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Want To Build Muscle After 60? Make Sure You Get Enough Of This (Not Protein)

December 08, 2025

I turned 62 this year, and for the first time ever I can bang out 8 strict pull-ups, deadlift 185 lbs for reps, and carry every grocery bag in one trip without sounding like a dying walrus.

Everyone swears it’s the protein. It’s not. I eat 120–130 g a day — solid, but nothing insane. The actual unlock — the one thing that turned years of frustrating plateaus into steady, visible gains — was finally fixing the deficiency almost every woman over 60 has:

Vitamin D.

Not more creatine (though I take that). Not collagen (cute, but not the bottleneck). Not “just lift heavier, grandma” (already doing it).

Vitamin D. The one your muscles literally cannot function without once perimenopause and age sabotage your ability to make it from sunlight.

newsweek.com

63-Year-Old ‘Pull-Up Queen’ Reveals the Secret to Her Health

The Day My Doctor Actually Gasped

January 2025 bloodwork: 18 ng/mL vitamin D. Doctor: “Do, this is osteomalacia range. Your muscle fibers can’t even contract properly.”

Ten months later (now): 68 ng/mL. Result? My trainer asked if I was on TRT. I wasn’t. I just stopped starving my vitamin D receptors.

Suddenly I’m adding 10–20 lbs to lifts every month instead of every year. Recovery went from “please kill me” to “let’s go again tomorrow.” Shoulders rounded out. Legs look strong, not skinny-fat. I finally have arms that don’t wave back.

julielohre.com

Fit at 60: Valerie’s 20-Pound Weight Loss After Menopause

Science That Isn’t Bullsh*t

• Muscle cells have vitamin D receptors (VDRs). When activated → direct protein synthesis (independent of dietary protein).
• After age 60 your skin makes ~75 % less vitamin D from the same sunlight.
• Low D = skyrockets myostatin (the “muscle growth brake” protein) and tanks follistatin (the accelerator). Studies show correcting deficiency drops myostatin up to 30 %.
• Low D blocks testosterone utilization at the muscle — even if your levels look fine on paper.

Real receipts:

• 2023 meta-analysis (Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle): Vitamin D + resistance training = 2× muscle gains vs training alone in 65+ adults.
• 2024 Belgian study: Women 60–85 with levels >50 ng/mL gained 2.6 lbs muscle in 12 weeks. Women <30 ng/mL gained 0.2 lbs — same training, same protein.

My Exact Protocol (Copy-Paste If You Want Identical Results)

1. Get bloodwork — 25(OH)D, target 60–80 ng/mL (yes, higher than the timid lab ranges).
2. Loading phase — 10,000 IU D3 + 200 mcg K2 daily for 8–10 weeks (with fattier meal).
3. Maintenance — 5,000 IU daily forever.
4. Food game — Wild salmon 3× week , sardines on toast, pasture-raised egg yolks, beef liver pâté once a week.
5. Sun hack — 20–30 min morning sun on arms/legs/back, no sunscreen, 5 days a week. I literally drink coffee while doing it.

facebook.com

Appreciating life’s simple moments and beauty

Training never changed: 4× week full-body (deadlifts, pull-ups, overhead press, hip thrusts, rows).

Current 62-Year-Old Stack

• 5,000 IU D3 + K2
• 5 g creatine
• 2 g Carlson’s fish oil
• 400 mg magnesium glycinate (D burns through mag)
• 120–130 g protein (boring consistency)

10-Month Results

• +7 lbs lean mass (DEXA)
• Visible shoulders and arms for the first time in my life
• 8 strict pull-ups (from zero at 60)
• 185 lb deadlift × 5 (video below)
• Zero joint pain
• Sleep like a teenager

blog.twl.com.au

Watch This Woman Deadlift More Than 200 Pounds — At 80 Years Old …

The Part That Makes People Mad

When I posted progress pics, the comments were: “Ozempic?” “Steroids?” “Surgeon’s name?”

Nope. Just fixed the deficiency that 93 % of women over 60 have and never test for.

If you’re 60+, lifting hard, eating “enough” protein, and still look/feel the same — get your vitamin D tested this week. I guarantee you’ll be shocked.

Because the secret isn’t eating more chicken. It’s giving your muscles the single co-factor they’ve been screaming for since perimenopause began.

You deserve to be the strongest, most jacked version of yourself — at any age.

Go get your sunshine (or your 5,000 IU).

Love always, Do ✨

P.S. Want my exact bloodwork panel + the pharmaceutical-grade D3 I use (third-party tested, no fillers)? Comment “VITAMIN D” and I’ll DM you everything.

Related on LiveLaughLoveDo: → You Can Do This Entire Full-Body Dumbbell Workout Sitting Down → Spicy Chipotle Salmon Tacos (1,111 IU vitamin D) → How Sleep Support Changed Everything For Me → Cold Plunge Deals — because ice baths + vitamin D is pure rocket fuel

Let’s get strong together.

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