# Is there an age past when a man can add muscle? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 24, 2008, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-age-past-when-a-man-can-add-muscle/442517 "2008-03-24T10:50:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2008, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-age-past-when-a-man-can-add-muscle/442517/21 "2008-03-25T03:35:51Z")
[QUOTE=Sleel] He’s probably confusing peak time for development with no chance of development after that point. [/QUOTE] THAT is the question I’ve been meaning to ask on the Dope. I’m 38 and have been lifting two years. I added a LOT of mass, but I feel like there is a limit. I guess my question would be, “Is there a limit to how much mass a man of a certain age can add?” I.e., would I be much bigger if I had started lifting at age 16? (After two years of my identical regimen from the last two years.) ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2008, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-age-past-when-a-man-can-add-muscle/442517/22 "2008-03-25T06:42:48Z")
[QUOTE=Runs With Scissors] I guess my question would be, “Is there a limit to how much mass a man of a certain age can add?” I.e., would I be much bigger if I had started lifting at age 16? (After two years of my identical regimen from the last two years.) [/QUOTE] Of course there’s going to be a limit. Even given perfect training and nutrition, you’re going to hit your genetic limits eventually. You probably would be bigger and stronger, and would almost certainly be more fit if you’d started at 16 and continued training without any significant break. You would be closer to your potential than you are now. That does **not** mean you’re wasting your time now, because every day you stay with a training program is either making an improvement or at worst putting off a decline in ability you’d otherwise endure. Unfortunately there’s not a lot you can do about missed opportunities, unless you’ve got a time machine so you can go back and browbeat You-at-sixteen into following the You-at-thirty-eight’s advice 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2008, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-age-past-when-a-man-can-add-muscle/442517/23 "2008-03-25T10:54:04Z")
OK, from what I can gather, his claim seems to be centered around the belief that you can increase the \*size \*of the muscle tissue you have, but not increase the \*amount \*of muscle tissue you have. I cannot explain what the heck \*that \*means though, as I didn’t understand it. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2008, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-age-past-when-a-man-can-add-muscle/442517/24 "2008-03-25T13:17:21Z")
[QUOTE=Khadaji] OK, from what I can gather, his claim seems to be centered around the belief that you can increase the \*size \*of the muscle tissue you have, but not increase the \*amount \*of muscle tissue you have. I cannot explain what the heck \*that \*means though, as I didn’t understand it. [/QUOTE] Basically that existing muscle cells can grow, but that you can’t add new ones. I’m not sure that that’s true, but it seems to be a pretty common belief. ---
**Author:** ![Gbro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Gbro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gbro)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2008, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-age-past-when-a-man-can-add-muscle/442517/25 "2008-03-25T13:35:49Z")
When i watch the “Worlds Strongest Men” Not to many look like those clowns in underwear, all puffed up and if they sneezed, would STP’s Most look like a farmer from Podunk USA. or Bubba from Hazard County. Strong is Strong, ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2008, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-age-past-when-a-man-can-add-muscle/442517/26 "2008-03-25T14:34:13Z")
[QUOTE=ultrafilter] Basically that existing muscle cells can grow, but that you can’t add new ones. I’m not sure that that’s true, but it seems to be a pretty common belief. [/QUOTE] Thanks for the explanation. I guess that is my question then: Is it true that after a certain age you cannot add \*new \*muscle cells? (Asked of the general board **ultrafilter** , I know you already said you weren’t sure.) ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2008, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-age-past-when-a-man-can-add-muscle/442517/27 "2008-03-25T14:41:52Z")
So here’s the brief breakdown of how aging affects a man’s hormonal environment: Men produce testosterone. An enzyme known as aromatase converts testosterone to estrogen. When there’s too much estrogen, testosterone production shuts down. That’s how we keep our hormone levels in check. As he ages, a man produces more aromatase, which causes estrogen levels to get too high more quickly. That’s why testosterone levels drop with age. Testosterone affects your ability to grow existing muscle cells. I don’t know how it affects your ability to add new ones (if such a thing is possible–probably, but I can’t say that with confidence). ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2008, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-age-past-when-a-man-can-add-muscle/442517/28 "2008-03-25T14:53:17Z")
Nother datapoint. When I was 40-41, I wanted to add mass/strength for martial arts competition. Over a year or so of lifting I gained somewhere around 15-20 pounds, increasing my strength significantly. Had to change my diet - add a ton of protein - before I started gaining weight. Just stopped running at 47 after foot surgery and started lifting again. I’ll check back with you in a few months to let you know how it’s going. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-age-past-when-a-man-can-add-muscle/442517/29 "2008-03-26T00:51:26Z")
[QUOTE=Khadaji] I guess that is my question then: Is it true that after a certain age you cannot add \*new \*muscle cells? (Asked of the general board **ultrafilter** , I know you already said you weren’t sure.) [/QUOTE] Research is still being done on exactly what things are pre-set by your genetics and what things are due to training or other environmental changes, but right now the belief is that the number of muscle fibers is [determined very early in life](http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/M/Muscles.html). While “early” isn’t defined in that source, it usually means in childhood, or sometimes in infancy, but definitely not as late as adolescence. In adults, an increase in muscle size is due to an increase in the _size_ of the fibers (hypertrophy); they do not increase in _number_. Training can change the _proportion_ of Type 1 and Type 2 fibers, but does not change the overall number of fibers. No matter what way you look at it, this guy is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-age-past-when-a-man-can-add-muscle/442517/30 "2008-03-26T01:01:00Z")
On the other hand, [here’s an article on muscle fiber hyperplasia](http://home.hia.no/~stephens/hypplas.htm), the growth of new muscle cells in response to training. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-age-past-when-a-man-can-add-muscle/442517/31 "2008-03-26T01:15:36Z")
I’ve been training pretty much non-stop for around 30 years. For close to a decade, I hadn’t been able to bench press my body weight (170 pounds) without my shoulder aching. I accepted it as part of growing old, and trained around it, doing dips and dumbell presses. A little over a year ago, I had rotator cuff surgery to correct this. After two months back to benching, I’m doing 225, and my arms, shoulders and chest are definitely a little bigger than they were before the surgery. I echo others who’ve said it doesn’t come as fast, but I’ll attest that a 48-year-old hard gainer can add muscle. The fact that I’ve been training all along might have helped. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-age-past-when-a-man-can-add-muscle/442517/32 "2008-03-26T10:58:29Z")
[QUOTE=F. U. Shakespeare] I’ve been training pretty much non-stop for around 30 years. For close to a decade, I hadn’t been able to bench press my body weight (170 pounds) without my shoulder aching. I accepted it as part of growing old, and trained around it, doing dips and dumbell presses. A little over a year ago, I had rotator cuff surgery to correct this. After two months back to benching, I’m doing 225, and my arms, shoulders and chest are definitely a little bigger than they were before the surgery. I echo others who’ve said it doesn’t come as fast, but I’ll attest that a 48-year-old hard gainer can add muscle. The fact that I’ve been training all along might have helped. [/QUOTE] I can no longer bench press high weights either - for several years now. Turns out I have arthritis in the shoulders. ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-age-past-when-a-man-can-add-muscle/442517.md?page=1)