BULKING UP AT THE AGE OF 40 PLUS
I am a male in my mid 40s and right from birth, I have always had a small stature. In fact, I think I would be counted as one of the 'smallest' males, if ever a survey was done in my area/town. I am 5 foot 1 inch and weight 67kg. I have always been teased throughout my life due to this, and called lots of names - the most popular being 'shorty'.
Many times I have started going to the gym and going on the thread mill together with lifting weights etc, but have always given up shortly afterwards, due to not seeing any significant changes in my body in terms of loosing weight and gaining muscle mass. However, After much thinking I have decided to start going to the gym again(!) in order to get fit and to bulk up. My question is - do you think due to my age, I should forget this idea and just go for a jog every now and again in order to keep my weight under control and forget about trying to grow my muscles etc?
If I do decide to continue going to the gym for the long term (on this occasion), what food do you think I should eat that would help me grow muscle? What about supplements?
I would be able to go to the gym about twice a week for an hour each and them possibly increasing that to three times a week, if I see some results in my body.
Please advice.
Hi, there is no age limit to
Hi, there is no age limit to weight training. A while ago we even blogged a report about bodybuilding pensioners. In fact, my father-in-law, who is in his 60's, recently started weight training and says that he feels fitter than he has in years and the pain in his hips has gone.
The question is, what sort of weight training? How often? If by weight training you mean using the resistance machines and doing sets of 20 repetitions, then this is not good for building muscle (it works, but not the best way to do it).
Instead workout twice a week, split your routine into 4 different exercises for each workout, and do 3 sets of 5 reps for each exercise. Try to use a weight that allows you to complete each set, but you have to work hard and the final set will be almost impossible, but not quite.
An example split is:
First session (after warming up):
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlifts
3x5 Barbell curls
Second session:
3x5 Squat
3x5 Standing military press
3x5 Bent Rows (or power cleans)
3x5 Tricep extensions
This will build good solid muscle and the last exercises will give an extra boost to your arms.