Any Gym Rats Here?

[lucasbuck]

I’ve been strength training since 12 years old. Now old & grey I’m pushing harder than ever as I believe it’s a major benefactor to longevity and especially maintaining mobility as well as flexibility as long as possible. I owe it to my daughter to keep her father here with her and playing hard with her as long as I can or at least die trying

I’m curious what your routine is compared to mine. Through trial and error I’ve come up with a weekly that works well for me. I do mostly machines as they suit my now frail joints. There are some free weights mixed in but only a few that I feel aren’t covered by the machines at my gym. Especially love the FreeMotion machines. High reps (12-15) to failure. Three to four sets per lift. Then first week of every month I do what I call a Blast Week. Crank the weights up about 50% also to failure which is usually about half the normal reps. I shoot for 6-8 or so on Blast.

Monday - avoid gym at all cost!
Tuesday Arms
Wednesday Shoulders
Thursday Legs
Friday Chest
Saturday Back
Sunday Core

I find that hitting each body part just once a week gives my old ass plenty of time to recover and results are much better as well as avoiding amy serious injury and protecting my joints.

Not big on cardio but do love the stair climber and hit that on occasion once I’ve fully depleted my glycogen stores in the weight room and want to torch some fat. Chasing my 3 year old all day as an at home dad is cardio enough!

 

[bfreebern]

I’ve been strength training since 12 years old. Now old & grey I’m pushing harder than ever as I believe it’s a major benefactor to longevity and especially maintaining mobility as well as flexibility as long as possible. I owe it to my daughter to keep her father here with her and playing hard with her as long as I can or at least die trying

I’m curious what your routine is compared to mine. Through trial and error I’ve come up with a weekly that works well for me. I do mostly machines as they suit my now frail joints. There are some free weights mixed in but only a few that I feel aren’t covered by the machines at my gym. Especially love the FreeMotion machines. High reps (12-15) to failure. Three to four sets per lift. Then first week of every month I do what I call a Blast Week. Crank the weights up about 50% also to failure which is usually about half the normal reps. I shoot for 6-8 or so on Blast.

Monday - avoid gym at all cost!
Tuesday Arms
Wednesday Shoulders
Thursday Legs
Friday Chest
Saturday Back
Sunday Core

I find that hitting each body part just once a week gives my old ass plenty of time to recover and results are much better as well as avoiding amy serious injury and protecting my joints.

Not big on cardio but do love the stair climber and hit that on occasion once I’ve fully depleted my glycogen stores in the weight room and want to torch some fat. Chasing my 3 year old all day as an at home dad is cardio enough!

Craig - I was a gym rat for years, but as I've gotten older, I'm concentrating on longevity/lean muscle and overall cardio health. I do run what comes out to a 5k, 4-5 times a week. I've gotten into kettlebells lately and honestly, love using them because they hit so many different areas at the same time.

Back when I was in the gym, I had a similar routine as yours above, but I went heavier with less reps. I always concentrated on "push-pull" movements. For instance, I'd do chest (bench, incline, decline) for the "push" and back (rows, lat pull downs, deadlift) for the "pull". I think you're on the right routine, with the high reps as you get "older and grayer" as you say If your gym has kettlebells, give them a try. You'd be surprised how well they work. A lot of people get cardio and weight training out of kettlebells.

I'd be interested in your opinion on Pre-workouts and Creatine.

 

[H. Vachon]

 

[George Scott]

I was never gym rat but mostly stayed active my whole life. With the exception of the last few years I've been an avid kayak fisherman. I will go out at dawn and not come home until late afternoon. I traveled 10 miles some days. Now, retired, I keep active by doing very fast walks everyday 1-2 miles. Having a bad back most of my later life, I have about a dozen core exercises I do daily to keep my back strong. I also do some minor free weights to keep everything else tone. The biggest thing I find at my age, 68, is keeping it up is crucial. If I am lazy, which I am, if I don't keep it up it takes FOREVER to get it back again! More power to you hard core guys. It will pay off in your later years!

 

[rbbrock]

I'm in a similar situation as Brandon. I used to work out on a 4 day split when I was in my 20s and early 30s and was in pretty good shape and pretty strong, but never did manage to put on all that much mass (genetics, I imagine). I fell off the wagon for a while and somewhere around two years ago decided to get back at it. Now I've been doing a kettlebell routine 3 days per week, and cardio on an elliptical 2-3 days per week, and am down 50 pounds from my heaviest. Let me tell you, it's much harder to lose those last 10-15 pounds in your 40s! (I can't seem to get rid of them).

 

[lucasbuck]

Craig - I was a gym rat for years, but as I've gotten older, I'm concentrating on longevity/lean muscle and overall cardio health. I do run what comes out to a 5k, 4-5 times a week. I've gotten into kettlebells lately and honestly, love using them because they hit so many different areas at the same time.

Back when I was in the gym, I had a similar routine as yours above, but I went heavier with less reps. I always concentrated on "push-pull" movements. For instance, I'd do chest (bench, incline, decline) for the "push" and back (rows, lat pull downs, deadlift) for the "pull". I think you're on the right routine, with the high reps as you get "older and grayer" as you say If your gym has kettlebells, give them a try. You'd be surprised how well they work. A lot of people get cardio and weight training out of kettlebells.

I'd be interested in your opinion on Pre-workouts and Creatine.

Do love the kettlebells though I should work them in more than I do. I’ll work on it. As far as pre’s and creatine go I’m not much for pre anymore. Usually have an espresso or two before heading to the gym is all. Huge proponent of creatine. Standard five grams a day of micronized monohydrate. There are some good pre’s but most of them have way too much caffeine. Post-workouts are more valuable in my experience especially glutamine.