Over 50 year-old life-long basketball/tennis guy trying to gain weight: I’m 6’2", on August 4th weighed 170lbs., 34" waist, cholesterol under 200, normal BP.
Started at Gold’s Gym on August 4th:
Doing 5/5 routine on machines:
Bench Press sets at 150
Tricep pushdowns at 90
No shoulder work…rotator cuff probs.
Lat pulldowns at 120
Leg press only 130/ 25 reps
(previous hernia)
Leg extensions at 150
Yesterday, December 20th:
Bench press sets at 215
Triceps Pushdowns at 150
Lat Pulldowns at 150
Leg press the same…hernia
Leg Extensions at 220
I have gained about 9 lbs. only…at about 179-180lbs now…goal is at least 195 lbs. My waist is about 33" now…
I feel my progress has been good with the weight training…( 2-3 times per week whole body routine…very brief…45 minutes…I run out of energy). I can’t seem to gain weight…
I think you are doing great. You are lifting substantially heavier weights and your diet must be reasonable if your waist is down an inch and you have gained 9 pounds.
You have gained about 2 pounds per month of lean mass, after the age of 50. From what I have seen that is very good progress. I would not deviate too far from what you are doing, it seems to be working well. Keep it up and you will achieve your goal pretty quickly.
My only other comment is that your post concerns only the workout half of what you are doing. Your diet is as important as the workout in determining your body composition.
For a point of reference, I’m 53 and trying to put on some weight/muscle after losing a bunch of weight and fat over the last few years but I increased my calories too much in an effort to gain muscle and probably gained twice as much fat as muscle. I am much stronger than a few months ago, but the over-intake of calories shows on my waist. It looks like you have found a better balance than I have been able to so far.
Can you tell us what your diet looks like now and what, if anything, you changed since you started to work out?
On work day, I’m up by 6:15am, and have a shake w/ 2 scoops of whey in 1% milk, and possibly a banana or I’ll have a bowl of Cherios cereal.
Problem is, because of the nature of my job, it’s tough for me to eat again until about 11:30am-noon. I could bring a hand-blender to work…I need to do this.
For lunch I typically have a salad w/ tuna or cottage cheese or a meatball grinder. And if I had the blender, then I could have a shake too.
Supper…home at about 4:30-5pm…have a shake again, and have a full meal a bit later (around 6:30) when wife gets home.
At bedtime, I have another shake.
I have been reading Berardi’s articles,just ordered his book, and took that 5-day email free course…very interesting. Yikes, he is asking me to do squats, dead-lifts, along with bench press for a basic workout…don’t know if I have the mental/physical energy at my age to do those serious compound movements.(concerned because of 2 previous hernias as well…)
No spare tire around my waist…I don’t eat cookies, candy, or ice-cream now…
First off, it sounds like you have made some very good progress in strength, muscle mass, and fat reduction. Keep up the strong work.
I would say that your diet could use some work. You stated that you have been reading John Berardi’s articles and that’s a good start. I would be sure to check out his “Massive Eating” and “Tailor-Made Nutrition” articles. Based on what you wrote, it seems as if the majority of your meals comes through shakes. Shakes are good, especially for convenience, but I still feel that you need a large percentage of your diet to consist of whole foods; fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins sources such as chicken, fish, and lean beef.
I understand that work can at times throw a wrench in your diet schedule. I do my best to set aside some time once or twice a week to sort of cook in bulk so that I have enough prepared food to get me through the week.
At end of workout, just for the heck of it, went back to the bench press machine. (do my sets, 5/5, at 215 for last 2 weeks)… put on 222 lbs… did 3 reps…first time I did that weight…“yeah, baby…”
Not gaining F****** weight, though…
Brian
ps…waiting for first order of Biotest Surge to arrive… I will try it out… I currently use Optimum whey and EAS Phosphagen HP creatine…
