much the muscle changed inside.
What they found
- Both groups gained. Lean body mass went up +2.73 kg in the younger men and +1.18 kg in the older men.
- Thigh muscle thickness too. +0.49 cm younger, +0.20 cm older.
- The inside changed less. Training significantly shifted 135 proteins in the younger men and none in the older men.
- But the direction matched. 81.5% of those 135 proteins moved the same way in the older men, just by less. And 75 gene sets (groups of genes that work together) switched on with training in the older group, led by the cell's protein-making equipment.
The authors call it a compressed response, not a different one. The same machinery turns on. There is less of it per block of training.
🏋️♂️ Key takeaways
- Start anyway. The older men gained lean mass and thicker thigh muscle in 10-12 weeks.
- Judge progress over longer blocks. If the change is smaller per block, a month with little to show doesn't mean it isn't working.
- Show up for the whole block. Both groups here trained a similar amount. That's the part you control.
📲 Try it this week in Adi.fit
Here's how I'd set up a first block if you're starting later in life.
- Today: open Programs and pick a plan with 2-3 lifting days you can honestly keep.
- Every session: log each set in your workout. Over a few weeks you'll see your weights and reps climb on the same lifts.
- When you miss a day: tell Coach Adi why, and move the session instead of dropping it.
⚠️ The catch
- Men only. This says nothing direct about women.
- Small and untrained. 32 men who had never lifted. It tells us little about people who already train.
- Short. 10-12 weeks and thigh muscle only. It can't tell us how the gap looks after a year or five.
- It doesn't show how to close the gap. Training amount was similar in both groups, and the study didn't test any extra fix.
Quick answers
Why did the older men gain less?
The study shows the older muscle responded less inside, and the outside gains matched that. It doesn't prove why.
What if I keep missing sessions?
Ask why it happened and fix that, because a block only works if you finish it. The study didn't look at missed sessions. Related: how do you stick with working out?
Scientific reference: Aging concomitantly reduces skeletal muscle proteome plasticity and hypertrophic responses to resistance training in male adults. Lewis DT, Michel JM, McIntosh MC, et al. 2026. Physiological Reports.
PubMed 42860700 · doi.org/10.14814/phy2.71141