50 years old, getting back into lifting after 30 year hiatus

[cosimnot]

@followernotfan

I was always the guy that people called to carry big heavy sh*t.

This is literally Dan John in a nutshell. I think you'll enjoy him and may even want to submit questions to his podcast.

[The Concept2 Model D rower is 8 ft long btw but it splits into two 4 ft pieces for storage. FWIW I have their BikeErg but someday will also get the rower.]

 

[bethere]

@followernotfan 50+ here. Trainer all my adult life. Strength is your friend. Long cardio and high volume is the enemy. At our age we need to do everything we can to promote muscle gain (with certain exceptions). Muscle gain improves hormone production. It also decreases inflammation when done right.

Some rules:

1. get in and out of the gym quick. Testosterone levels begin to fall after 20 min of exertion. No bueno for you and I.
2. Lower reps (5-8) and fewer sets (4-6 per mvmt pattern) are better. High reps and sets promote inflammation. Our old bodies SUCK at managing inflammation. Avoid inflammation like it's the plague.
3. Take lots of rest. More than you think. Every workout should feel manageable. Two days of rest between muscle actions used to be the standard. That was 20 yrs ago. Take more now. Gone are the days when we could beat the holy shit out of ourselves and hope God will sort it out.
4. Cardio works best in smaller bouts at lower intensity. 60 percent is the new 90 percent. 15-20 mins/ couple times per week (on top of the weights)will do you.

This is all true for general healt, fitness and strength gain. If you want to be a cyclist, ignore everything I just wrote. IMO at 6'9 335 (50+) you have no biz cycling for distance, haha. But do what makes you happy bud.

Best!

 

[followernotfan]

@bethere Yeah. Everything is done to avoid excessive soreness. I can tweak the sets. My recovery is pretty good at the moment. I think I'm doing about 70% of 1RM.

The bike riding is really to get endurance in the largest muscle group. I'm goal driven hence the desire to do longer rides. I'm tacking on a couple mikes each week. I could stand doing weekly 15 mile rides, on a regular basis. I want to be able to go to other rides and not worry about running out of gas during the ride. My training partner on the rides is my BIL. He rode cross country the last 2 years during the summer. He's 6'1 ish 180. He does daily 15 mile rides. I just want to be able to keep up with him, not drag him down. I'm trying to be realistic I don't expect to become a bike racer.

 

[ridgerunner0]

@followernotfan You really need to do a lot more cardio before lifting 3x/week if you are trying to help your heart. Start with cardio. Stick with the hour of hard and add 2x30 minutes of easy to moderate cardio.

 

[followernotfan]

@ridgerunner0 Hmm. Good point. Maybe I can modify my warmup to be 15 min bike and 15 min stationary rower.

 

[ridgerunner0]

@followernotfan Not a bad idea. Don't underestimate the power of low intensity cardio. Walking on a treadmill while watching tv or going for a walk after dinner or walking while waiting at a kids' event or walking at lunch are great ways to add low cardio to your day.

 

[followernotfan]

@ridgerunner0 I already do mile loops 30-45 min around the neighborhood doing daily dog walking. That happens sun,rain, snow or whatever. Dogs need their biobreaks/daily walks regardless of how I may feel. I didn't include that above, and have now editted it to correct that.

 

[ridgerunner0]

@followernotfan That's great to hear.

 

[robelwaka]

@ridgerunner0 Strength training is good for the heart and has other benefits that can't be replicated with cardio. OP, don't wait to do strength training. Some cardio as a warm up is fine before a workout, but doing hard cardio before lifting is a bad idea.

 

[southronlady]

@followernotfan Awesome, I'm in the same boat and getting back in the gym has really changed my life. I work out at the local rec centre in my community, it's all I need.

You're working your arms and legs, but not your core. That's really important to prevent injuries and back pain. Wood chops, Romanian dead lifts, kettlebell swings, bicycle crunches, etc. You tube has lots of tutorials.

You want to have more exercises than that as well. If you go through the same routine every time, the exercises start to lose effectiveness. I use a phone app called Strong to track my workouts. It's great for making sure your workouts are diversified.

The gym must have some benches and dumb bells, you should do more there. If they have a squat rack, even better. Machines are fine, but you get way more out of free weights. Again, Youtube is your friend.

 

[followernotfan]

@southronlady Yeah the big free weight rigs are hogged by the young kids (20 somethings). I don't have the time/patience to wait on them to open up. The machines are always free. I also started using the machines just so I could get a sense quickly what my 1 RM was, and work backwards from there.

I'll look into Strong. I'm just using One-note to track the weights/reps.

Good note on core. I'll look into those.

 

[southronlady]

@followernotfan I know, you just have wait for a slot to open up.

 

[followernotfan]

@southronlady Yup. I don't have unlimited time. I working against a schedule, hence the lack of patience on that gear at the moment.

Expect it might clear up as they go back to school in the fall.

 

[castiel]

@followernotfan My dude this sounds excellent, I am also lifting at our local Y, no shame at all it’s great imo.

I have been on again off again for 20 years with my fitness and I am gearing my goals towards adherence. Whatever gets me TO the gym is the tool I need. I get to feel accomplished because I showed up two my twice weekly session.

Right now I’m enjoying lifting heavy weights and getting a pump so I’m prioritizing that. May do a couple more mesocycles of hypertrophy or strength but right there in my back pocket is cardio, swimming, basketball…

As someone who spent time away, I’d just suggest thinking about if you need this step. Consistency is the building block every other tool relies on for effectiveness. I have found I need it, and I enjoy myself more with this mindset.

Good luck!!

 

[followernotfan]

@castiel Yep. I'm trying to make sure I remain consistent and not miss any sessions.