Posted: 2/12/2012 4:52:42 PM EDT
| I'm 55 and since April 2011 started running to get my Cardio up, eating better, and getting in better shape. My dad had heart problems and I wanted to be a little pro-active and possibly head off heart problems. Typically during the day, I am either sitting at a desk, or in my car all day and for 20 years was just basically out of shape with no exercise. I've slowly worked up to 3-4 miles running through the neighborhood every other day, and am in much, much better shape these days. I can easily run a 5k in 25-26 minutes without really pushing hard. I REALLY don't like running outside in these cold/icy/snowy Ohio winters so in early December I signed up for a gym membership at the local Fitness club. I still run 3-4 miles every other day now, but just indoors around the indoor track. I also started using the weight machines and free weights to to help firm up. I'm really not overweight but would like to get a little more "buff" and add some muscle over these winter months. I started out real easy using lighter weights and doing higher reps to start to build a base and not hurt myself with muscle pulls. I've already lost about 20 lbs. of belly/body fat and my weight has leveled, out and I'm starting to see some muscle growth. I really don't intend to enter any body building competitions, or want to get HUGE like Arnold, but want to make sure I'm doing the best I can with the limited time I have to work out. I'm a thin build at 5'9"/150 lbs. with a flat belly now, but showing some growth across my upper body and arms. Should I continue with my lighter weights and higher reps. slowly upping the weights as I get stronger, (as I am currently doing) or try to step it up with more weights and fewer reps? At 55 I don't want to hurt myself and get setback while waiting for the injury to heal.... but want to get the most out of my limited work out time. If I was young and 21 it would be a different approach for me but I'm being cautious at my age. I don't feel like investing in a Personal Trainer at the gym, and just looking for some input from you guys here that work out. |
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generally speaking, higher reps build mass, while higher weight builds strength. building mass first is important, and lower weight at the beginning is extremely important since you're triggering osteoblastic activity––your points of muscle insertion into bone are building along with your muscle mass, and you're also building bone density. very important for injury avoidance––bone and tendon/ligment problems are more severe than muscle pulls as far as function goes. if you were still a kid, i would say 6 weeks of low weight/high reps would be a sufficient base, but since age is kicking in (as it does for all of us), i would suggest that you only increase the weight as much as your current sets allow. i'd probably double that time to 12 weeks before making a jump. i'm not a trainer though, so i'll defer to the more serious lifters on the board. |
| Thanks for the input guys. I guess I'm too cheap for a personal trainer and it would cut into my ammo/gun funds. I figured staying with the lighter weights/higher reps would be the safest bet and what I've tried to stick to for the 8 weeks I've been working out so far. How many reps should I be doing per set? I've been doing about 15 reps of each exercise per set, and I've been doing 3 sets of each rep with minimal rest time per set. Usually by the 3rd set of the same exercise depending on the muscle group, I'm down to 10-12 reps before I can't do any more and stop before I hurt something. I've got about 8 different stations I work at before moving on to 3-4 miles running. Does that sound about right? |
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Go to Scooby's workshop and view a lot of his videos. He provides good advice.
http://scoobysworkshop.com/ |
| I'm 48 and in excellent cardio health but some recent health problems have prevented me from lifting weights like I used to. I decided to try the P90X program. I've lost 10 lbs in the last 4 weeks, increased my flexibility and strength. It is a good program and well worth your time. |
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Go to Scooby's workshop and view a lot of his videos. He provides good advice. http://scoobysworkshop.com/ I don't know of anyone with any experience or credibility who would agree with that. I would recommend Starting Strength, StrongLifts 5x5, Crossfit, or even P90X before going to him for advice. |
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Lifting heavy weight will improve joints not degrade them as others are trying to have you believe. Beginners should always start with a low rep, heavy weight program such as Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe. Low weight and high reps makes it easier to push beyond the point where your form has broken down and that is when injury is likely to occur. When you lift heavy weight for lower reps you will notice a breakdown in form much easier and it is much more difficult to continue past that breakdown once you reach it.
If you read through the program it gives excellent instruction and will have you starting light enough for you to learn the lifts and master form before you really start to move up in weight. Stronglifts 5x5 is a similar program that also has excellent instruction. At your age the standard programming for SS might be a bit much though. You want to push yourself and progressively increase the load you are lifting but trying to add weight every single workout can be a bit much once you start getting up there in weight. Just remember you always want to push yourself to do more without doing too much. Always maintain form. IIRC Stronglifts starts you off with much lower weight(just the bar for most lifts I think) so if you aren't terribly confident in your form it will give you more time to learn before you progress into heavy lifting. Good luck. Lifting is fun. You don't have to worry about looking like Arnold just from lifting weights. That doesn't happen by accident. It takes years and years of strict training and diet to get that far and more often than not at least a little bit of needle. |
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Starting Strength by Mark Ripitoe. I also agree with Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe and Practical Programming by Mark Rippetoe. Get those two books, read them, one is about exercise form and the other is about programming those exercises into a useful routine. I've gotten stronger after reading his books and implementing his methods than any other program. |
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Fitness is one of those subjects that for every "fact" there's at least one opposing and exactly contradictory "fact," as already seen in this thread. Isn't the internet fun? That's very true. There is more misinformation about exercise than any other industry I'd think (even more than guns...) As for the OP: Drop the machine exercises entirely, if you value you're time. If you can move around some real weight on squats, bench press, overhead press and deadlift you will be "firmer", stronger and more capable than most people. |
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I really don't intend to enter any body building competitions, or want to get HUGE like Arnold, but want to make sure I'm doing the best I can with the limited time I have to work out. I'm a thin build at 5'9"/150 lbs. with a flat belly now, but showing some growth across my upper body and arms. Should I continue with my lighter weights and higher reps. slowly upping the weights as I get stronger, (as I am currently doing) or try to step it up with more weights and fewer reps? At 55 I don't want to hurt myself and get setback while waiting for the injury to heal.... but want to get the most out of my limited work out time. If I was young and 21 it would be a different approach for me but I'm being cautious at my age. I don't feel like investing in a Personal Trainer at the gym, and just looking for some input from you guys here that work out. At 53-57 I was in the best shape of my life. Go as heavy as you can. Your body will tell you when you are lifting too much, but you have to make sure you "listen" to warning signs. 80% of 1MR for 5-7 reps is a good target Soreness is OK; pain is not good 
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I really don't intend to enter any body building competitions, or want to get HUGE like Arnold, but want to make sure I'm doing the best I can with the limited time I have to work out. I'm a thin build at 5'9"/150 lbs. with a flat belly now, but showing some growth across my upper body and arms. Should I continue with my lighter weights and higher reps. slowly upping the weights as I get stronger, (as I am currently doing) or try to step it up with more weights and fewer reps? At 55 I don't want to hurt myself and get setback while waiting for the injury to heal.... but want to get the most out of my limited work out time. If I was young and 21 it would be a different approach for me but I'm being cautious at my age. I don't feel like investing in a Personal Trainer at the gym, and just looking for some input from you guys here that work out. At 53-57 I was in the best shape of my life. Go as heavy as you can. Your body will tell you when you are lifting too much, but you have to make sure you "listen" to warning signs. 80% of 1MR for 5-7 reps is a good target Soreness is OK; pain is not good Listen to this man. He knows what of he speaks. |
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Form follows function. High reps and light weight on machines plus running will certainly help get you in good shape. At 55 years of age that might just be enough. But, for real muscle growth you'll need to lift heavier with free weights. Five to eight reps per set, 10 to 12 sets per body part trained. You'll be better off training the large muscle groups only...flat barbell bench press and dumbbell incline press for chest, seated pulley rows and dead lifts for back and squats and leg presses for legs. Take three to four minutes between sets. Eat a gram and a half of protein per pound of body weight per day...eat whole eggs, drink lots of h2o and whole milk and eat red meat. Try this 'heavy' routine for six weeks, then go back to your 'light' routine for eight weeks. Might help future heavy––light cycles if you keep a detailed journal.
Just remember that 'heavy' and 'light' are relative terms. Don't get caught up in the amount of weight you are lifting. Worry instead about very clean and controlled reps and keep those reps between five and eight. If you do nine reps the set does not count, consider it another warm-up set and increase the weight you're lifting. Before you start on a 'heavy' lifting and eating cycle you should get a complete physical and inform your Doc of your intentions. If there are no red-flags then proceed. Also, keep an eye out at the gym for a possible training partner. A good training partner can be invaluable. Don't hesitate to e-mail me with questions. Good luck! |
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Fitness is one of those subjects that for every "fact" there's at least one opposing and exactly contradictory "fact," as already seen in this thread. Isn't the internet fun? That's very true. There is more misinformation about exercise than any other industry I'd think (even more than guns...) As for the OP: Drop the machine exercises entirely, if you value you're time. If you can move around some real weight on squats, bench press, overhead press and deadlift you will be "firmer", stronger and more capable than most people. OP, read this man's last line. Do bench, incline, reverse grip bench on a real bench press using plates on chest day. Use barbells for curls and a free weight set up for squats and dead lift. You will be a monster compared to if you just use machines for everything. |
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deck of cards push ups
all numbers represent the number of push ups you need to do 2 of hearts = 2 push ups 9 of clubs = 9 push ups, ect jacks,queens,kings are worth 20 push ups aces are worth 25 push ups take only 20-30 second breaks in between each card entire 52 card deck comes to 556 push ups go until you can do the entire deck of cards in less than 1 hour once you get bored of push ups transfer to it sit ups or crunches works great for me |
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Quoted: Quoted: Go to Scooby's workshop and view a lot of his videos. He provides good advice. http://scoobysworkshop.com/ I don't know of anyone with any experience or credibility who would agree with that. I would recommend Starting Strength, StrongLifts 5x5, Crossfit, or even P90X before going to him for advice. Yes. Especially the first 2. |
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Quoted: deck of cards push ups all numbers represent the number of push ups you need to do 2 of hearts = 2 push ups 9 of clubs = 9 push ups, ect jacks,queens,kings are worth 20 push ups aces are worth 25 push ups take only 20-30 second breaks in between each card entire 52 card deck comes to 556 push ups go until you can do the entire deck of cards in less than 1 hour once you get bored of push ups transfer to it sit ups or crunches works great for me We used to alternate. Red was pushups, black was situps/flutter kicks. With little or no breaks. So a string of red was painful  |
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Fitness is one of those subjects that for every "fact" there's at least one opposing and exactly contradictory "fact," as already seen in this thread. Isn't the internet fun? That's very true. There is more misinformation about exercise than any other industry I'd think (even more than guns...) As for the OP: Drop the machine exercises entirely, if you value you're time. If you can move around some real weight on squats, bench press, overhead press and deadlift you will be "firmer", stronger and more capable than most people. OP, read this man's last line. Do bench, incline, reverse grip bench on a real bench press using plates on chest day. Use barbells for curls and a free weight set up for squats and dead lift. You will be a monster compared to if you just use machines for everything. what would be a good basic routine with free weights lets say for 5 days in a week where you do not work on the same muscle group from one day to the next. Meaning if I do bench today which also works my triceps, I don't want to do something like bench dips or triceps kickbacks the next day. |
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generally speaking, higher reps build mass, while higher weight builds strength. building mass first is important, and lower weight at the beginning is extremely important since you're triggering osteoblastic activity––your points of muscle insertion into bone are building along with your muscle mass, and you're also building bone density. very important for injury avoidance––bone and tendon/ligment problems are more severe than muscle pulls as far as function goes. WTF? Lets get some terminology down. When people say "high weight", it should be in relation to their own 1 RM. Low weight, high rep (where rep > 15) is actually more conducive to injury than low rep, higher weight. Short of having horrible form on a squat or deadlift that causes you to slip a disc, most of your lifting related injuries are repetitive stress injury types. Things like tendonitis and bursitis. And weight isn't going to drive that, # of repetitions & poor form are going to. If any thing, lower weight will not trigger the immediate pain response that you might get with higher weight when you do a lift incorrectly or if your anatomy doesn't agree with you (example - shoulder popping during overhead press). OP should lift as heavy as he can lift and still maintain form. If he can't afford or doesn't want to spend the money on a PT, then get a video camera and video tape yourself. There are lots of boards where people will critique your squat, deadlift, etc, and let you know what you are doing incorrectly. |
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3x5, compound lifts: Bench, Squat, Dead Lifts, OH Barbell Press, Power Cleans, Pendlay Rows. Visit our self defense & fitness forum. Visit the Starting Strength forum, Leangains.com, & stronglifts.com Don't let being 55 dissuade you from lifting heavy and using compound lifts. These lifts won't fuck up your knees/back/etc. Anyone who says so is an idiot. Eat lots of clean protein: Meat, eggs, etc. Lots of fruits & veggies. Eliminate anything with added sugar. Moderate carbs (a dry baked potato or some whole wheat toast is not the end of the world.) Drinks lots of water, get lots of sleep. If you have any other specific questions, head over to the fitness forum, we'll be there... |
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Quoted: Quoted: generally speaking, higher reps build mass, while higher weight builds strength. building mass first is important, and lower weight at the beginning is extremely important since you're triggering osteoblastic activity––your points of muscle insertion into bone are building along with your muscle mass, and you're also building bone density. very important for injury avoidance––bone and tendon/ligment problems are more severe than muscle pulls as far as function goes. WTF? Lets get some terminology down. When people say "high weight", it should be in relation to their own 1 RM. Low weight, high rep (where rep > 15) is actually more conducive to injury than low rep, higher weight. Short of having horrible form on a squat or deadlift that causes you to slip a disc, most of your lifting related injuries are repetitive stress injury types. Things like tendonitis and bursitis. And weight isn't going to drive that, # of repetitions & poor form are going to. If any thing, lower weight will not trigger the immediate pain response that you might get with higher weight when you do a lift incorrectly or if your anatomy doesn't agree with you (example - shoulder popping during overhead press). OP should lift as heavy as he can lift and still maintain form. If he can't afford or doesn't want to spend the money on a PT, then get a video camera and video tape yourself. There are lots of boards where people will critique your squat, deadlift, etc, and let you know what you are doing incorrectly. You'll notice that i didn't say "high weight", i said "higher". if you add collars onto a straight bar, you're not moving to "high weight", but you're definitely higher than you were before. you're right though, i should have been more clear. the way i was taught, a high rep workout is 4 sets of 8 at a baseline of 70%. that's not a lot of weight, but it's definitely enough to require concentration on form. the only time i ever break 8 is if i'm lifting to failure (last set on a station, or a planned burnout). i think it's vitally important for a beginning (or re-beginning) lifter to stay down around 70% because osteoblasts need time to work––bones build just like muscles. and osteoblastic activity slows with age. straining a muscle is an inconvenience. a muscle insertion injury is a lot more than that, especially at age 55. new lifters always want to keep adding weight so that they get a sense of accomplishment (and look better in front of other lifters), and i've seen a lot more injuries from too much haste than i have from too much patience. if you're thinking of high reps as >15, then yes, i'll agree with you. but reps like that come from a completely different lifting culture than mine. i do 4x8/70%, 5x5/80%, 3x3/90%, and ladders––that's about it. and those 5x5s are killers! |
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Starting Strength. Don't listen to those who say you don't need weights- weights will do things to you that nothing else will. Lift heavy. Heavy is relative of course, but that last rep should be a struggle. I don't care for high reps for most stuff. 3x5 or 5x5 works GREAT for building strength and a little mass (you're not going to get HOOOGE). High rep low weight build endurance which is great, but you're never going to get very strong. Starting Strength. Come on over to the Self Defense and Fitness forum, we'll get you setup. There's a bunch of guys that really know what they're talking about, especially depending on your goals. We have endurance guys, Oly lifters, power lifters, body builders, Crossfitters, P90xers and every combo of the above. |
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I see that as per usual for fitness threads everyone is in total agreement and there is no conflicting inputs. I guess I'll have to be that guy... Stay away from "high" weight, low reps if you want to build mass. Your reps should be in the 12-15 range. Occasionally you should switch up your routine, you can do so partly by increasing the weight and moving into the 8-10 or 8-12 rep range. But it is pretty well accepted in bodybuilding circles that 12-15 yields the best results when it comes to putting on mass. Low reps are great for adding strength and it's true that muscle gains follow strength gains, but that's not what creates that cover of the fitness magazines guy look. Don't train any muscle group more than once a week. Your workouts should last about an hour and a half, two hours max. EAT. In order to optimize muscle gains and maintain what you already have, you should be getting (for your size) about 30 grams of protein every three hours. You can do this in meal or shake form, meal is preferable but shake is better than nothing. This is a key element to gaining muscle, as important as your training routine and your time off is. Nutrition is the most commonly overlooked element. Don't worry about getting huge, you won't. Good luck! |
I went from 18-20% bf to ? I don't know but I can see my veins on my abs. Has to be sub 10%. All I did was caffeine and atkins diet. Seriously, stick to the atkins, add in some MCT oil to really aid in ketosis, and you will drop BF at almost a visible rate. The veins on my arms stick out all over, its borderline gross, can see the fiber and striations in my muscle I love it  I feel incredible. I feel good all the time. I wake up feeling like I just had 3 cups of coffee. Crazy part is all I did was low intensity long duration cardio.
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I see that as per usual for fitness threads everyone is in total agreement and there is no conflicting inputs. I guess I'll have to be that guy... Stay away from "high" weight, low reps if you want to build mass. Your reps should be in the 12-15 range. Occasionally you should switch up your routine, you can do so partly by increasing the weight and moving into the 8-10 or 8-12 rep range. But it is pretty well accepted in bodybuilding circles that 12-15 yields the best results when it comes to putting on mass. Low reps are great for adding strength and it's true that muscle gains follow strength gains, but that's not what creates that cover of the fitness magazines guy look. Don't train any muscle group more than once a week. Your workouts should last about an hour and a half, two hours max. EAT. In order to optimize muscle gains and maintain what you already have, you should be getting (for your size) about 30 grams of protein every three hours. You can do this in meal or shake form, meal is preferable but shake is better than nothing. This is a key element to gaining muscle, as important as your training routine and your time off is. Nutrition is the most commonly overlooked element. Don't worry about getting huge, you won't. Good luck! Seriously, this is the truth. For a long time, I underestimated how much BCAAs one needs (leucine, isoleucine and valine). The rest are needed in large qty as well. Look at this study done with 70 year old men(!!), it shows 38% increase in protein synthesis (probably measured through mTOR expression) by going from 20 to 40 grams. This is with low testosterone old men, imagine younger, higher testosterone, igf-1 and growth hormone amounts? 
Protein synthesis beyond the 20g limit |
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Stick with compound exercises. Starting Strength is really good (3x5 sets/reps on the main lifts). No one has ever built a huge body on accident. Do not be scared to lift heavy. Look at it this way if you add strength first you will be lifting more weight. What will build bigger muscles: Squating 150lbs 10x or Squating 250lbs 10x. If you start with a strength program you linear progression will increase faster. So in 5 months you will be able to move way more weight on your 10-12 rep Hypertrophy workout.
Make sure your diet is in line. You can find calculators online to help figure out how many calories you should be getting. Try getting a gram of Protein per pound you want to be (if you want to weigh 185lbs then consume 185 grams of protein). Then build your calories around it. Good luck |
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Concentrate on form for the "Big 6" lifts––- Squat, Deadlift, Bench, Pullup, Clean, Press. Then increase weight on them. I emphasize the squats and deadlifts, as they hit the most muscle groups and thus have the largest impact. Another option is to consider CrossFit. You can scale it to your needs (The mainpage workout is for elite CFer's for the most part, scaling can be found on the Brand X forum). I would also recommend posting this over at the self defense and fitness forum. http://www.ar15.com/forums/f_1/113_.html
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Stick with compound exercises. Starting Strength is really good (3x5 sets/reps on the main lifts). No one has ever built a huge body on accident. Do not be scared to lift heavy. Look at it this way if you add strength first you will be lifting more weight. What will build bigger muscles: Squating 150lbs 10x or Squating 250lbs 10x. If you start with a strength program you linear progression will increase faster. So in 5 months you will be able to move way more weight on your 10-12 rep Hypertrophy workout. Make sure your diet is in line. You can find calculators online to help figure out how many calories you should be getting. Try getting a gram of Protein per pound you want to be (if you want to weigh 185lbs then consume 185 grams of protein). Then build your calories around it. Good luck What he said... As you get larger, you'll have to identify your goals. Do you want to be a raw power lifter for strength? Or do you want lean bodybuilding look? Or a runner/cross fit body? Each has their separate path for achieving and you don't want to spend time going after goals that change. 
Reading this chart, it lacks intuitive sense and is contrary to common thinking. Type 2a muscle is not the strongest and doesn't seem like the best for a bodybuilder. Apparently it can become the most massive which is why bodybuilders "choose" that type (via their training) If you want to be a powerlifter, go to the gym and do 15 sets of one rep max with plenty of time in between. This will create the type 2b muscle conducive to strength. If you want to be a bodybuilder, lift in sets of 5-10 and do plenty of sets (as this creates type 2a). I was always the impression maximum size came from 4-5 reps at 90-95% of one rep max, but apparently it is closer to 85% and 6-10 reps. This will produce the type 2a muscle fiber that has the largest size (bodybuilders). Also this this article is and excellent read, apparently HIIT cardio is very beneficial to women in particular. |