muscle definition in teens vs women in 30's/40's

[eleni611]

I'm 18 years old and I was wondering if it is easier for women in their 30's and 40's to put on muscle than it is for teens. I never see any teenage fitness models and I feel like I am sooo much "softer" looking than women in their 30's and 40's...is it impossible for me to look like that at this age? I refuse to take any supplements other than protein powder, and I'm just wondering why older women seem to have a lot more muscle definition than teens.

[Zenree]

I'm 18 years old and I was wondering if it is easier for women in their 30's and 40's to put on muscle than it is for teens. I never see any teenage fitness models and I feel like I am sooo much "softer" looking than women in their 30's and 40's...is it impossible for me to look like that at this age? I refuse to take any supplements other than protein powder, and I'm just wondering why older women seem to have a lot more muscle definition than teens.

If I were to guess...and this is just a guess...I'd say that yes, it does take time to develop good muscle mass -- but the reason I'd say most 18 yr olds are not muscular/defined is lack of committment --- it is not an ez lifestyle for a teen/college student to embark upon and stay with.

How long have you been seriously lifting? Also, are you happy with your size, but want more definition? If so, that's all about your diet...

[Mindi912]

If a teen is 100 % committed then I would say it's easier for teens to put on muscle and gain definition.

[eleni611]

If I were to guess...and this is just a guess...I'd say that yes, it does take time to develop good muscle mass -- but the reason I'd say most 18 yr olds are not muscular/defined is lack of committment --- it is not an ez lifestyle for a teen/college student to embark upon and stay with.

How long have you been seriously lifting? Also, are you happy with your size, but want more definition? If so, that's all about your diet...


About 3 years ago I lost 40 pounds (I am 5'1" and went from about 145 pounds to about 105 pounds) I was all cardio, and then started adding weights, but when I look back at my training journal I realize that it was very very very "beginner" (example: 12 reps, 3 sets- bicep curl with 10 lb dumbbells, 12 reps, 3 sets- squats with two 10 lb dumbbels)...and I was not very consistant. Then I got lazy, stopped working out and eating healthy, and put back on 30 pounds. I did the Body for Life program strictly for the 12 weeks it lasted, and I didn't have very good results- i THINK it's because it was not enough cardio for my body..i tend to bloat VERY easily when i cut back on cardio........I then stopped doing weights and did only cardio, and I am now down to 111.5 pounds! :) I finally incorporated weights back into my program about a month ago, and yes, i DO realize that 1 month is a very short amount of time, and those fitness models have been working at it for MUCH MUCH MUCH longer than a month...BUT i do notice that women in their 30s and 40s are a lot more toned and more defined than teens are, and i was wondering if that was due to muscular maturity or something like that.....and my diet is clean 6 days a week (no processed foods, lots of chicken, egg whites, vegetables, fruit, oatmeal, ezikiel bread, etc. i don't have any macros set up because i think people have made it too complicated- "don't eat this unless you eat this with it, don't eat that until this amount of time after your workout" etc. i just believe that you simply need to eat healthy. period.) and then i have one cheat day, which i am trying to minimize more and more every week. wow that was long!

[nextsuperhero]

Absolutely not. There is a thread somewhere here with a 19 year old female natural bodybuilder. She's Scandinavian I think, maybe someone knows the thread I'm talking about. There are others that I've come across on here.

The main reason I would think you don't see muscular teen females is because most teens have not chosen to bodybuild. It isn't a lack of ability.

[viridian]

It just takes time to build a great body like most fitness models have. As already stated, most teens, young adults dont have the dedication to build a body like that. Alot of older women with those physiques have been at it for years.

[rozzr]

No, as you get older your body matures and this does make you look more defined and your skin does get harder.

For anyone not sure compare the hands of a 40 year old to those of a 16 year old and you will see a real difference.


The body ages, that's just part of life, and this can make you look less soft certainly (if it wasnt the case i very much doubt there would be a multi-million dollar market for anti aging creams for softer skin, etc)

[iKoniConSciencE]

Yes, it is a combination of skin hardening, less estrogen, more years of training (women do not put on muscle at the rate which men do, and cutting is a trial and error process in its beginning stages), and the fact that most teens do not want to commit themselves to the lifestyle of bodybuilding.

It is scientifically proven that the metabolism slows down as you get older. Therefore, you find a lot of women in their 30s and 40s looking for a change as they go from previously "regular thin" to "skinny fat with cellulite and/or loose skin." Some others have slowly gained weight over the years, get tired of it, lose the weight, embrace healthier habits, want more for themselves, and get into bodybuilding. A lot of teens and women in their early 20s are too busy with the, "ohmygosh, I don't wanna get FAT! EEEK, CARDIO TIME" phenomenan to think about lifting weights. And if weight lifting DOES cross their mind, the ever-so-popular, "OMGZ I'm gonna, like, get bulky and GROSS like A MAN!" pops up in their heads. Since most are single, there is an innate drive of looking extra attractive for a mate that keeps them wanting to maintain a physique that they believe is appealing to a man. Now, some women by the time they reach their 30s and 40s already have a man and children... sometimes, they are divorced and looking to live life for themselves... they are mature enough not to be preoccupied with this drive to be attractive for men. These are stereotypes, not general rules. I know plenty of teens and 20-somethings who don't care much about attracting men and prefer to live life for themselves only and plenty of 30 and 40something who are OBSESSED with finding a man, but I am speaking in generalizations here.

There is also a reason why you don't see many women in their 20s on the Olympia stage, and that goes back to years of training. In order to put on that kind of muscle (even IF you use AAS), you need an incredible amount of dedication and most of all TIME. These are things I learned from my own experiences; I thought I'd get superbuff and look like a semi-pro bodybuilder in a year if I was focused because I seemed to gain muscle easily. A year went by and while I gained SOME muscle size, I just looked like I was capable of winning a bar fight, not a contest.Then, cutting time came; because I WAS lean and muscular, I thought I'd be able to cut at a miraculous rate since I was initially leaner than the other people who I knew were preparing for contests... however, since I was inexperienced, they caught up to me and some ended up smoking me, instead.

You'll do fine at this; you just have to find out what works for you and remember to be patient with your body. Even if you do everything right, there is a certain extent of waiting involved. :)

[kimm4]

It's called muscle maturity. It comes from years of consistent training. Your muscles become more dense and have more separation. There's a change in muscle fibers and the way your body holds intramuscular fat as you age.

I don't really know how else to describe it.

[sonti]

I look forward to 30!

[PremierGirl]

I HEARD.....
it's easier for older women because they have less estrogen
and estrogen naturally promotes storing fat (or something ) , thus less estrogen less fat storing abilities....
\being in teens we still have more estrogen

[Miranda]

It's called muscle maturity. It comes from years of consistent training.

^^ this. women in general put on muscle at a snail's pace.
the odds of an 18-year-old having trained for longer than a decade are nil.

i've lifted for five years and only recently (maybe a year ago) started to think i looked somewhat fit and 'muscular'. can't wait to see how i'll look in another five years ;)

[kimm4]

^^ this. women in general put on muscle at a snail's pace.
the odds of an 18-year-old having trained for longer than a decade are nil.

i've lifted for five years and only recently (maybe a year ago) started to think i looked somewhat fit and 'muscular'. can't wait to see how i'll look in another five years ;)

Exactly...add me to the snail's pace list...;)

[Miranda]

Also i think it has to do with "trial and error". You dont have much time as a teen to find a diet and training program that works for YOUR own body

much time for what? :confused: i think one thing the younger ones don't understand that there is NO RUSH . . . you can't force things to happen in x amount of time.

granted you can make 'quick' gains in the noobie stage and transform somewhat but they're nothing compared to what several years of consistency creates.

i did all the requisite beginner crap when i started lifting. it is part of the picture ;) all good so long as i was consistent with it until i learned more and went to the next stage. once you realise there is no end to the journey, you're always where you want to be.


that's why us old hags seem so mature :D

[parsnip1965]

For normal people, it takes many years - perhaps decades - of training to get the kind of muscle density and maturity you are describing. Even then, most don't reach the level where they can win or place highly in competition, although just about anyone, with enough commitment and effort, can get to the point where they look lean and muscular.

...and then there's Victoria Larvie. She is pictured here at 13, although she is now 17 or 18. Her father was a bodybuilder so she probably had a tremendous genetic advantage, and pictures from her web site show her as a young kid looking unusually muscular although presumably she hadn't trained at all at that age. Life isn't fair.

http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/332/332675/folders/269287/2200996Plunge.jpg

[Mindi912]

I dunno I was just thinking youth vs us old farts lol...

Youth tend to bounce back easier, can train harder etc...

[viridian]

...and then there's Victoria Larvie. She is pictured here at 13, although she is now 17 or 18. Her father was a bodybuilder so she probably had a tremendous genetic advantage, and pictures from her web site show her as a young kid looking unusually muscular although presumably she hadn't trained at all at that age. Life isn't fair.

http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/332/332675/folders/269287/2200996Plunge.jpg

Wow. I bet the guys in her gym class felt AWFULLY inadequate lol

She looks spectacular, but if you look at her figure comps, she's not as lean or as hard as many of the older women. Still incredible but not really to compare.
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=367665497&albumID=388825&imageID=17667142

15yo Victoria and Tina Durkin..

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=367665497&albumID=388825&imageID=3693640

Im still a little astounded, wish Idve had a start like that!

[kimm4]

Say you're 15 or 16... you only have a couple years to find out what works for you before you're not a teen anymore. Well from my experience! =) I didn't know "everything there is to know" until age 19, and i started working out at 16.





Psh, i don't get it. When my cousin was young, she was scrawny and boney. Then in highschool she had a squat booty and broad shoulders, she looked like she was a gymnast or something yet she watched tv and ate bon bons all day

How can you possible know everything there is to know about what works and doesn't work at 19? I've been competing for a decade and lifting consistently for 2 decades. Even at 40 it's still trial and error as your body is constantly changing. Things will always need to be fine tuned/tweaked...you'll see...

[freebirdmac]

I HEARD.....
it's easier for older women because they have less estrogen
and estrogen naturally promotes storing fat (or something ) , thus less estrogen less fat storing abilities....
\being in teens we still have more estrogen

Ha! Low estrogen just means we will store more fat in our bellies than before. Like men. We can gain more fat than before due to lower lean muscle mass. Testosterone drops with estrogen so muscle building is a bit more difficult. I've searched high and low for info on building muscle around menopause. The only scant info I've found implies that there's a period just before menopause and lasting up to 5 years post-meno, where muscle building can be difficult. Which is the time frame I've been in since I started :(

[Miranda]

How can you possible know everything there is to know about what works and doesn't work at 19?

because it is a scientifically proven fact that 19-year-olds are invincible and know abso-bloody-lutely everything there is to know about work, relationships, lifting and taxes ;)

sorry, couldn't resist.

[Revmachine21]

I'm 18 years old and I was wondering if it is easier for women in their 30's and 40's to put on muscle than it is for teens. I never see any teenage fitness models and I feel like I am sooo much "softer" looking than women in their 30's and 40's...is it impossible for me to look like that at this age? I refuse to take any supplements other than protein powder, and I'm just wondering why older women seem to have a lot more muscle definition than teens.

No. Personal experience, definitely not. In high school, I lifted weights. Took a "break" for 20 years, and restarted in my 30's. Now I dream of the old days, when I was able to squat 300 pounds and was injury free. I have really struggled to regain a fraction of my old strength. The biggest difference between then and now, I actually watch my diet and do cardio so I have been able to achieve something. High school, I had no idea what I was doing and my diet was that of an average teenage girl with body image issues.

Another final point... enjoy the bloom of your youth. I think this is what you are seeing in comparison to older women. You are soft looking right now? Enjoy it... You don't get another turn at this age in your life.