Exercises That Build Muscle Mass In Your 30s

Building muscle mass during your 30s may help prevent muscular mass loss that occurs during your 40s and 50s. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends doing exercises that incorporate all of your major muscle groups into two weekly strength-training sessions as a way to build strong and healthy muscles. Understanding the benefits of building muscle mass may motivate you to get active and pump some iron.

Significance

Participating in weight-bearing exercises as you age promotes lean body composition and increases your strength and ability to perform physical activity. Additionally, strength training increases your bone density, which declines with age. Improving your bone density reduces your risk of osteoporosis, a condition that renders your bones brittle and susceptible to breaks.

Building muscle mass in your abdominal region and lower back may help prevent lower back pain, a condition that affects eight out of 10 people according to MedlinePlus. Exercising your muscles through their normal range of motion increases joint mobility and may reduce or prevent symptoms of arthritis.

Calisthenic Exercises

Calisthenic exercises require no equipment and your body weight serves as resistance during a workout. Push-ups, sit-ups, planks, squats, lunges, abdominal crunches and jumping jacks all build muscle mass without external resistance. The lack of equipment necessary for these exercises makes it possible for you to build muscle mass in the comfort of your home, at a hotel or during a quick break at work.

Free Weight Exercises

Holding free weights during exercise forces your muscles to respond to and adapt to the physical demand placed on them. Holding the weights and performing an exercise works your primary and stabilizing muscles, resulting in high muscular usage and caloric expenditure. For example, bracing your abdominal and lower back region during biceps curls stabilizes your upper body while toning your midsection. Additional free-weight exercises that build muscle mass in your 30s include triceps extensions, bent-over rows, chest presses and shoulder raises. Holding free weights while you perform squats and lunges increases the demands on your lower body's muscular system.

In addition to building muscular mass, free-weight exercises mimic movement patterns, are versatile and easy to store and help build overall muscular strength reports the American Council on Exercise.

Machine Exercises

Machine exercises isolate particular muscles while building muscle mass. Each machine contains an adjustable weight stack that allows you to determine your appropriate amount of external resistance. ACE reports that machine exercises encourage proper form, provide a safe workout for beginners and don't require the same amount of balance as calisthenic and free-weight exercises. Exercise machines are more expensive and larger than free weights and are typically available at gyms. Examples of machine exercises include the thigh adductor and abductor, the lat pull-down, chest presses and bicep curl machines.

Considerations

Doing at least one set of eight to 10 repetitions of each exercise ensures that you reap the benefits of weight training, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Muscular adaptation occurs when the amount of repetitions or external resistance no longer challenge your muscles, resulting in a plateau. Changing your exercise routine, switching up the equipment or increasing your repetitions ensures that you don't stop benefiting from your workouts.