Training for Old guy

[haritec]

Looking for advice in regards to weight training for an older guy - 53 yrs old to be precise.
Stats
5' 08"
158 lbs
~ 12% BF

Goal - lower BF to maybe 9-10% - increase weight to 165 lbs if I can maintain low BF while doing so.

I am concerned I train too often - it seems I believe in a more is better approach and i don't like complete "rest" days. But maybe what I am doing is OK.
Right now

• Monday - Chest, Shoulders, Tri's (PUSH)
• Tuesday - bodyweight workout (5 circuits of pullups, pushups, situps )
• Wednesday - Quads, hams, calves and abs
• Thurdsay - bodyweight workout as above
• Friday - bodyweight workout as above
• Saturday - Back, biceps, forearms (Pull)
• Sunday - off

go for a short ~20 minute run every morning.


Should I drop the bodyweight exercise days - it only takes me 15 - 20 minutes usually. I try to keep my weightlifting days to under 1 hr per workout.

 

[GeekPoop]

how bout 4 day split?
legs
arms / shoulders
back
chest
m w f sun

 

[napalm]

It's tough to serve both masters - losing fat and gaining weight, especially for us old guys.

My advice? Compound movements and lots of clean food...

 

[kenpoengineer]

Same age here, 5'6" and 162 lbs and estimated 10% BF. At our age the test level becomes an issue. Have you had levels checked? How is your macro and cals food intake? Are you healthy? Prescription meds? Lots of factors here. Check out the logs of other "older brothers in iron" such as Misfit28, Chefbo, BigT and others that will chime in. These should give you an idea of what we older guys can do while giving you workout ideas! Lol. Good lifting brother.

 

[kisaj]

It's tough to serve both masters - losing fat and gaining weight, especially for us old guys.

My advice? Compound movements and lots of clean food...

As usual, I agree with napalm. Your body weight routine doesn't need to stop, I do them everyday and have for as long as I can remember because I like to get my heartrate up and have a little pump even on my off days. You don't say what you are doing for training, only the body parts you are focused on each day. We need to know what you are doing because there is a huge difference if for instance, you are doing ham curls instead of sldl for hams or leg sled instead of real squats, just for examples.

 

[xR1pp3Rx]

I speculate those bw calisthenics are capable of offsetting DOMS.. I think as long as you are getting ample nutrition you are probably fine to continue albeit it may not produce an increase of muscle mass. for that you should probably follow a speciallised lifting/eating plan. something you might want to look into is some of the better test boosting supplements like bioforge or tropinol XP as well as forskilin 95 (100mgs per day everyday, always)

 

[haritec]

Thanks for all the feedback folks.

Regard Hormone levels - I had low T but have been on low dose chlomid (25 mg 3 times a week) for about 8 months and that has brought my testosterone levels up the 80% of the full range ( range in Canada is 8 to 29 and I am 22 for Total T). SHBG is a bit high and my free testosterone is lower than I would like it to be - added in some stinging nettle and will see. Also take Exemestane EOD to keep estrogen in check. Thyroid tests good, liver tests good, IGF-1 was low 5 yrs ago - since I started squatting IGF-1 has double (range in Canada is something like 80 to 230 - I was 87 5 yrs ago - now 167 ).

Regarding Diet - about 30 30 40 carbs protein fat for macros - have been a lot lower carbs but am trying a bit higher again now as I heard it was better for the adrenals in the long run. About 2000 to 2500 calories a day - I have started tracking details with MyFitnessPal and realize on my high carb days I get over 3000 - that is certainly a problem. Diet is clean - mostly homemade food (eggs, meat, veggies, fruit) - lots of raw food - my weakness is Potato Chips while watching a movie. Over 160 grams of protein regularly - up to 200. I through in an intermittent fast about once per week.

My routine each weightlifting day is 3 rounds of a given circuit - usually 10 reps in each set/ round

Legs / Abs Day
Circuit 1 Back Squat - Good Morning - Hanging leg raises
Circuit 2 Front Squat - Stiff Deadlift - Bycicle crunches
Circuit 3 Ham Curls - Leg Extensions - weighted situps

(note - I squat pretty light ( 160 lbs) for 3 sets of 10 - I have found when I go heavier I seem to tweak a knee or my back and have to stop for a while. In most exercises I am not lifting really heavy - but I do struggle to get the last reps out - but maybe I need to go fewer reps and higher weights more like a 5x5 routine)


Pull Day
Circuit 1 Pullups - Barbell Bicep Curl - Wrist curl
Circut 2 Bent over Row - EX Bar Curl - Reverse Wrist Curl
Circuit 3 Lat Pull Down - dumbell 21's (sometimes Zottman curls)

Push Day

Circuit 1 Dips - Standing Military Press - Skull Crushers
Circuit 2 Flat Bench Press - Upright row - Triceps Extension
Circuit 3 Guillotine Press - Lateral & Front Raises - Tricep Pulldown

I thought the bodyweight routine would help with DOMS - I do it more cause I used to really suck at doing pullups and chinups and doing them regularly seems to be the way to get better at them.

 

[PaulBlack]

(note - I squat pretty light ( 160 lbs) for 3 sets of 10 - I have found when I go heavier I seem to tweak a knee or my back and have to stop for a while. In most exercises I am not lifting really heavy - but I do struggle to get the last reps out - but maybe I need to go fewer reps and higher weights more like a 5x5 routine)

3x10 IMO are probably better for now with your goals and where you are in your abilities and level of training.
A few things top ponder and not trying to scare or sound like a bad news bearer...
As you said, heavier weights (aggravates your joints!?) lower reps, means higher shearing force and much less margin for error. They are also harder on the joints/tendons/ligaments if you are not used to them or breaking into them slow. IMO, try and slide your ego aside, especially if power or shear strength is not a main goal at this time. If you are going to eventually push for heavier weight, it is probably more reasonable to....SLOWLY.... ease into them over a period of cycles. An injury at an older age has recovery being tougher than when one is in their 20's.
You can get plenty strong and gain mass using 3-4 sets of 8-10 reps without the risk, until your body is more adapted over time.

Also, if you have access to a trap bar , they can be great for older trainees wanting to work the legs, hips and low back without as much risk as say straight bar deadlift and or squats or good mornings. Very user friendly for the pos. chain as the weight is more in line with the center of gravity cutting back on shearing forces and can be used to a good degree for pos chain work or as an assistance to help with squatting and reg deadlifting.

 

[haritec]

Thanks for that Paul - seems like pretty sage advice.

I don't have access to a Trap bar - I work out at home with my kid. Seem pretty reasonably priced on Amazon tho - may pick one up after I look into how the hell to use it :32:

My goals are not so much power and shear strength as to combat the inevitable decay that time brings and perhaps turn back time somewhat. Call it vain but I would love to get to the point where someone told me I looked good not just for a man my age -but for a man half my age. Keeping the belly off is a part of that -but I would like to add some size mostly through chest and shoulders.

Thoughts on doing small circuits ? I started doing them becasue I get bored with just resting between sets so it lets me pack a few more exercises into a shorter period of time - but is it a reasonable way to train for someone at my level ( which admittedly is a pretty low level ! ) Don't get me wrong I am pretty happy with where I am - which is down almost 20 lbs from a skinny fat 180 to a just about has a six pack 160.

and BTW - I definitely hear you about injuries taking forever to heal as one gets older.

 

[PaulBlack]

I don't have access to a Trap bar - I work out at home with my kid. Seem pretty reasonably priced on Amazon tho - may pick one up after I look into how the hell to use it :32:

Pretty straight forward for pulling. Like a suitcase lift or using 2 dumbells but much more stable. You just get inside it, grab the handles, bend at knees and hips, and do some deadlifts. You do not have to worry about the bar coming up over the knees like a reg deadlift, since the bar is out around you. (More lower back friendly)
Personally, if one is going to make this a life long endeavor, a trap bar is a pretty sound & solid investment for a home gym.

My goals are not so much power and shear strength as to combat the inevitable decay that time brings and perhaps turn back time somewhat. Call it vain but I would love to get to the point where someone told me I looked good not just for a man my age -but for a man half my age. Keeping the belly off is a part of that -but I would like to add some size mostly through chest and shoulders.

Well, I am 55 myself, so I have a little experience on how I recover and what one has to watch when lifting heavy. Your goals make good sense and as I said before, if you are not concerned with high strength or size, moving the loads/weight up just in order to work into 5x5's, might be tougher on the knees than sticking with lighter weight and perhaps mid range reps. Just saying.
All the best to you...!

 

[veaderko]

Lots of good adivce, my few recommendations as I have a client who also happens to be my dad is similar to age as you. His workout split is all weight training with some cardio. He is looking to build muscle while keeping body fat low, so I have him carb cycling, and the majority of carbs if any that day are before/during/after his workout. Also have him on a couple protein shakes a day. Isotean right after training and then another sometime in the middle of the day when he says he wants to eat candy and crap.

 

[laneanders]

I train a 53 year old man and I have him doing circuits. His recovery time is probably better than most people in their 30s and he kept himself in pretty good shape before he came to me. He wanted to gain some mass though and wasn't sure how to do that. I think his idea was he wanted to limit the sagging that he keeps complaining about.

The only supplement I have him on is some Protean. Although he probably has lower T than he would like I am pretty sure he is in the normal range. Haritec if you want to try and give your T levels a little bit more of a boost have you looked into any DAA products? They work best for people that have low T. Check out Intimidate SRT if you get a chance.

 

[dkgreene88]

You could try adding some morning fasted cardio for a hour then weight train at night. I don't know what kind of supplementation you are into but you could use a good Test booster such as Intimidate SRT and fat burner such as Dexaprine XR as well as a few Isotean shakes throughout the day and youd be set!

 

[haritec]

I very much appreciate all the well thought out feedback I have recieved in this thread and plan on putting some of this into action.

I have tried DAA and didn't seem to have an effect. I am going to see what my T numbers run at next time - biggest issue has seemed to be high SHBG and low free testosterone which I have started taking stinging nettle for. DAA I tried was from PureBulk. Will look into Intimidate

Uggh - fasted cardio - started doing a 20 minute run as soon as I wake up - so generally hitting the pavement about 5:15 AM.

Trap bar is on order - waiting for it to arrive.

Have been looking into Keto or Cyclic Ketogenic diet - i like going low carbs and don't usually get distracted by sweets or salties (as long as no one brings chips into the house !! )

Today so far has been / will be ( trying to cut some body fat more than gain mass at the moment)
Run 5:15 AM
4 eggs fried in butter with a fried tomato on top of them at 6:15 AM
2 cups low fat yogurt 10:00 AM
4-5 cups of home made tomato vegetable meatball soup (delicious) noon
1.5 cups cottage cheese 2:00 PM (planned)
Pre-Workout drink ( All-in from Prescription Nutrition) 4:00 PM
Push day (free weights ) 4:30 - 5:30 PM
Post workout protein shake (protein powder, banana, peanut butter)
Chicken breast and salad 7:00 PM

 

[shealym]

I urely on coach wade johnson for my problems and routines. i am 61 5'8" at 230. He is fantastic and reasonable. Give him a look at johnson strength or email me at