Gains possible over 50?

[janeevans89]

Hi All, I'm 52 male, 6'4" (193cm), 265lbs (120kg). Here is a little backstory. I was stick thin until I was about 19 years old and started working out and eating a ton of food. By the time I was 24 I looked pretty good, My weight was around 215 (97kg) and I was benching 250lbs (114kg). not an elite lifter obviously but I looked good. In my 30's I really let myself go (marriage, twins, busy life) and my weight ballooned to 270's (122kg). In my 40's I got into bicycling and lost a lot of weight, even hitting 215 for a day , however with all that cycling (over 2,000 miles (3,200km) per year) I also lost a lot of upper body muscle. I stopped biking in my mid-40's and all the weight came back, I hit 279 in 2018 (I was 48yo). I started weight lifting again but aggravated an umbilical hernia I've had. This spring I had the hernia repaired and I've been hitting the weights consistently ever since. My weight is currently 265 and has been dropping slowly, however I'm not dieting. I'm trying to eat mostly good food but I'm not actively cutting (or bulking). I've been gaining strength but given my physical size my strength is not impressive. I'd say my 1RM bench is 230 (105kg) or so. Given my recent hernia surgery I've been lifting lower weight at higher reps (3-4 sets of 20 reps. I've been on the same program for about 9 weeks but I'm planning to move to heavier weights in the 12-15 rep range soon. HERE IS MY QUESTION: If you're over 50 and making gains, how often do you lift and how often do you hit each muscle group? I'm wondering if lifting 4 days a week is too much at 50. I try to hit each muscle group 2 times a week, legs once.

 

[ellaharris3]

@janeevans89 Your story is EXACTLY the same as mine, 6’3” skinny kid through 30, then fat and lazy, took up cycling, got down to a good weight around 200 from 250, stop cycling and got fat again aound 240 again, I’m 56 now….

18 months ago I’d had enough and quit drinking and eating bad, started a strict calorie deficit diet and cardio indoor cycling and 10k steps per day, went from 240 to 182 (110 kg to 82 kg) when I hit that weight about 3 months ago I backed off the cardio to 2 days a week and started lifting light weights at first on a 4 day split. I progressively add a little weight every 3-4 weeks as I’m in no rush and really don’t want to hurt myself.
So to answer your question yes, you can make gains in your 50’s! I’m honestly in the best shape now of my life, my arms and chest look better than ever (I didn’t lift a lot when young), my legs have always been fine and strong from cycling. I plan to live the rest of my days in the condition I’m in now, even if I have to slow down I’ll keep my weight below 90kg or 200 pounds, it just feels so much better.

Here is the split I try to work off of, some modifications here and there:

WORKOUT ROUTINE FOR MEN (4-day split)
Day 1:
Chest and Triceps
• Bench press 4×6
• Incline dumbbell press 4×8
• Cable crossover chest fly 4x10
• Dips 4x10
• Rope triceps extensions 4×10
• Overhead dumbbell triceps extension 4×10
Day 2:
Back and Biceps
• Pull-ups 4x Until failure
• Barbell bent-over row 4x8
• Lat pulldowns 4x10
• Shrugs 4x10
• Incline dumbbell curls 4x10
• Hammer curls 4x10 (each arm)
Day 3:
Legs
• Back squats 4×6
• Bulgarian split squats 4x10 (each leg)
• Leg extensions 4x10
• Hamstring curls 4x10
• Calf raises 4×12
Day 4:
Shoulders and Core
• Dumbbell Shoulder press 4x8
• Lateral raises 4x10
• Dumbbell front raises 4x10 (each arm)
• Cable face pulls 4x10
• Plank 2x1min
• Crunches 3x20

 

[ellaharris3]

Sorry I’m on mobile and the editing of this post is bad, I’ll try to fix later tonight

 

[janeevans89]

@ellaharris3 Interesting to see how heavy you are going. I was wondering how many people go with heavy weights with low reps (4-8) vs medium (8-15 reps) or light (over 15 reps). I've been going with lighter weight to avoid injuries and nurse a shoulder impingement (I some how got in my fucking sleep!) I don't know how to avoid how I roll around when I sleep but if I can kick this impingement I'll be going heavier.

 

[hasani]

@janeevans89 Nothing quite says over 50 than waking up to a new injury because you slept wrong @janeevans89 :-D

I've had a hip injury that I don't know where it came from, just woke up with it. I mentioned to a friend of mine who is pushing 60, asking him about supplements etc, he does a lot of ironman triathlons. I told him about my hip issue, he said yeah, just because you slept wrong on it. Let me tell you, get ready because it just gets worse.

 

[ellaharris3]

@janeevans89 Lol same again, I had a rotator cuff injury back in April/May so when I started working out I went light as possible with many reps. Like 4-6 kg bum bells and just the bar on bench press. Over 3 months I’m doing 14 kg dumbbells in August and 15kg plates on bench, so nothing heavy at all, in September I’ll go up 2 kg, then again in October etc. I’m in no hurry to gain fast, being fit and doing it safely for my age is most important! When I hurt my rotator I had to take two months off golf in some of the best golfing by weather before summer, I was bummed!

 

[steve12]

@janeevans89 There was a study that showed men over 60 that did strength training for 16 weeks gained 4 lbs of muscle so there's that evidence.

You need to decide if you want to be strong and fat or aesthetic first. You are doing reps in the hypertrophy range which is not optimal for strength.

If you want to go the strength route then try listening to Mark Rippitoe's Starting Strength on YouTube. He has videos addressing strength training for older lifters. His is a 5x5 program.

If you want to go the bodybuilder route then most will suggest cutting your weight while lifting first, then bulking.

 

[janeevans89]

@steve12 I should cut (at 265 I could stand to lose 50 pounds) but I find it very frustrating to cut and lift heavy. If I eat I can make strength gains and enjoy my workouts. When I cut my energy deficit shows up in the gym and I'm lucky if I can maintain my strength. All that being said I should power thru a cut of about 20 pounds and re-evaluate after that. I'm too fat right now.

 

[roberto1820]

@janeevans89

I find it very frustrating to cut and lift heavy

I'm honestly not sure this is even possible. The amount of protein needed to build muscle would land you well over the amount needed to maintain a caloric deficit. Have you considered going in phases, like three months cutting, three months bulking?

 

[janeevans89]

@roberto1820 I absolutely should be doing that. I need to face the fact that cutting is the next step in reaching my goals.

 

[roberto1820]

@janeevans89 There you go. I think you will find it gives you a nice change of mindset and brings your focus back a little sharper. At least that's what it did for me.

I bulked up over the winter (more than I intended... I put on 15 pounds, lol) and have been cutting again all summer. I didn't do any heavy lifting but I did a lot of calisthenics to exhaustion, i.e. pushups and pullups. I'm not lifting weights because I don't really want to get much bigger. I would like slightly bigger pecs and biceps, so I do curls with the dumbbells. But mostly I just want to be ripped, so I focus on cardio and diet.

I've gotten rid of that 15 and am currently about 210. Now that I am down to a lower bf% I can see that my work did indeed pay off over the winter. Not hugely, but then again I didn't lift hugely. IMO the cold weather bulk/warm weather shred pattern seems to make 110% perfect sense. It feels like the closest pattern to following the natural biorhythms of our body.

My plan is to head down to 200, which is a number I probably haven't seen in 30 years. I think once I hit that I should lose these damned saddlebags of fat around my middle and kidney regions that are apparently going to be the last to go!

 

[sharon123]

@janeevans89 I (51M) lift thee to five times a week and make gains. Legs and upper body same amount. Don't do too fast or risk an injury. Check out r/gym for good programs. Maybe 531 BBB is just right.

At our age doing any regular lifting is a great thing. If gains you want there are ways.

 

[janeevans89]

@sharon123

531 BBB

What does that mean?

 

[sharon123]

@janeevans89 It's a weightlifting program called 531 Boring But Big: https://www.jimwendler.com/blogs/jimwendler-com/101077382-boring-but-big

There are other programs out there. You can roll your own or do with a well-established program like 531BBB.

 

[janeevans89]

@sharon123 Yikes! If I'm understanding this program (I don't know what "5/3/1" is referring to yet) I am decimating one or two muscle large groups via compound lifts and calling it a day.

Day One

Press – 5/3/1

Press – 5 sets of 10 reps

Lat work – 5 sets of 10 reps

That sounds like it would be effective but it doesn't sound enjoyable.

The current program I'm on works with pairs of opposing muscles (curls+skullcrushers, bench+row, shoulders+lat pull-down, etc) and this is very entertaining for me. It allows me to rest one muscle group while work another. I'm really enjoying it.

 

[sharon123]

@janeevans89 Don't fix it if it ain't broke. Keep enjoying what you're doing. I've done the same as well.

 

[justaperson1]

@janeevans89 A variation of the 5/3/1 powerlifting program by Jim Wendler called ‘Boring But Big’. The program is available on the web. Also available on apps like Boostcamp.

 

[janeevans89]

@justaperson1

Boostcamp

Geez, I learn something everyday. I've never heard of Boostcamp but it sure looks interesting. I just downloaded it to my phone and will give a try.

 

[bfg33]

@janeevans89 I’m in my mid-60s and down 60 pounds from what I weighed at 55. Been in a regular gym routine for the past year and working on losing another 15-20 pounds for some challenging hiking next summer.

My strength routine is about 40 minutes, three times a week, moving quickly between exercises to build endurance.

 

[janeevans89]

@bfg33 Interesting about the pacing. I go on the slower side, but I work muscles in opposing pairs. As an example I'll do flat bench along with bent-over barbell rows, alternating every set. This allow the active muscles from the first group to recovery while I'm working the second group, but lets me get thru my workout fairly quickly.

What is your rep range? Has it changed as you age?