What Programs do Others over 70 Follow

[mbai22]

I'm interested in hearing what sort of program other older folks (I'm 78) are doing for weight training. I'd never done anything with weights and started going to the gym 2 years ago. My trainer has me doing 2 or 3 working sets of 10 reps and I have no interest in finding out how much weight I can lift and in the spirit of "don't break the old guy" we've stuck with 10 reps. I lift 3x/week (legs, back/biceps, and shoulders/triceps/chest). Typical leg workout is 2 sets of squats at 210 (working toward 225), 3 sets of modified incline press (low feet) at 320 lbs, 3 sets of barbell squats at 115 lbs, 3 sets for calves, 3 sets single leg extensions, and 3 sets/16 reps of walking lunges with 45 lb. dumbbells.

I've worked through a mobility issue with my left shoulder, probably typical for an old folk. When I started I couldn't bench the bar through a full range of motion and couldn't get a full grip for a low back squat. With all the accessory exercises my shoulders have gotten much stronger and the left almost trouble free: 2 sets bench at 135 lbs, my weakest exercise, but great progress.

I've been almost injury free and have learned a tremendous amount about my body as I've learned how to do the exercises correctly and rejected a few accessory exercises that didn't work well for me (e.g., preacher curls).

Best thing I did was to start with a trainer 1/week and progress through a series of exercises as we figured out what I could do. I have a love/hate relationship with some exercises (deadlift and lunges come to mind), but I love them when it's over.

 

[justaperson1]

@mbai22 You started two years ago and bench 135lbs?! That’s very impressive. For how many reps? Fwiw, I don’t think you need an “older folks” program. Your numbers beat mine and I’m 20 years younger.

For any exercise, there’s a substitute that will work the same muscle groups. A deadlift is efficient in the sense that it works the entire posterior chain. If you don’t like it, ask your trainer for some other exercise or combination of exercises that work the same muscle groups. Preacher curls really annoy my elbow. I find hammer curls good enough.

 

[mbai22]

@justaperson1 I do barbell rows and cable rows to complement the DL.

All of the big three (bench, DL, squat) are 2 sets of 10 reps each; accessories are 3sets with the 3rd set usually being to failure. My cardio has always been good, ran marathons past age of 40, so the 10 reps for me minimizes injury and still lets me get stronger. I actually like the DL, but as with the squat as soon as I get relatively comfortable managing the weight that next even 5 lb. jump feels really heavy. FWIW I don't use straps or belt to DL.

I probably have good genetics but there is no reason an older man or woman can't find a trainer that can help them get stronger within their capabilities. When I started doing inclined the inclined fly I had to warm up with no weight just to see how my shoulder felt. I now have full range of motion and using 35 lb. dumbbells for my fly; it's a great exercise no matter the weight.

 

[justaperson1]

@mbai22 10 reps is very impressive for those weights on those lifts. Truly impressive. Double progression has worked for me when it comes to adding weight. If I added, say 10lbs, to my deadlift, I would reduce the reps by 2. I would then work up to the base number of reps (10 in your case).

 

[jamesstewart89]

@mbai22 Geeze old man. I think some of those weights could break a few young guys.

You're unique, and probably at the elite top end of weight training for your age. Impressive. Very impressive.

 

[avnk89]

@mbai22 210 squats and 135 bench at 78 years is unbelievably Strong..keep pushing yourself

 

[mbai22]

@avnk89 Thanks. I'll get to 225 DL and squat, but bench my body weight (185) for reps is going to be a challenge.

 

[velveteyes79]

@mbai22 Wow you are making progress! I say hang on to that trainer and keep using them. They're clearly leading you right, gaining strength and no injuries at almost 80? That is phenomenal.

 

[reeses]

@mbai22 How did you fix your issues with your left shoulder? That's a problem I'm currently dealing with.

It sounds like you're doing great. Especially for your age, you're probably easily in the top 0.1% of strength for a 78 year old.

 

[mbai22]

@reeses Shoulder fix was really just doing what I could do with light weights. For example I probably started doing inclined fly with 10-15 lbs., warming up with nothing in my hands. I do a few shoulder exercises with bands and working a PVC pipe behind my neck helped with getting the bar back there for squats. The gym I go to has a weight-assisted machine for dips so I started off with a lot of "assist"; I'll never be able to do body weight dips with my shoulder. It helps that the gym is very friendly; no selfies, no videos, just people at all levels working out; 3 squat racks, two benches for press, several benches for dumbbell work, etc.

 

[reeses]

@mbai22 Thanks for the tips.

 

[minobimaaduziwin2024]

@reeses https://www.reddit.com/r/FitnessOver50/s/1h7YLms1eT

Happy cake day

 

[minobimaaduziwin2024]

@mbai22 I also have found that accessory muscles and stabilizers will take over for a defect, to a certain extent.

I have a torn rotator cuff and a torn bicep tendon in my right arm due to a skiing accident that happened 40 years ago.

In fact, my right deltoid is a lot bigger than my left deltoid because of the torn rotator cuff. However my left bicep is twice as big as my right bicep because of the full tear in the bicep tendon on the right.

I just maintain body awareness and listen to my body. Don’t exceed the limits but you can push them a bit.

 

[mush]

@mbai22 you are killing it!

 

[annamarie6991]

@mush

you are killing it!

killing is wrong mmkay?

 

[minobimaaduziwin2024]

@annamarie6991 Bad bot

 

[denchristian]

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[minobimaaduziwin2024]

@mbai22 Impressive work, especially the Bench Press. I have a few torn ligaments in my right shoulder and arm so I’m lagging there.

I’m over 75 and have been working out for the past year. I took a two-year break during the pandemic and did not do any resistance training, I was just walking 3-5 miles a day. During the pandemic shut down, I lost most of my gains from the prior few years of working out in the gym. It took me six months to regain three years of pre-pandemic progress after a two year pandemic layoff.

I resumed my workouts in the gym in May 2023, and within the past 9 months gradually made gains up to the level you have documented here.

I started using the HEVY app to track my workouts and my progress in January. It gives me awards every time I set a PR.

Anybody here on HEVY? Want to add friends? Let’s do it!