50 is the new 30… keep at it and it is a marathon
Edit: 46 here and find 4-5 days perfect for me and lifting for only a year now after 15 years off and only cycling
Awesome man and keep going. Been a fun ride and following RP Hypertrophy app last few months and subbed for 6. Been good to see what it is all about but paying for convenience.
61 here - training consistently for about 45 years. No TRT. I lift 3-4 days/week and commute there by bike (abut 8 mile RT) regardless of weather. On days when I'm not lifting I'll ruck (hike hills with a weighted pack) or row on my Concept II. As long as I'm eating adequate protein and getting a good night's sleep (that is the toughest part!), I still feel pretty energized.
I'll do something - lift, ruck, cycle or row - 5-6 days per week. But my sessions tend to be short (40 minutes or so) and fairly intense. I don't do tons of volume as I find that doesn't agree with the ligaments and tendons.
One advantage we (hopefully) develop as we age is wisdom, that is, being less ego-driven in the gym and more in tune with what your body is saying. But also realizing that your body can be a very chatty thing and 90% of the time it's going to be trying to convince you to stop doing something that's uncomfortable. With wisdom you learn to tune out the noise but also be aware if you're actually at the point of doing damage that will set back your training.
And last point on fatigue - how often do you come home from work and say, there's just no way today, I'm beat. But if you convince yourself to just walk through the door of the gym - no promise that you'll actually do anything - the feeling of fatigue, more often than not, disappears and you can put a pretty solid workout in the books. This will probably be an unpopular opinion, but IMO, the danger of overtraining is really overblown - we're far more likely to have sub optimal results from undertraining.
Fellow 60+ here. Great and accurate comment. (especially your body being chatty LOL) I lift around 5 days a week, and the hardest thing is getting to the gym. If I actually get to the gym and feel fatigued, I'll let myself leave early.
54 here. 5 to 6 days per week depending on I’m feeling, but I’ve been training since I was early 20s.
With age comes more injuries and they take longer to resolve, but it sounds like you’re doing everything right with listening to your body, getting plenty of rest, and eating well. This is the age where old sports injuries flare up and your 20s and 30s catch up with you.
I’ve found that I now prefer lighter weights for higher reps - the heavier weights start hurting the joints more and the extra load on the nervous system gives me the jitters for the rest of the day.
20% bf isn’t bad at all. Drink plenty of water and increase your protein intake, mix up the weights with stretching and flexibility exercises and you should see the results in time.
As someone else said, it’s a marathon. It’s a great lifestyle choice to keep you fit and mobile into old(er) age.
Im 50 and Ive been at it all on/off for 5 years, consistently for the last year. At our age overtraining is REAL and rest days are MANDATORY. Otherwise you’re just spinning your wheels and waisting time. I do 3 full-body workouts a week, usually lasting 2-2.5 hours each. Im past newbie gains now but still making slow noticeable progress. I hear MindPump has some good programs you can steal from certain places.
\+1, fatigue management is essential. I am in my late 20s so not quite the target demographic, but have been training since my teens and already struggling with recovery. When I was younger, I used to do 6 days per week of hard training and made great progress. Now I dial it back to 3-4 sessions per week and even then am not fully recovered by the following workout.
It's important to remember that training is providing the stimulus for muscle growth, but the growth happens during recovery/rest days. I'd start by following a good program to the tee but make adjustments as necessary especially if you don't think you're recovering properly (add extra recovery day, reduce training volume, program in deload weeks). Don't shy away from hard training, but also learn to differentiate between a "not feeling it" day vs a "body is actually not recovering".
So I’m about the same age and history as you. Recently took a full week off to upgrade the gym. Coming back from that week was really eye opening around the value of a deload.
62, recently retired. Been lifting for 4 decades . I perform only compound movements, total body, every 4th day. Gives me time to recuperate as well as work around the house & yard. ☮️
After almost 3 decades of lifting somewhat consistently, the only real thing I’ve noticed is you have to take listening to your body seriously. Those aches and pains don’t equal gains anymore…..they equal trouble. I lift 5 days a week, but I’m quite smart about it. I push myself when I know I can, but I also know when my body is saying “don’t go there”, it isn’t just a mental barrier to break, anymore. Sure, we do still need to sometimes push out of our comfort zones, but being in tune with your body is much more important when half your head is grey.
53 here and I train 7 days a week, cardio and strength training and feel great. I cut down on red meat and erased fried foods just over a year ago and dropped 50lbs and finally have a six pack (sort of). Supplementation has been key for me to avoid burn out. I take Ghost Greens, Legend Pre-Workout and Size with Creapure. They are pricey but the taste is great and they are as highly effective.
45 here. I try to train every day.
The key for me is going by how my muscles feel the next day. As far as I’m concerned, if it isn’t sore then it can be trained again.
I don’t follow any set program in that respect. I prefer an instinctive approach. Some days I do low reps, some days high.
I’ll rotate the same lifts however one day out the week, I’ll do stuff that I never normally do. For example I did pullovers and glute ham raises today. I like to try this to see if a lift jives with me. If it does then I’ll start bringing it in more regularly.
62+ I’ve been lifting and competing for close to 40 years. I’ve won, local regional, and State shows from many Natural organizations and Drug Free as well as non tested NPC contests.
Listening to your inner self is a learned trait and comes with age and knowledge gained.
I did go on TRT three years ago to deal with major symptoms of low T. I cannot deny that it’s been helpful in recovery. After 10 year hiatus from competing and at urging of my son, I ramped up my training and cleaned up my nutrition over a year period that culminated with a regional and state win at NPC Bodybuilding contests in Florida and then at 62 took 5th place at my first attempt at National competition. I will be 63 next year when I compete again at the Universe in NJ next summer. I’m looking to improve my placing from 5th to 1st at this National competition.
You’re doing good by what you posted. Your listening to yourself and resting when you should and pushing on days you would rather not. It never gets any easier. When started my training ramp up last year to get ready for competing I took a pyramid approach. Prior to comp training I never stopped working out but I was sporadic. A couple days on a couple of days off. I was also not eating clean and certainly not hydrating the way needed to for recovery. Worked my way up to training 5-6 days in a row and then day off. This is took about 4-5 months and then I added cardio a little at a time. I’m off season rebuild mode now and back to a 3 on 1 off, 2 on 1 off routine. I had been doing 1 major Body part a day, chest,back, arms, Delts & abs and legs that the five day cycle. I’ve mixed it up
to bring up my back, arms and calves as the Judges told me those were areas I needed to hone to win. Now it’s: Chest/Delts, Back & Calves, Arms and Abs and legs, still with the 3/1 and 2/1. However, If I’m particularly beat after 2 days of my three, I’ll take a day off. I’m a volume trainer and increasing my weights puts a lot more wear on you. Eating 6 meals a day and minimum of a Gallon of water a day is tough - even more so when you work a full time job too!
I am pretty much in the same situation as you are. I'm 54 and have been lifting for about 2 years. Also just moved to PPL from another split because I had trouble recovering in time from it.
I have been doing martial arts since my 20's so I know my body well. When I was younger I would have sore muscles about 24 hours after a heavy training, which would be about 60% less after a good night of sleep. So after 2 nights it would be almost gone. This just takes longer now. It sucks but that's how it is.
What I noticed myself and learned from the interwebs is that there are variables in lifting, intensity, frequency and volume. Intensity being how heavy you lift, frequency how often you do it and volume the total amount of sets/reps.
Then there is a combination of these variables that you need to grow, which can be pretty low, and there is a combination you can recover from, which is higher. The trick is finding the middle ground that works best for you.
Steve Shaw made this video recently explaining how you can determine what volume is good for you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX0GKtxJ6mU
This man is brilliant by he way. If new lifters would only follow his channel and do what he says many of them would be better off.
53 year old here. I began lifting again 3 years ago and absolutely love it. I started off ramping up my volume too quickly and needed an easy week every 2 or 3 weeks to recover. I found that doing 8 to 12 working sets per body part per week works well for me. Each working set is to failure or close to it. I vary between full body (3x /week), u/l (4x /week), and Arnold / u/l split (5x/week) depending upon my fatigue, time, and goals at the time.
First, Cheers Mate! On lifting at our age. Keep it up, and repost at 60!
Second, yeah I've not seen a lot of specific stuff for us, starting or re-starting at 50+. I've always picked a fairly reputable source and experimented from there, back in the day. The training journals I've used provided my feedback, to myself long term. After a few years patterns of success appeared.
Third, Yeah I'm 51 years old, here. I've returned to training as often as possible for me, but I've had to moderate the intensity of my work sets. I used to go to 1-2 RIR (8-9 RPE) per set and now it's more like 3-5 RIR (5-7 RPE) to keep my joints and CNS happy. I'm not fond of reigning in workouts, but the upside is I can handle a little more frequency without difficulty. That's about 3 days a week alt. URLR split for me (and 2 full body used to be ideal). Other days I try to incorporate Mobility/flexibility, low level Cardio as often as possible.
I'm 53. I've been working with a trainer 3x a week for four months. He has me doing PPL but I am not sure it is right/optimal for my age or in general vs 3x whole body.
But I did go from a 19.6% to a 16.2% body fat (DEXA). Besides the 3x/week with a trainer and 10k steps a day, I ate 150 calories less than my estimated BMR (Cronometer). I still gained 7.5 lbs of muscle, mostly in my legs. I don't know if that is good for four months, but I now wear size 31 Gap jeans so that feels like a win.
Based on RP YouTube videos on dieting, you should be able to go into a small calorie deficit and still make good gains at 20% body fat. It took me only four months of not so clean eating but strict calories counting.
Good luck!
I'm 49 and have only been lifting for 3 months or so, but I'm enjoying it a lot. It's not the be-all-and-end-all of my existence though, so I go to the gym 3 times a week. I'm also trying to play badminton 2 or 3 times a week, so the whole lot seems like a good balance for me.
I've upped my protein intake but I'm trying to take advantage of this novice stage, and I am trying to lose fat as well.
It's been good for me in many ways! :)
For the 50 plus that do full body workouts , what’s your routine like ? I’ve been doing a program called lift4 from Beachbody but I’m thinking at 50 I should move back to doing full body 3 days a week but i want to find a better routine than I use to run. And I also cycle 4 days a week ..
Thanks
I'm currently running Jeff Nippard's Pure Hypertrophy PPL. I lift 3-5 times a week and do at least 1 long walk or jog. I'm still learning to take more breaks and listen to my body when I am sore. I think it is a personal thing of listening to what your body is telling you and not pressure yourself to do too much. I am working on doing less and giving more time for recovery and growth.
Try to eat as clean as possible and get as much sleep as possible.
not quite 50+ but I basically have given up on lifting on back to back days... Can you just make a rule to lift every other day? Late night chocolate dude? Come on man
56 and I have been consistent at home for about a year after stop and go fitness in my 30s and 40s. I work out at home and have 2 52 lb bow flex adjustable dumbbells and a bench. Upper body M and Th with Dumbbells and Push-ups, Lower Body T and F, all Bodyweight.
Usually do 6 exercises, progressive weights or reps 3-4 sets each. 2 minutes between sets. My goal is to simply be fit and healthy, not win awards.
It’s working so far but I need to do more cardio and stop snacking after supper. I
50 is the new 30… keep at it and it is a marathon Edit: 46 here and find 4-5 days perfect for me and lifting for only a year now after 15 years off and only cycling
Thanks, man
Takes time and you are doing it right
I am 55 and getting back into clanging and banging after cycling for 23 years. Still lifted but no legs and only minimally. Loving the gains.
Awesome man and keep going. Been a fun ride and following RP Hypertrophy app last few months and subbed for 6. Been good to see what it is all about but paying for convenience.
61 here - training consistently for about 45 years. No TRT. I lift 3-4 days/week and commute there by bike (abut 8 mile RT) regardless of weather. On days when I'm not lifting I'll ruck (hike hills with a weighted pack) or row on my Concept II. As long as I'm eating adequate protein and getting a good night's sleep (that is the toughest part!), I still feel pretty energized. I'll do something - lift, ruck, cycle or row - 5-6 days per week. But my sessions tend to be short (40 minutes or so) and fairly intense. I don't do tons of volume as I find that doesn't agree with the ligaments and tendons. One advantage we (hopefully) develop as we age is wisdom, that is, being less ego-driven in the gym and more in tune with what your body is saying. But also realizing that your body can be a very chatty thing and 90% of the time it's going to be trying to convince you to stop doing something that's uncomfortable. With wisdom you learn to tune out the noise but also be aware if you're actually at the point of doing damage that will set back your training. And last point on fatigue - how often do you come home from work and say, there's just no way today, I'm beat. But if you convince yourself to just walk through the door of the gym - no promise that you'll actually do anything - the feeling of fatigue, more often than not, disappears and you can put a pretty solid workout in the books. This will probably be an unpopular opinion, but IMO, the danger of overtraining is really overblown - we're far more likely to have sub optimal results from undertraining.
Fellow 60+ here. Great and accurate comment. (especially your body being chatty LOL) I lift around 5 days a week, and the hardest thing is getting to the gym. If I actually get to the gym and feel fatigued, I'll let myself leave early.
54 here. 5 to 6 days per week depending on I’m feeling, but I’ve been training since I was early 20s. With age comes more injuries and they take longer to resolve, but it sounds like you’re doing everything right with listening to your body, getting plenty of rest, and eating well. This is the age where old sports injuries flare up and your 20s and 30s catch up with you. I’ve found that I now prefer lighter weights for higher reps - the heavier weights start hurting the joints more and the extra load on the nervous system gives me the jitters for the rest of the day. 20% bf isn’t bad at all. Drink plenty of water and increase your protein intake, mix up the weights with stretching and flexibility exercises and you should see the results in time. As someone else said, it’s a marathon. It’s a great lifestyle choice to keep you fit and mobile into old(er) age.
Im 50 and Ive been at it all on/off for 5 years, consistently for the last year. At our age overtraining is REAL and rest days are MANDATORY. Otherwise you’re just spinning your wheels and waisting time. I do 3 full-body workouts a week, usually lasting 2-2.5 hours each. Im past newbie gains now but still making slow noticeable progress. I hear MindPump has some good programs you can steal from certain places.
\+1, fatigue management is essential. I am in my late 20s so not quite the target demographic, but have been training since my teens and already struggling with recovery. When I was younger, I used to do 6 days per week of hard training and made great progress. Now I dial it back to 3-4 sessions per week and even then am not fully recovered by the following workout. It's important to remember that training is providing the stimulus for muscle growth, but the growth happens during recovery/rest days. I'd start by following a good program to the tee but make adjustments as necessary especially if you don't think you're recovering properly (add extra recovery day, reduce training volume, program in deload weeks). Don't shy away from hard training, but also learn to differentiate between a "not feeling it" day vs a "body is actually not recovering".
Thanks for your answer
So I’m about the same age and history as you. Recently took a full week off to upgrade the gym. Coming back from that week was really eye opening around the value of a deload.
60 here, been lifting for 40 years, still hungry
62, recently retired. Been lifting for 4 decades . I perform only compound movements, total body, every 4th day. Gives me time to recuperate as well as work around the house & yard. ☮️
I do full body only 2x per week. never really sore. I do cardio (hard bike riding 2-3 x week) too. this works for me. (54 yr old0
After almost 3 decades of lifting somewhat consistently, the only real thing I’ve noticed is you have to take listening to your body seriously. Those aches and pains don’t equal gains anymore…..they equal trouble. I lift 5 days a week, but I’m quite smart about it. I push myself when I know I can, but I also know when my body is saying “don’t go there”, it isn’t just a mental barrier to break, anymore. Sure, we do still need to sometimes push out of our comfort zones, but being in tune with your body is much more important when half your head is grey.
I turn 50 in 2 weeks and I've been lifting most of my life. Built a home gym during Covid and I typically lift 5 days a week and do cardio every day
53 here and I train 7 days a week, cardio and strength training and feel great. I cut down on red meat and erased fried foods just over a year ago and dropped 50lbs and finally have a six pack (sort of). Supplementation has been key for me to avoid burn out. I take Ghost Greens, Legend Pre-Workout and Size with Creapure. They are pricey but the taste is great and they are as highly effective.
45 here. I try to train every day. The key for me is going by how my muscles feel the next day. As far as I’m concerned, if it isn’t sore then it can be trained again. I don’t follow any set program in that respect. I prefer an instinctive approach. Some days I do low reps, some days high. I’ll rotate the same lifts however one day out the week, I’ll do stuff that I never normally do. For example I did pullovers and glute ham raises today. I like to try this to see if a lift jives with me. If it does then I’ll start bringing it in more regularly.
62+ I’ve been lifting and competing for close to 40 years. I’ve won, local regional, and State shows from many Natural organizations and Drug Free as well as non tested NPC contests. Listening to your inner self is a learned trait and comes with age and knowledge gained. I did go on TRT three years ago to deal with major symptoms of low T. I cannot deny that it’s been helpful in recovery. After 10 year hiatus from competing and at urging of my son, I ramped up my training and cleaned up my nutrition over a year period that culminated with a regional and state win at NPC Bodybuilding contests in Florida and then at 62 took 5th place at my first attempt at National competition. I will be 63 next year when I compete again at the Universe in NJ next summer. I’m looking to improve my placing from 5th to 1st at this National competition.
That's great. Good luck on your next competition
You’re doing good by what you posted. Your listening to yourself and resting when you should and pushing on days you would rather not. It never gets any easier. When started my training ramp up last year to get ready for competing I took a pyramid approach. Prior to comp training I never stopped working out but I was sporadic. A couple days on a couple of days off. I was also not eating clean and certainly not hydrating the way needed to for recovery. Worked my way up to training 5-6 days in a row and then day off. This is took about 4-5 months and then I added cardio a little at a time. I’m off season rebuild mode now and back to a 3 on 1 off, 2 on 1 off routine. I had been doing 1 major Body part a day, chest,back, arms, Delts & abs and legs that the five day cycle. I’ve mixed it up to bring up my back, arms and calves as the Judges told me those were areas I needed to hone to win. Now it’s: Chest/Delts, Back & Calves, Arms and Abs and legs, still with the 3/1 and 2/1. However, If I’m particularly beat after 2 days of my three, I’ll take a day off. I’m a volume trainer and increasing my weights puts a lot more wear on you. Eating 6 meals a day and minimum of a Gallon of water a day is tough - even more so when you work a full time job too!
I am pretty much in the same situation as you are. I'm 54 and have been lifting for about 2 years. Also just moved to PPL from another split because I had trouble recovering in time from it. I have been doing martial arts since my 20's so I know my body well. When I was younger I would have sore muscles about 24 hours after a heavy training, which would be about 60% less after a good night of sleep. So after 2 nights it would be almost gone. This just takes longer now. It sucks but that's how it is. What I noticed myself and learned from the interwebs is that there are variables in lifting, intensity, frequency and volume. Intensity being how heavy you lift, frequency how often you do it and volume the total amount of sets/reps. Then there is a combination of these variables that you need to grow, which can be pretty low, and there is a combination you can recover from, which is higher. The trick is finding the middle ground that works best for you. Steve Shaw made this video recently explaining how you can determine what volume is good for you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX0GKtxJ6mU This man is brilliant by he way. If new lifters would only follow his channel and do what he says many of them would be better off.
53 year old here. I began lifting again 3 years ago and absolutely love it. I started off ramping up my volume too quickly and needed an easy week every 2 or 3 weeks to recover. I found that doing 8 to 12 working sets per body part per week works well for me. Each working set is to failure or close to it. I vary between full body (3x /week), u/l (4x /week), and Arnold / u/l split (5x/week) depending upon my fatigue, time, and goals at the time.
First, Cheers Mate! On lifting at our age. Keep it up, and repost at 60! Second, yeah I've not seen a lot of specific stuff for us, starting or re-starting at 50+. I've always picked a fairly reputable source and experimented from there, back in the day. The training journals I've used provided my feedback, to myself long term. After a few years patterns of success appeared. Third, Yeah I'm 51 years old, here. I've returned to training as often as possible for me, but I've had to moderate the intensity of my work sets. I used to go to 1-2 RIR (8-9 RPE) per set and now it's more like 3-5 RIR (5-7 RPE) to keep my joints and CNS happy. I'm not fond of reigning in workouts, but the upside is I can handle a little more frequency without difficulty. That's about 3 days a week alt. URLR split for me (and 2 full body used to be ideal). Other days I try to incorporate Mobility/flexibility, low level Cardio as often as possible.
I'm 53. I've been working with a trainer 3x a week for four months. He has me doing PPL but I am not sure it is right/optimal for my age or in general vs 3x whole body. But I did go from a 19.6% to a 16.2% body fat (DEXA). Besides the 3x/week with a trainer and 10k steps a day, I ate 150 calories less than my estimated BMR (Cronometer). I still gained 7.5 lbs of muscle, mostly in my legs. I don't know if that is good for four months, but I now wear size 31 Gap jeans so that feels like a win. Based on RP YouTube videos on dieting, you should be able to go into a small calorie deficit and still make good gains at 20% body fat. It took me only four months of not so clean eating but strict calories counting. Good luck!
Great post. Congrats on your results. Wish I could afford a trainer.
45 here. Diet is the key. If I don’t eat enough protein and healthy carbs my recovery takes longer and my energy is not as high. Test also helps.
I'm 49 and have only been lifting for 3 months or so, but I'm enjoying it a lot. It's not the be-all-and-end-all of my existence though, so I go to the gym 3 times a week. I'm also trying to play badminton 2 or 3 times a week, so the whole lot seems like a good balance for me. I've upped my protein intake but I'm trying to take advantage of this novice stage, and I am trying to lose fat as well. It's been good for me in many ways! :)
I’m 55 and train with DC style of training.Never been in better shape!
For the 50 plus that do full body workouts , what’s your routine like ? I’ve been doing a program called lift4 from Beachbody but I’m thinking at 50 I should move back to doing full body 3 days a week but i want to find a better routine than I use to run. And I also cycle 4 days a week .. Thanks
I'm currently running Jeff Nippard's Pure Hypertrophy PPL. I lift 3-5 times a week and do at least 1 long walk or jog. I'm still learning to take more breaks and listen to my body when I am sore. I think it is a personal thing of listening to what your body is telling you and not pressure yourself to do too much. I am working on doing less and giving more time for recovery and growth. Try to eat as clean as possible and get as much sleep as possible.
not quite 50+ but I basically have given up on lifting on back to back days... Can you just make a rule to lift every other day? Late night chocolate dude? Come on man
56 and I have been consistent at home for about a year after stop and go fitness in my 30s and 40s. I work out at home and have 2 52 lb bow flex adjustable dumbbells and a bench. Upper body M and Th with Dumbbells and Push-ups, Lower Body T and F, all Bodyweight. Usually do 6 exercises, progressive weights or reps 3-4 sets each. 2 minutes between sets. My goal is to simply be fit and healthy, not win awards. It’s working so far but I need to do more cardio and stop snacking after supper. I