Any suggestions? I trained with weights when I was younger but when I try now my joints scream! I need to get in better physical condition and lose weight. Any resources out there that are geared toward old guys?

Highlighter,

I'm 47.  I started weight training (Starting Strength) a week after my 47th birthday.  Before that I tried different plans on bodybuilding.com, gym membership with trainer, etc.  I've made the most gains and most success with Starting Strength.

Bottom line, make the commitment to get healthy, to get strong, to lose the weight.  Get your nutrition squared away.  That is first.  Then find what ever training/condition will work with your current level of fitness and capacity.  I like Starting Strength, so do a lot of folks in this forum.  There are forums at SS.com that include nutrition and programming.

Good Luck!

http://www.reddit.com/r/fitness30plus/

When i turned 40 my wife and i started Isagenix

i dropped 35lbs with my diet alone which encouraged me to start working out, so i started the 9 weeks to BUDS program

I started lifting again after 5 years off last year.  I am now 45 and in the best shape of my life.  Go slow, eat good and stay committed to be in that gym for an hour 2 to 3 times a week.

Thanks guys. I'll check out the info!

I'm 46 years old and nearly 400lbs.  I've had a lot of false starts but my wife and I just joined the local YMCA.  She's wanted to start swimming for years and that's what she does every day.  I just wanted access to their strength training equipment.  I've got some orthopedic issues that preclude me from doing the basic barbell lifts I want to do so I've decided to simply use the machines.  I went in on Friday to get a feel for the place and to mess around with the machines.  Today, I went in with a semi-plan and got more familiar with the machines and experimented to get my starting weights for Monday.  I plan to workout M-W-F.  I was recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and the strength training is designed to address that.  

95% of my battle is going to be fought at the dinner table.  A mostly real food, moderated carbohydrate diet is the goal.  

For cardio, I really enjoy bicycle riding.  My riding style is totally non-structured but basically amounts to interval training.  

Past experience has shown that if I ride consistently and eat a healthy diet, I lose weight and my fitness level increases.  I've never added a heavy strength component before so I expect that to boost things even more.  

My hope is to someday be able to do those barbell exercises plus a good bodyweight routine (ie, pullups, dips, sit-ups, etc..).  I consider that ideal but it's a physical impossibility now so I will work with what I have.  

Good luck in your journey.  Perseverance is the key (and the hardest part).

Sorry, but at 69, I'm finding it rather amusing to see 40 being called "old." I can only dream of being 40 again.

I resumed workouts almost 8 months ago. I do the same type of exercises* that I did in younger years, only this time I started out with extremely light weights (<10 lbs), and for some exercises, no weights at all. Initially, I experienced significant shoulder joint pain, but it gradually subsided and stopped.

*One exception: Due to lack of gym facilities, I do "towel rows" (see 1:15-1:30 in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vdbe6nHRL6c) in lieu of cable rows.

Eat when you are hungry and only enough to take care of that hunger.

Do not eat according to the clock.

It's tough getting back into shape when you are older and out of shape.

Just get back to being active, my neighbors get on me for cutting my grass with a walk behind mower.

They are all older, out of shape and have riding lawn mowers.

Talk to your doctor about the joint pain issue.

Op- listen to stanc you can and should do weight training, just watch nutrition and recovery. I'm 33, so granted that's not 40 but I'm stronger than I've ever been in my entire life.

Only intensity changes as you age, not type of workouts. I know plenty of people 50+ that lift regularly.

I would avoid.

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/weight-training-weight-lifting/anti-inflammatories-lifting-225465.html

The most common concerns with OTC pain relievers and lifting had more to do with liver toxicity when combined with oral steroids. This info on protein synthesis is interesting. Thanks for posting.

I will counter with...

http://startingstrength.com/index.php/site/article/inflammation_sullivan

Don't kick my ass RoG!  

I'll have to read later- no worries though  there's a lot of people on both sides of the camp, I'm not completely sold either way, but lean towards NSAIDs being counterproductive...

In excess, I agree.  But, I do not think it is the kryptonite of MPS.

I am 46 (turn 47 in October).

Starting in the year 2000 I started letting myself go physically....work and an unhealthy lifestyle (hanging out and partying several times a week basically)  are what I blamed it on...than following the deaths of my parents in 2006 and 2008 I really let myself go to the point where in Jan of 2013 I was weighing in at 265 lbs...I could not walk up a flight of steps without getting out of breath..

Today I weigh in at ~190-195 lbs, still somewhat overweight but some of that is muscle mass...I can run 2-3 miles at a pace of just under 10 min, I feel as good now as I did when I was 30, and in general am a lot better off.  Best part is that I am starting to see my abdominal muscles for the first time in pretty much forever.

This was all achieved through changing my diet, my eating habits, and intense, rigorous  exercise on a regular basis.  So yes, it can be possible to get fit after 40.  It takes dedication, discipline, and lots of hard work but it can be done.

Keep in mind that getting fit and staying fit usually requires a lifestyle change....

I started with diet change, yoga, and swimming. At 41. 245#. After a few months I started adding lifting, cycling, and running.

44 now. 200#. Training for half marathon and lifting take up most of my time now.

Eat right. Take your time. Injuries suck.

DIET DIET DIET + Weight training (start out low weight, high rep & build from there)+ ride a bike, no heavy impact stuff like running, your joints will thank you for it & you get out in the air while riding, very enjoy able. Good luck

I am one of those.  I'll be 53 in 2 weeks, and am in better shape than that vast majority of the population at any age.  I intend to keep lifting for the rest of my life.

I agree 1000%.
I just made.my mind up I was going to get back in shape.
I still have a.little ways to go but I'm on the down hill slide.

Me, I knew I was out of shape and over weight but it just never clicked
with how.bad I was.
I could still move pretty easily, I could hike with a ruck no problem, just hadn't done it for time in years.

But one day I just kind of took a.look at myself and and said how'd in the hell did I let myself stay in this shape?

I've told myself I'm going to treat my staying in shape like a recovering drug addict or alcoholic.

I'm going to keep counting calories, and maintain my workout routine.

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Age has no bearing on getting fit I am 72 started working out at an Orange Theory Fitness end of Oct 2012 I weighed 198 on my July doctor visit. I weigh 174 today I have dropped over 5" in my waist. Everyone tells me I look great. I was taking 3 pills to control cholesterol today I take none.
I joined YouFit gym end of July I go there 3 days a week to weight lift I want to get bigger and stronger. I go to OTF 3 days a week where I get an high intensity workout.
I feel great I put in more effort at both places then many people 1/2 my age.
Commit yourself to get fit and you will
Good luck.

I would do TRT (testosterone replacement therapy) and manage it yourself, if ya know what I mean.  

After you get your training and diet figured out.

outstanding!

I'm 47.  I started last year with starting strength and primal diet plan.  I lost 46lbs gross but more than that in fat.

You are not too old for starting strength.  I started with just the bar and worked up from there.  Give it a month and see how much better you feel.  I swear that lifting weights is the fountain of youth.

I did hire a trainer for 2 sessions to check my form.  My primary goal is don't get hurt so that money was cheap compared to medical bills.

I studied the starting strength book and watched a lot of youtubes on form to make sure I did it right.

My working weights are below.  I don't do 1 rep maxes.  I read you can calculate them but I just keep up with my working weights

squat, was just the bar and dying, now working set is 235
deadlift, was 95 and hurting, now 285 and feels good, had to get straps tho, my fingers tapped out at 265
Bench, just the bar, now 200
standing press, bar, now 115 (I have an old shoulder injury that is limiting this one.)  I can do like 175 incline, but standing press kills my left shoulder.
Barbell rows, bar to 155

I did use a starting strength app that keeps up with everything for you.  It makes it real easy.

Good luck

Thanks for the info, inspiration, and encouragement!

I'd suggest perhaps considering a calisthenics type work out if your hurting, no weights. Indeed , it can still be accomplished properly, with proper form circumventing your injured areas for life if you so choose, right. I've realized with the correct caloric food intake your 75% there.Thats my understanding anyways.

I'm in my 40's. All I will suggest is listen to your body. It will tell you if you need more recovery time. I had some terrible elbow tendonitis because I was doing 40 pull ups three days a week and one of those days I was also deadlifting and doing barbell curls. Someone younger might have no problem with that. But for me it was to much. Dropped the pull ups to two days a week and stopped doing curls completely. My pull ups have continued to improve even though I'm doing less. Pull ups, deads, bench, OHP and dips work my arms plenty. I wonder now why i ever bothered with curls.


Listen to your body. modify your program as needed.

Cliff notes?

Is there any anti inflammitory us old guys can take (other than fish oil)?

I''m 47 and in May I was 322lbs. Today I am 281 and still dropping. Other than a few weeks of hard physical labor and some walking the loss is almost completely because of diet which is whole real foods and low carb. When the summer first started I would go out and mow the front yard and even if it was in the 80's I'd come in with my shirt completely soaked with sweat. This past Sunday I went out and mowed front and back in what turned out to be our hottest day of the year at 104 and my shirt was dry, I had some sweat on my head, but nothing like before. This week we have cleaned out the spare bedroom and my weight and cardio equipment is coming out of storage.