EP 46: Think Like a Bodybuilder After 40 to Build Muscle and Boost Your Metabolism

0:00Hello and welcome back to Becoming Her, Fitter, Better and Stronger Over 40. I'm your host and coach Shauna. I am 46, wife, boy, mom and a fitness and nutrition coach helping women over 40 become their best. Today I want to talk about a different approach when it comes to looking at our fitness journey over 40. And that is starting to think more like an athlete and even a bodybuilder versus just someone who's trying to lose fat. And at first, this might make you feel a little uncomfortable, but I promise by the end of this episode, it's going to make sense. I honestly feel like if more women over 40 acted more like bodybuilders, they would be a lot happier with their ability to lose fat and keep it off and just their health in general.

0:44And I don't mean taking this to an extreme where we are getting competition lean or anything like that. But what I am talking about is borrowing the concepts and the proven methods that bodybuilders use and have used for years when it comes to training, eating, because they have mastered the art of body composition. And that is what the real goal should be. It's not just about seeing the scale drop, but it's actually improving what that weight is made of. because the truth is that body composition, meaning your ratio of muscle to fat, is what's going to determine not only how well your body looks, but also how good it feels, how it functions every day, and how efficiently it burns calories.

1:28The idea for this episode came to me while I was listening to an interview with Miss Olympia, and she shared that a couple years ago, some of the feedback she got from judges was that they told her she had a little too much muscle in her glutes. To me, that sounds like an amazing problem to have, but it was something that she had to work on and actually reduce muscle in her glutes so that she could come back and compete and go for her title. So she mentioned that the way that they were able to take muscle out of her glutes was that her coach had her run and train fasted. And it just hit me that so many women right now, because of what we were taught, are doing those two things thinking that those are going to get them toned, that those are going to get them lean, that those are going to change their body composition for the better.

2:16Those are two things that so many of you might be doing right now, running or doing lots of cardio, training fasted, doing things that might be stalling your progress versus helping your progress. So many of us are stuck because of what we learned in the 90s. We're running ourselves into the ground. We're skipping meals. We're avoiding carbs. We're lifting light because we're afraid to get bulky, all in the name of getting lean. But those things will never build you the body that you want. In fact, they might just be breaking it down and making progress that much harder for you. Women over 40 would do so much better if they started to think like body builders and not dieters.

2:56Not because we want to step on stage, but because bodybuilders have mastered something that most of us were never taught, and that is how to improve body composition. And that right there, body composition, is the real goal. Not just changing the number in the scale, but changing what the number is actually made of. Because the scale does not tell you if you're losing muscle or losing fat. It doesn't tell you if your metabolism is improving, and it doesn't show you the difference between shrinking and sculpting. And for most of us, that's exactly what went wrong. We were raised in diet culture that taught us to chase weight loss by any means possible, eating less, moving more, cutting out food groups, burning as many calories as we could just in the name of shrinking ourselves, getting a smaller pant size, and weighing less on the scale.

3:46But no one ever told us what the real secret is to having a lean, youthful, healthy body, especially over 40, and that is building and preserving muscle. That's why we have such a hard time once we get into the 40 plus range is because that old dieter way was never about body composition. It trained us to be catabolic, which means breaking the body down when what we actually need now is to be anabolic or to build our bodies up. And that's what bodybuilders do better than anyone else. So in this episode, I'm going to break down for you what catabolic versus anabolic actually means and why we want to focus on one versus the other, why the dieter way of training and eating is holding you back, and what the athlete or the bodybuilder way looks like, the one that helps you finally change your body composition, your metabolism, and your results for good.

4:37So let's dive right in, get your favorite drink, your favorite coffee, and let's get into it. Okay, first things first, let's define the two words that I just mentioned, catabolic versus anabolic, because they are at the core of this whole conversation. Catabolic means to break down. It's when your body's in a state of breaking things down in order to get energy. Anabolic means to build up. It's when your body has enough energy and nutrients to repair, recover, and grow muscle tissue. Now, here's where most women over 40 get stuck. They're living in a catabolic state most of the time. We are under eating.

5:12We're overtraining. We're not recovering. We're running on stress hormones and wondering why our bodies won't change. Meanwhile, athletes or bodybuilders are intentionally creating anabolic environments. They're fueling their bodies. They're training strategically. They are prioritizing rest and recovery. And that's why they can reshape their bodies at will. So I want to walk you through what that looks like in real life because we're not trying to get stage lean here. But if we want a physique that's going to lose fat and keep it off and have a better overall composition, we have to lean into thinking and acting like a bodybuilder because that dieter weight is going to hold us back.

5:51It's what's going to keep us catabolic. And what we want is anabolic. We want to look like an athlete, perform like an athlete, and this is exactly how you're going to do it. First, let's start with cardio because this is where a lot of us run to when we want to lose fat. We just think we can burn off the extra fat. The dieter way says, if I'm not sweating, it's not working. So you run, you spin, you do hours of intense classes thinking that's the fastest way for you to burn that fat off. And while cardio burns calories, it is catabolic. It is breaking things down. It's sending your body a message that you want to be more efficient with calorie burning.

6:29So one of the first things that it does is start to pare down muscle tissue because muscle tissue is expensive, a lot for your body to keep. It requires a lot of energy and calories to sustain. So if you want to be more proficient with calorie burning, it starts to break muscle down. That's exactly why that bikini competitor started to run more when she needed to get muscle off of her frame. So your body just doesn't burn fat while it's doing this types of cardio. It can also burn muscle for energy, especially when that's paired with not eating enough. And muscle is your metabolic powerhouse. It's your metabolism's best friend.

7:06The more muscle you have, the easier it is to lose fat and keep it off. So when you burn through it with hours and hours of cardio, you're slowing metabolism down, making fat loss harder for you in the long run. And hormonally, too much cardio can spike your cortisol and impact your overall stress, your inflammation. It can make fat loss harder. And hormonally, it can cause cortisol spikes, which is going to impact your ability to recover, your stress levels. It's going to impact your ability to lose fat in a proficient way. Now, the athlete or the bodybuilder way looks very different. They use cardio, but they use it strategically, not excessively.

7:45This might look like low-intensity walking on the daily for overall conditioning, recovery, and heart health. And then adding in a little bit of moderate cardio only when they need to steepen a deficit in order to lose body fat. Their foundation is built around strength training because it is anabolic. It tells your body, hey, we need this muscle. Hang on to it. So the takeaway here is that cardio has its place. It's good for your heart health. It can definitely help a tiny bit when you're in a deficit, but it should not be your foundation. It should not be what you lean on for fat loss. Use it as a tool, not as your main strategy.

8:24Now, the second thing I want to get into when we're talking about reframing our mindset with being an athlete, not a dieter, is fasted training. The dieter way says, if I work out before I eat, I'll burn more fat. But here's what's really going to happen. When you train fasted, your glycogen stores or the stored carbohydrates in your muscles are low. So that means you don't have that quick energy that you need to train hard in the gym. So you will likely fatigue faster. You're not going to be able to lift to your maximal potential. And you're going to get less out of that workout when we're talking about strength training.

9:01And if you're not fueling properly around your workouts, your body can actually start breaking down your muscle for energy. Again, this is catabolic. Now, the athlete or the bodybuilder understands that food is fuel. So they eat before they train so that they can perform better, recover faster, and signal the body to stay anabolic, meaning preserving that muscle. Even something small like a banana, a whey shake, a yogurt with berries can make a big difference. You're going to be able to train harder, recover much better, and build and preserve that lean muscle tissue. Remember, the goal is not just about burning calories during a workout.

9:37The goal is to create an anabolic signal so that your body builds muscle after the workout. Now let's jump into the third thing that I want you to restructure and rethink it about, which is carbohydrates. So this one runs deep because we grew up again in an era where carbs were demonized. A lot of women are still afraid of them, thinking that immediately that's what's going to cause them to gain fat. So the dieter way says carbs make you gain fat. But when we cut them out, the Dieter Way says carbs are going to cause fat gain. So we cut them out thinking it's going to speed up fat loss. But carbs are not your enemy.

10:13They are actually your muscle's preferred fuel source. They are stored in your muscles as glycogen. And that glycogen is what powers your workouts and keeps your muscles full and firm. So when you cut carbs too low for too long, you run out of that beautiful glycogen that helps your muscles perform so well. Your training feels harder. your strength will drop, your recovery can slow, and eventually your body starts breaking down muscle for energy. Carbs are also helpful to regulate key hormones like thyroid hormones and cortisol that control and help your metabolism. So without them, those systems can downshift.

10:48Now the athlete or bodybuilder uses carbs strategically. They time them. They eat carbs before and after training to help fuel their performance and recovery. And they also know that insulin, which gets a bad reputation, is actually an anabolic hormone. It helps to shuttle nutrients like amino acids into the muscle cells for repair and growth. So carbs don't make you gain fat. They help you build muscle and keep your metabolism humming. And I talked about this in another episode when we broke down nutrition and the best way for a woman over 40 to eat. And if you remember from that episode, what I mentioned to you is that the only thing that can cause you to gain body fat is eating in a calorie surplus.

11:30It doesn't matter if it's carbohydrates, fats, proteins. If you're in a calorie surplus, you are going to gain body fat. It's not about a specific macronutrient. It's about total calories. So when you keep your calories in check and you have eating enough protein, you are not going to gain body fat just because you're taking in carbs. Lean into carbs. And I'm not talking about pizza or donuts. Those have their place. You can fit them in. But what I'm talking about are things to help your performance. So things like fruits, whole grains, oats, potatoes, rice, things like that are going to really help your energy.

12:06And you're going to see a big difference. I saw a huge difference when I started to have carbohydrates pre and post training. So again, we want to think about our performance in the gym, what's going to help us perform our best and recover our best. And more often than not, carbohydrates are going to be just that. Now, the next thing we're going to talk about when it comes to flipping the script with having a dieter mindset and a bodybuilder mindset is weight training itself. And this is a big one as well because it's a big difference maker. The dieter mindset is all about lifting light weights with lots of reps so that we don't get bulky.

12:43But that approach is not optimal for building muscle. It's basically just cardio with dumbbells. You might be burning calories, but you're not stimulating muscle fibers that are going to change the shape of your body or help your metabolism. The athlete or the bodybuilder way is the complete opposite. They lift heavy enough to challenge themselves, train with intensity, track their progress, and make progressions, or aka apply progressive overload. Meaning they're always finding ways to do a little bit better week by week by adding a little weight, adding some reps, improving form, slowing tempo, etc.

13:18That is what's going to build muscle. That's what's going to create shape and tone and strength. And the truth is, is that building muscle does not make you bulky. It actually makes you leaner and firmer and more defined. Muscle tissue is very compact. So the more of it that you have, the smaller you're going to look, the more toned and defined you're going to look. A lot of times when we are first building that muscle and we haven't lost that body fat, that is what creates that bulky feeling. But if you are growing more muscle tissue, It's going to help your metabolism so that you can then lose that body fat and create that leaner, firmer, more defined looking body.

13:53You can't accidentally get bulky and grow a ton of muscle, especially as women over 40s. We simply just don't have the hormones to do that. So the goal with our training isn't just to get in the gym, move some weights around and burn a bunch of calories. The goal is to train with purpose, to send the signal to your body to get stronger and grow more muscle. that is what's going to transform your body composition and your physique overall. And the last thing that I want to touch upon when we're talking about the dieter versus the athlete or bodybuilder way is recovery. So the dieter is going to glorify the hustle, more workouts, less rest days, never stop sweating, but that's a fast track to burnout and muscle loss.

14:35Your body doesn't change when you're training. It actually changes with your recovery. That's when all of the rebuilding happens. That's when your hormones balance and your muscles repair. The athlete or the bodybuilder knows this and they respect recovery days as a part of the process. They prioritize sleep, manage stress, they hydrate, and they actually take recovery days. Because growth hormone, one of your most powerful anabolic hormones, is released while you sleep. So without enough recovery, without enough rest, you will never build the muscle that you want to see and you might break it down as a result.

15:09So remember, rest is not laziness. It should be a part of your strategy, especially over 40. All right, so let's bring this all together. When you zoom out, this is what the big picture looks like. The dieter way is catabolic. It's going to break our body down. The athlete or the bodybuilder way is anabolic. This is what's going to build our body up. Dieters under eat, over train and chase weight loss on the scale by any means possible. athletes fuel, train strategically, they recover and chase muscle preservation and performance. And that difference, that shift in focus is the reason that bodybuilders can transform their bodies over and over and over again.

15:53And they master the art of changing body composition, meaning they grow more muscle and they lose body fat and they're able to preserve that and maintain that, while most people are stuck spinning their wheels, losing 5 to 10 pounds only to regain it right back. So the next time you think about your goals, I want you to ask yourself, am I thinking like a dieter or am I thinking like an athlete? Because that mindset shift from breaking yourself down to building yourself up is the key to unlocking your best body, metabolism, and confidence over 40. I really hope this episode was helpful. I hope it invited you to take a different approach when it comes to what fitness should look like over 40.

16:36When we're talking about getting strong, getting better metabolisms, really building bodies that are resilient and that look our best, but also feel our best. If you want more about how to really build your best metabolism and best body over 40, I'm going to leave my Mastering Your Metabolism Masterclass in the show notes. It breaks down exactly how to do that. It gives you a step-by-step guide on how to phase your nutrition, how to focus on your training, and really how to build a body and a metabolism that's going to take you to the next level with your fitness goals. I will leave that in the show notes, but I really hope this show was helpful.

17:14I hope that it was inspiring in some way. If you did enjoy it, if it resonated with you, I'd be so thankful if you left a rating or a review. It really does help the show grow and find more women like you. and if you're ready to actually start applying this to train, to eat and to phase your nutrition like an athlete, that's exactly what I do. In my coaching, you can find my coaching offers below. I offer a monthly membership or one-on-one coaching and if you aren't sure which program is right for you, you can always DM me on Instagram. I'm always happy to chat and you can always send me your show ideas for future episodes, but until next time, remember the goal is not to be smaller.

17:52The goal is to be stronger. So keep getting stronger and I will see you in the next episode.