Question: The question this week wasn't a single specific question, but rather a general request for articles on fitness in our 50's. The answer below was something I had been working on for a blog post, but it seemed appropriate so I'm redirecting it to the Weekly Mailbag.
Answer: As we get older, it becomes more difficult to find the sweet spot between intensity and caution in our workouts. Injuries can derail you for weeks, months, or even years, so proper caution is critical. But without adequate intensity, you can lose strength and muscle mass.
Stressing your muscles for growth, while not over-stressing your body to cause injury is a challenge. I still screw it up sometimes, usually when I don’t follow my own advice. Just add it to the already long list of things that get harder with age. But with age also comes wisdom, hopefully!
So here are some of the things I have learned in my 30+ years in the gym:
Use Braces for Heavier Lifts –
I have weak wrists and I’m prone to tendonitis in my elbows. So I have wrist wraps and compression elbow braces for heavier lifts. I also use a Velcro lifting belt for my lower back.
But I don’t just put my protective gear on like armor and wear it for the whole workout. That would end up weakening my already weak points. I do as much as I can without the braces and then just bring them out for the heavier sets. It adds a little protection when I need it most and also gives me a little mental edge, because I feel a little safer with them on.
Figure out your weak areas and find some braces that help. Just use them as needed and not as a crutch.
You Don’t Have to Do Every Machine and Every Exercise –
Flat Barbell Bench Press may be the most performed lift of all time, but I haven’t done it in a quarter century. I decided I didn’t like the way it loads my shoulder joints, so I just said no more.
There are dozens of ways to hit any muscle, so it’s OK to strike a few from the list if they don’t work for you. It is good to mix things up. We’ll cover that next. But mixing things up doesn’t mean you have to include every possible option.
Mix Up Your Exercises and Machines –
You don’t have to change up your workout every single week. However, if you find yourself doing the same 3 or 4 exercises for a particular body part over and over again for months or years, you are kind of asking for overuse injuries.
I change the exercises and the order in which I do them almost every workout. Sometimes I will get in a groove where I start with the same exercise for a particular body part several weeks in a row, mostly just so I can judge if I’m getting stronger at it, but then the rest of the workout will be different each time.
Use Different Angles –
I do Incline DB Press anywhere from nearly flat to almost sitting upright. It is great for stimulating the muscle, but also helps prevent overuse injuries by loading the joints and tendons a little differently and not letting them follow the same old groove every time.
Use Different Grip Widths –
Dido like above, but with grip width.
Mix Up Your Rep Ranges –
It is fairly well established that the 8-12 rep range is optimal for muscle growth. But you can still stimulate muscle growth with lighter weight and higher reps. Going to failure is more important than actual rep range or weight.
I don’t do it all the time, but I frequently mix in 20 to 30 rep sets on pretty much any exercise. It is another way to stimulate growth and confuse your muscles, while also giving the joints a break from the heavier loads.
Use Static Hold Exercises –
You just hold the muscle in the contracted state for 30 to 60 seconds. You can do it with almost any exercise or machine. You can add it to the end of a regular set, or one set could be the 60 second hold.
I wouldn’t do it all the time on every exercise, but it is a good way to induce extra stress on your muscles while giving the joints a bit of a break, at least from movement anyway. For example, with leg extensions, instead of swinging your legs up and down, you would just extend your legs straight and hold them there against the load for as long as you can. 30 to 60 seconds will feel like an eternity.
Try Slow Negatives on Every Rep –
This is great way to tire out your muscles while doing less weight and fewer reps. As we’ve touched on before, fewer reps and lighter weight reduces wear and tear on your body.
These can be done with pretty much any exercise as well. For example, with Seated DB Shoulder Press, you would push the weight up just like you normally do, but make the downward portion (aka negative) last for 2 to 3 seconds on every single rep.
Mix Up Ways to Go to Failure –
Don’t always use the same old ways to go to failure. There are many ways to induce muscle failure: drop sets, super sets, rest-pause, etc.. Check out my article for more ideas and detailed explanations.
Use 20 Rep Target for Legs –
As you do an exercise for repetitions, more and more muscle fibers get recruited to help with each successive rep. For most upper body exercises, sets in the 8-12 range will recruit almost all the muscle fibers by the end of the set.
For larger muscles, it requires more repetitions to recruit all the muscle fibers. So for legs, 20 reps is a better target than 10. This also allows you to use a lighter weight which helps reduce the wear and tear on your joints and connective tissue. So it’s better for muscle growth and also easier on your body.
Don’t Max –
It is just asking for injury and it serves no purpose for muscle growth.
Don’t Show Off –
Hopefully this isn’t an issue for most of us older guys. We should know better anyway! But don’t be tempted to cheat or use heavier weights just because some 25 year old punk is working out next to you and you want to show him the old dog still has it.
Don’t Cheat –
The point of lifting weights is to stimulate muscle growth so we can gain, or at least maintain, our muscle mass. Cheating is just a way to move more weight by either recruiting other muscles to help or changing the way the muscle is loaded by contorting our body. It is not necessary for muscle growth and is just asking for injury. So don’t.
There are some exceptions to this. I think it’s OK to cheat slightly in order to complete the last portion of the last rep of a set.
Don’t Throw or Bounce the Weights –
This is just another way of cheating. So still don't.
Try Bands –
Most gyms have resistance bands with handles on the ends. These are great for many things. I can't get into all the uses here. They offer a nice smooth continuous resistance without the inherent problems of heavier dumbbells or barbells.
There are benefits to weights that you don't get with bands, so I'm not suggesting doing everything with bands. But they are a great addition to traditional weightlifting exercises and machines.
You can mix them in for a few exercises or even do a whole workout with them occasionally.
It’s OK to Call It a Day or Mail It In Occasionally –
Don’t make a habit of this. But once in a while, it's OK if you just don’t have it in you to put in a great workout.
Don’t skip the workout. Give yourself permission to just go through the motions. A lackluster workout is better than no workout. You can always cut it short once you get there, but sometimes once you get going you end up getting revved up and have a good workout in spite of how you felt going in.
I feel like there should be more for 30+ years of lifting, but that's it for now. Of course there are lots of things to do outside the gym that can help us older guys, but this post is strictly lifting tips. If I think of anything else worthwhile, I'll update this post.
As always, thank you so much for reading. I just love this stuff and really enjoy sharing. I hope it helps.
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