Looking for some recommendations for a program. About me: I’m 53 years old, 6 feet tall, 185 pounds. Chest is 42, waist 34. I’ve been training for alot of years but the more I read lately about training, the more confused I get about which program is “best” for my age and my goals.
I used to do full body routines mostly in rep ranges of 8-12 but then had a two year layoff due to degenerative disc disease, physical therapy, and eventually a two-level cervical fusion. It’s been almost two years since the surgery and I’ve been back to lifting for the past year and a half but just can’t seem to settle on a program that I like. I’m medically cleared so health is not an issue.
My goals are general health, minimizing body fat, increasing lean mass, and just feeling good. Suggestions are welcome and thank you in advance.
I think a full body 3 day split works. You can find some Waterbury programs here. Some of the rep ranges are different in the 10x3 range. I think it keeps you in shape IF your diet is in order. It won’t overtax you like some programs will.
[quote]TKDWarrior wrote:
Looking for some recommendations for a program. About me: I’m 53 years old, 6 feet tall, 185 pounds. Chest is 42, waist 34. I’ve been training for alot of years but the more I read lately about training, the more confused I get about which program is “best” for my age and my goals.
I used to do full body routines mostly in rep ranges of 8-12 but then had a two year layoff due to degenerative disc disease, physical therapy, and eventually a two-level cervical fusion. It’s been almost two years since the surgery and I’ve been back to lifting for the past year and a half but just can’t seem to settle on a program that I like. I’m medically cleared so health is not an issue.
My goals are general health, minimizing body fat, increasing lean mass, and just feeling good. Suggestions are welcome and thank you in advance. [/quote]
Try LRB 365 by Paul Carter. I just ran it for a year and feel good, made gains, improved overall fitness. But regardless of what you choose remember that programs aren’t typically written for the plus 50 crowd so you need to pay attention to volume and intensity and don’t be afraid to tweak the program with more rest and recovery…just my 02
In terms of general health and promoting lean mass, the best workout program is the one you enjoy enough to pursue with energy and enthusiasm. For many of the O35 lifters on TN, that amounts to a PL-type routine. For me, it’s a bodypart-split with high reps and volume. It’s an issue more of personal preference than anything else.
No matter what lifting routine you pursue, your bodyfat level will be a function of your diet.
The only advice I can offer is no matter what workout routine you plan to do, change it up every 6-8 weeks. Your body adapts quickly and change keeps you moving forward in both progress and motivation.
Good luck to you!
Vary loads week to week, like Prilipen, Wendler, everybodyelse. Found that I can stick with a routine like that forever without swapping out movements. Yes, powerlifting-like workouts.
Unless your liver and kidneys are shot, eat tons of protein.
I react to an expanding waistline by buying new pants.
[quote]EyeDentist wrote:
In terms of general health and promoting lean mass, the best workout program is the one you enjoy enough to pursue with energy and enthusiasm. [/quote]
Agreed. I suggest Wendler’s 5/3/1 version 3 (the newest one). Buy it for $29.95. There’s at least a hundred different templates in there to keep you going.
I am 56 with a 28 waist. Depending on time available i think a 4 days, upper/lower might suit you.
Real foods keeps the waist line small(not processed).
Chad Waterbury has such a program like 2 heavy sessions plus 2 sessions more size oriented(i forget the name) you can search here with the search thing or in the database.
Save your joints, be smart.
You might alternate 4 weeks weights, 2 weeks bodyweight. Or keep on switching exercises focussing on the majors.
You might do 5 exercises x 3 sets a few weeks then a few weeks of 3 exercices x 5 sets. Play with tempo and do not focus on doing a program.
Do your program wich is inspired from a proven 1.
Well this is what works for me.
All the best!
Right now what I’m using is a Waterbury type workout that seems to fit in well with my schedule, as well as my preference for full body workouts as opposed to splits.
Personally, I like to train the entire body during a workout. It’s a bit on the high volume side which I can tolerate right now as my strength levels are getting to where they were prior to pinching the nerve in my neck and having the cervical fusion. Rather than doing the classic Total Body Training template of say doing sets of 5 one day, sets of 8 another, and sets of 15 on the third day, I find that if I mix them up each workout, it seems to be less taxing on my CNS and allows me some recover time. I’m starting to plateau a bit on some lifts, so I’m going to have to make some changes pretty soon. I’ve been on this type of program for about 6 weeks now and have to make some adjustments probably in the next week.
It seems like alot of folks on here go with more of a Wendler (strength) program as opposed to bodybuilding type workouts. Just curious why it seems so many folks prefer one over the other? Thanks again for the feedback…great forum.
The type of training programs folks choose depends on their objectives. Many of the people here train for powerlifting competitions or train for strength gains. Wendlers program is suited for that. I probably wouldn’t use 531 if bodybuilding was my objective.
[quote]TKDWarrior wrote:
It seems like alot of folks on here go with more of a Wendler (strength) program as opposed to bodybuilding type workouts. Just curious why it seems so many folks prefer one over the other? Thanks again for the feedback…great forum.[/quote]
As someone who does BBing-type workouts only, I have the same impression as you concerning the O35 crowd here on TN. As for why I prefer BBing-type workouts, it’s simply because my interests/goals concern improving my physique moreso than increasing my strength.
[quote]TKDWarrior wrote:
It seems like alot of folks on here go with more of a Wendler (strength) program as opposed to bodybuilding type workouts. Just curious why it seems so many folks prefer one over the other? Thanks again for the feedback…great forum.[/quote]
As someone who does BBing-type workouts only, I have the same impression as you concerning the O35 crowd here on TN. As for why I prefer BBing-type workouts, it’s simply because my interests/goals concern improving my physique moreso than increasing my strength.[/quote]
I like moving a lot of weight all at once; I think its fun and a challenge. For me, its that simple really. When I add reps its because I think I need to, but I don’t enjoy reps that much.
find a workout that you like, Waterbury has a book, I think that it is called muscle revolution, He has quite a few different types of workouts in there. Keep progressing with the weight lifted. I find when I plateau with the weight lifted, then I lower the weight by five pounds but up the reps for a few weeks. Then revert back to increasing the weight for the original rep amount.
Another idea is to buy some plate mates. They are little magnets I low weight(1/2 lbs, 1/4 lbs) and I use those to increase your weight lifted little by little.
From what I read here, I can’t see any harm in varying the styles of training.
Spend some time doing PL / OL stuff. Change when YOU want to, and focus on BB-ing programs, and maybe some body weight and conditioning circuits.
I know that when I sorta burn out on going to the gym, I’ll train at home with just a dips station, 100yd and 40yd sprints, tractor tire and sledges.
Variety is the spice of life, as they say.
My goal is to keep all this as fun and interesting as possible, all the while making it a learning, growing experience. Some cats here have much more laser focused goals, but I just want to continue enjoying training altogether.
After plateuing and “burning out” on the program I was doing for six weeks, I started doing some low rep (5 rep) training to boost my strength and to try something different. It’s been a bit of an uphill climb getting the strength back from the damage done to my brachial plexus nerve branch from the pinched nerve in my neck (this month is two years since my two-level Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion) so a strength program seems to be in order. In fact, honestly, it feels like just what the doctor ordered. My goal is to get to squatting, benching and deadlifting my bodyweight (185 pounds) for 5 good reps and it actually looks do-able. I was able to deadlift 5 reps at 175 last night, Squat 6 reps at 165, and Bench 6 reps at 155.
I know that is peanuts compared to some of the lifts I see on here, but two years ago prior to surgery because of the pinched nerve and associated weakness that came with it, I struggled to even dumbbell bench press 35 pounds. Along with the weakness came atrophy in the right pec, right tricep, and right shoulder girdle. Recovery has been slow but for me it’s all about progress and not perfection at this point. I’ll stick to this as long as I continue making progress…I just started with low reps this past Saturday. Thank you all for the suggestions and support.