Are you over 40 and looking for some supplements that would help you build muscle and burn fat? Then look no further, as I’ve compiled the list of best supplements for women over 40.
A workout isn’t enough for building muscle and burning fat, you also have to keep check on the diet. A diet plan consists of 80% nutritional value needed for the body, but for the remaining 20% you have to rely on supplements.
In today’s world, the fitness industry is filled with a number of different supplements. Ranging from normal powders to heavy complicated names, everything is available in the market. And this is where a beginner gets confused. Being a woman, it would get more difficult for you, as most of the internet data is flooded with supplements for bodybuilding and men. So I am trying to help you out with the best supplements for women over 40 by introducing you to them and how to take them.
But before we even start on this, let me tell you that supplements only aid your diet and exercise routine. So you can only be able to rip off its entire benefits in building muscles and burning fat when you combine these supplements with a proper workout regime and diet plans.
Multivitamin
This supplement ideally consists of a blend of major micronutrients in apt quantities. This supplement fills in all the voids of nutrition that isn’t covered in your diet. Therefore, multivitamin supplements are recommended for building muscles and burning fats for women over 40. I recommend this supplement even for those who are not a very big fan of intense workouts.
One should look for multivitamins that include vitamin B complex, C, D, and E along with some minerals such as copper, zinc, and chromium.
Omega 3 Fish Oil
Omega 3 fish oil is a type of fatty acid, which is essential for health. Fish oil helps in reducing weight by turning on genes that stimulate fat burning. This supplement also helps in muscle building by speeding up recovery time and promoting muscle growth. Therefore, it is necessary that one keeps up with this supplement all the time.
You should take 2g of omega 3 fish oil thrice in a day i.e. during breakfast, lunch and dinner.
DHEA
DHEA helps in increasing muscle size. It is also critical for muscle strength and muscle growth. Other uses of this supplement include it helps in lowering inflammation, improves bone density, muscle mass, and heart health. DHEA also promotes fat burning to an extent.
Probiotic
These are actually bacteria and yeast that are good for health. It helps in promoting a healthy immune system and a healthy digestive tract. Probiotic helps in absorbing more amounts of amino acids from the Proteins we have. This in turn helps in muscle growth.
There is no specific recommendation of taking probiotics, as it depends on bacteria. But it is good to have it along with BCAA pre and post workout shakes.
Vitamin D3
It is an important vitamin in the body. It promotes absorption of calcium in the body and maintains proper calcium concentration in the blood. By doing this, it also promotes bone growth which is crucial for women over 40. Deficiency of vitamin D3 can lead to soft bones. Hence, it is important to add Vitamin D3 supplements for a good workout regime.
Iron Supplement
It is an important mineral for our health. It is responsible for transporting oxygen throughout the body. It also regulates cell growth. It is a structural component of many enzymes and Proteins. Deficiency of iron in the body can lead to fatigue, lowered immunity, feeling tired and weak, mental fogginess, and poor performance. Therefore, it is essential to incorporate iron supplements in your daily routine.
You should take 18mg of iron every day. However, quantities may vary depending on the situation.
Zinc
It is yet another important mineral needed in the body. This supplement speeds up chemical reactions related to muscle building. It also helps in stabilizing Protein structures and helps in regulating hormonal level in the body. These functions of zinc assist in muscle synthesis after workout.
You can take 9mg of zinc in a day. The quantity may vary depending on how intense the workout is.
Beta Alanine
Beta Alanine is ideally a non-essential amino acid. This acid meets with another amino acid to form carnosine, which helps in improving muscle size, endurance and strength. It also supports fat loss.
You should take 1-3 grams of Beta Alanine just before workout and immediately after workout.
BCAA
These are ideally three amino (leucine, isoleucine, and valine) that share a branched molecular structure. BCAA helps in increasing the length of your workouts by curbing the fatigue induced by exercises. It is also involved in creation of new tissues. It also helps in boosting growth hormones. Leucine helps in promoting Protein synthesis, and hence works for building muscles. BCAAs might also help in boosting growth hormone level, reducing cortisol and increasing levels of insulin, an anabolic hormone that helps in replenishing tissues with nutrients after a workout session.
You can take 5-10g of BCAA with pre and post workout shakes.
Citrulline
It is a type of amino acid. Our body normally converts citrulline to arginine, a different type of amino acid. This supplement increases the production of nitric oxide and removes ammonia produce due to working out from the body. This helps in improving blood flow by dilating the blood vessels and relaxing muscles. This way the supplement helps a lot while working out.
You can take around 2000-6000mg per day. However, the quantity may vary depending on the condition.
Creatine Monohydrate
It is naturally present in muscle tissue and is similar to amino acid. The most important function of creatine monohydrate is to help muscles in creating fast energy during workouts. It even supports an increase in strength and endurance. Creatine helps in gaining and retaining metabolically active lean muscle tissue that makes it an indirect fat burner. This means, the more muscle you have, the more you can work out, and so you will be able to burn more calories.
You can take 2-5g of creatine monohydrate with Protein shakes before and after workout.
Whey Protein
It is one of the two proteins available in milk. Whey Protein is considered high for its characteristic of fast digestibility. It breaks down quickly as soon as it gets into the body. This sends aminos swiftly to the muscle tissue. It is taken mostly in the morning, before and after workout because of its quality. This can be the best option when other lean whole food Proteins take time to digest. Along with this, it also contains peptides that helps in increasing blood flow to the muscles. And therefore this supplement is must before workout, so that muscles can receive more nutrients, oxygen, and hormones right on time.
You should take 20g of whey protein daily after waking up in the morning. You should also consume 20g of whey half an hour before and after workout training.
Casein Protein
It is one of the two Proteins available in milk. Casein is considered a slow Protein as it is very slow to digest, and therefore, it is ideal to have it before going to bed. At night we seem to go about 7-8 hours without eating, this is when a slow and steady stream of amino from casein Protein helps us. Ideally, casein takes around 3-4 hours to break down and reach into our blood.
You can consider taking 20g of casein Protein before going to bed. You may also combine 10g of casein in 10g of whey for your after workout Protein shake.
Sleep Easy
It is a supplement that promotes faster sleep and reduces night awakenings. Sleep is the most important factor in building muscle and losing fat for women over 40. This is the time when the body heals itself. If you do not take complete rest, then that hinders with the recovery process from that intense workout. Therefore, it is important to have at least seven to eight hours of sleep daily. This supplement will help you get into this healing process quite easily.
Menopause Support
It is an herbal supplement that contains magnesium, soy isoflavones, and hibiscus extract. The active ingredients of this supplement help throughout the menopause period. It also helps in relieving flushing and temperature changes, commonly known as vasomotor symptoms during menopause.
You need to take one tablet twice daily i.e. during lunch and dinner.
Magnesium
It is an essential mineral in our body. It has an important role in fat metabolism and in producing energy. Magnesium is essential for muscle contractions, and therefore helpful while training. It is also needed for rebuilding tissues and lowering inflammation. Magnesium deficiency can cause problems with restoring tissues, and hence magnesium supplements are good for building muscle.
CLA
It is a healthy fat like omega-6 fatty acid. It is seen that maximum omega-6 fatty acids aren’t that healthy, but CLA is different. CLA works great when combined with a proper diet and workout routine. It reduces fat mass while promoting growth of lean body mass. It helps in promoting muscle health and growth. It also helps in boosting metabolism, and promotes fat burning during sleep.
You can take CLA thrice in a day with lunch, dinner, and breakfast.
Green Tea Extract
It is the active ingredient available in green tea, which includes polyphenol epigallocatechin gallate. Green tea extracts help in supporting healthy joint function as well as muscle recovery after intense workouts. It also increases metabolic rate, which ultimately results in fat burning. In addition, green tea extracts also enhance the production of growth hormone, which is essential for gaining muscle mass and muscle building.
You can take about 500mg of green tree extract thrice daily i.e. during breakfast, morning snacks and evening snacks, or whenever you feel comfortable. And a dose about half an hour before starting your workout routine.
B Complex
It is a combination of all the essential water soluble vitamins except vitamin C. It helps in deriving energy from the nutrients you eat. One more function of this vitamin is to supply oxygen to muscle tissues. These vitamins also aid in good digestion and building muscles. Riboflavin (vitamin B2) aids in breaking down carbohydrates, fat and Proteins and transforms them into energy. Vitamin B12 makes sure that the muscle growth and coordination is efficient. B complex also helps in reducing fatigue and muscle cramps.
You need to look for B Complex 100 including vitamin B1 (thiamin), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), vitamin B7 (biotin), vitamin B9 (folic acid), and vitamin B12 (cobalamin).
Vitamin C
It is one of the essential vitamins needed in the body. Vitamin C is ideally an antioxidant that boosts the production of connective tissues in the body known as collagen. It is a Protein that makes skin, tissue, tendons, ligaments, as well as blood vessels. This helps in growth and repair of all tissues in the body. Vitamin C after workout can help in minimizing catabolic stress response and speedy recovery.
You can consume 1000mg of calcium twice in a day i.e. during lunch time and dinner time.
These are all best supplements for women over 40 I can come up with for helping to build muscle and burning fat. I hope this list helps you out in understanding the supplements more clearly and picking the right one for yourself. Just a reminder, only one of the supplements won’t work, you need to mix things up according to your requirement.
It is necessary that you receive proper guidance before starting any of these supplements. If you have any doubts regarding the supplements or any workout routine, you can leave your comment in the section below, and I’ll get back to you.
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