Looking for Direction In Training

I am 45 years old 6 foot tall and 214 lbs. I have been training for 20 plus years started out powerlifting and then shifting more towards bodybuilding. I have recently incorporated cardio into my training and lost 10 lbs. Intensity has never been an issue as a matter of fact I typically run every training partner I have ever had off, they just can’t hang those weanies.

I am now looking for some direction at 45 my lifting has taken it’s toll on my joints etc. not that I am whinning just need to train smarter. Well anyway I am looking to work towards a bodybuilders physique abs showing complete physical fit package.

I know I can’t be the only guy out there like this and there has got to be somebody that has done this kind of transformation. If so lend me some advise, in trainig, diet etc. I have been big and smooth now I want lean and chisled and big too I want it all lol. Anyway any assistance would be appreciated.

I am soon to be 51. Started back into bodybuilding last year, about this time. I consume a lot of good Omega 3s from fish oils and some flax seed. Used glucosamine and chondroitin which helped, but I stopped taking it and switched to cissus, which has helped a great deal.

The only time my joints flare up is when I take some anti-estrogen supplements and I notice it starting again.

I’m in the same boat but I going the opposite route, I’m doing Rosstraining and Crossfit type workouts. I was very hesitant for a long time but now that I took the plung my lifting and conditioning has never been more rewarding, interesting, and easy on my body.

cardoc5,
I was in about the same boat but don’t know if I can offer any meaningful assistance. After a couple of significant knee injuries, hard living, etc., I was overweight and soft. I wasn’t working out as much as I should have. I started lifting at 16 and never stopped for more than a couple of weeks at a time.

In any event, when I was 39 I concentrated on getting my diet right and doing shitloads of cardio on my Versaclimber. I burned off lots of weight, including muscle. I have spent the last 3 years, or so, hitting the weights harder. I try to be smart about it and avoid overuse injuries. I am usually successful at walking the line between too much and enough.

I’ve decreased the cardio to no more than an hour or two a week (to keep the old ticker happy). The appearance of the abs came easy as the weight dropped off and has not changed as my weight has SLOWLY increased. I still follow the basic diet/nutrition advice you always see (e.g., 4-6 six somewhat equal meals a day).
Good luck

[quote]cardoc5 wrote:
I typically run every training partner I have ever had off, they just can’t hang those weanies.
[/quote]

You must hang some heavy weenies in your training routines!

Serious answer though: try the Anabolic Diet. It is a freakin miracle.

Advice: Start over from scratch. Assume you know nothing about nutrition and training.

I recommend “Nutrient Timing” by Ivy & Portman.
Look into protein cycling and carb cycling.

If you don’t know exactly how many calories a day you’re eating, how many grams of protein, carbs, and fats you’re eating a day and if you don’t have a plan for how much you should be eating, you’re slacking.

Read everything you can find on training.

If you aren’t changing how you train every few months, you’re not paying attention.

There is no “best way to train.”

Constantly try new things and keep records and know for sure what is working for you and what isn’t.

Be dedicated to change.

How many guys a day do you see outside of the gym that are big and lean? None. It takes extraordinary efforts to achieve extraordinary results. Get very serious about what you’re doing.

Everybody is different. You’ll have to experiment.

There’s a guy in my neighborhood with an award winning garden. I asked him what his secret was, expecting that he had some exotic methods or some secret bat shit fertilizer or something. Nope. “I plant everything I can find and keep the ones that grow well and toss the ones that don’t.”