@tinywonderland Yes. I trained a lot more before but when you read about leangains it's always about starting metabolism at trainings day and let it burn at rest days.
Don't know your sources but Martin trains 3d/week for cutting and only for bulking 4d/week.
I trained almost every second day and then decreased to 3d/week. More is really not necessary.
IF everyday! So the metabolism has enough time to get your fat.
Do not hesitate to ask questions! That's what it's all about here.
@tinywonderland Do it. The wiki is the best source imo. 2k cals is pretty easy. Log your cals and you will learn fast how to reach your cals-and-macros-goals. Macros are much more tricky.
@tinywonderland I did the 3 months and - i think - will do it for the rest of my life. Besides fatloss there are a few more advantages of IF concerning health, aging and so on. BTW it is really easy for me to skip breakfast.
@rylez98 This is great testimony. A question if you please:
You imply that you have worked out pretty regularly for some years. What differences do you see as you have gotten older, and have you modified the recommended routines to accommodate? In particular you talk about fewer training days being effective. This matches with my own experience that most lifting routines are optimized for much younger people and need major modification to be effective for us older guys. Recovery time just goes through the roof. ( because at 60+ I could be your dad)
@williejdyson 60+? Oh man, that's great. Don't know if i am more impressed of your lifting or using reddit with your age! I sometimes feel like a dinosaur while browsing here (in reddit).
Unfortunately i can't really say something about changes while aging. I did a lot of - sorry - fuckarounditis before what means giant sets without any breaks or skipping instead of resting. That was terrible and there were no (cutting-) efforts (also i did not track my cals). Fortunately now i learnt that 3d/week are enough to start metabolism and to cut. BTW i became stronger than ever and i hope that i can go on lifting the next 20+ years like you. Don't know how it is with bulking. May be i am too old for this but maybe you can write something about it.
@rylez98 I'm thinking about doing some writing on it. That's one of the reasons I'm asking, I need more data points. A little fyi,
I didn't lift 20+ years (and cumulative damage kind of scares me). I did 35 years flying a desk. I put on weight slowly and steadily and got the whole "western syndrom" of diseases. Mostly high blood pressure and it's friends, managed to avoid the blood sugar issues that a lot of people get. I just started regular exercise about 2 years ago.
I didn't start with leangains. I dropped about 65 lbs (american, sorry easiest for me) with diet and light exercise. That got me back down to about 165 lbs. Then I kind of bulked back up to about 175-180. But I suffered losing that weight and had no intention of putting that fat back on, so I've tried to lean bulk or do body recomposition so as to stay lean. I wouldn't mind another 15-20 lbs so long as I can maintain or improve my body fat %.
As you say, strongest I've ever been and feel just fantastic. I'm like those guys that quit smoking and can't stop talking about it. (I try to fight this)
My doctor's advice was to adopt a strict priority DFYU. (Don't fuck yourself up). Injuries can sideline you for months and months at this point. So I avoid heavy full body lifts in contradiction to most advice. I go heavy with circuit style machines and dumbbells. I'm currently into some body weight exercises like pullups, dips, upside down crunches. I couldn't do 1 of any of these at the beginning of the year, now I do 5 sets. Admittedly, some of the sets are only 2 reps, but you build.
My biggest problem has been recovery. Total recovery for any major muscle seems to be about a week. I try to space things out, but there is a lot of overlap of muscle groups. I'll be doing dips, and doing fine and then the triceps start shouting that I'd had them out for a ride just a few days ago with some dumbbell lift. Likewise the conventional 60-90 seconds between sets is rubbish. More like 3-5 minutes before I'm any good for another set. I try to avoid wasting time by doing back-to-back sets.
My routine has loads of room for improvement. I'm looking for studies or even just anecdotes for people trying to do serious body recomp over the age of 50-60. (I get frustrated by magazines like men's health who will have a great article and then end with a disclaimer: "older readers over 40 may have to modify this". HOW?) I have huge respect for people who have been in shape their whole lives, but that's a different world than the one I live in.
@williejdyson Great! We have a lot in common. I train with a +50 friend who has been in shape almost his whole live and is now complaining all the time ("When i was 20..."). This ios a big advantage for people who started late and there should be more informations than "older readers over 40 may have to modify this".
So I am glad that there is at least this sub r/fitness30plus.
My 2 cents: Like i wrote above I can tell you that i did a lot of "fuckarounditis" (like Martin would say). Short or no breaks, skipping instead taking a break and so on. I think the easy weights improved me but the big step was - beside the calories-tracking - to get more intensive (higher weights / lower reps). Then i need a 3 minutes break.
Do you want to know more?
