# Advice for a 50 year old



## cabby (Apr 14, 2010)

Hi I am 50 yrs old and come from a 35 year background of running and concept 2 rowing. I dont run anymore but erg most days.
Question is am I to old to put on some size, I am currently trying out the 5X5 prog. I train alone in my loft. 2nite I did 5 sets of deadlift 5X5 AND 5X5 bent over row with what for me is heavy weights. I row a slow 400mtrs between sets to give the heart a workout. I do the same with bench press, incline dbs, and seated db press with upright rows. 3 days on 1 day off.


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## Arnold (Apr 14, 2010)

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## sassy69 (Apr 14, 2010)

Welcome!

You're never too old to put on mass. There are studies of sedentary old people who can put on muscle mass curling soup cans. The secret is to fuel your body for what you want to accomplish. I'm making an assumption, but as a distance / endurance athlete, you are probably used to eating high carb diets? For mass building you want to make sure you're eating enough protein to build and enough carbs to fuel the building process.  If you're continuing w/ the rowing, you'd also want to make sure you're getting enough carbs to support that as well. And of course, good quality fats to support it all. 

5x5 is definitely the definitive foundation hypertrophy program, so start w/ that and adjust your diet in response to your body's needs. I'd suggest you hit up the Diet forum for any suggestions to your current diet (i.e. post what you're currently eating - best way is to put a typical day's meal plan into a food counts program like FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal so you can quantify what you're eating - total calories, and what makes up those calories in terms of macro nutrients - % & grams of proteins, fats and carbs.) Also include your current stats to give some context. Any questions on the 5x5, definitely post up the Training board.


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## stepaukas (Apr 14, 2010)

sassy69
is that you in the photo?? you look  like you been at it a while.. keep it up.

for the op, i myself have thought of giving up the endurance stuff i have been doing for 49 years and trying to pack on 10 pounds lean muscle, but i have a hard time giving up what i'm fairly good at. hard to gain a pound or two doing 4 hour hard cycling sessions.
eventually i will move over to just weights, but like you, there are soooo many training plans.. 5x5.
5,3,1. my friend who was a mr new orleans, mr southern states, mr louisiana, says to do lighter weights and feel the muscle being worked. lots of training plans. heavy weights with a lot of rest adds size..
lower weights with more reps adds the cuts..per all the reads over the years..
.. lots of info out there. i seen guys do heavy weights with low reps and get cut???? everyone is different.
bottom line.. the big 3. train super hard.. rest super hard.. eat super clean..
no fricking drugs..
those are for cheaters..


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## sassy69 (Apr 14, 2010)

stepaukas said:


> sassy69
> is that you in the photo?? you look  like you been at it a while.. keep it up.
> 
> for the op, i myself have thought of giving up the endurance stuff i have been doing for 49 years and trying to pack on 10 pounds lean muscle, but i have a hard time giving up what i'm fairly good at. hard to gain a pound or two doing 4 hour hard cycling sessions.
> ...



That's me - I've been competing since 2000, lifting hella long time.

Also for more info on 5x5, google Mark Rippetoe w/ 5x5 - lots of info. Also remember to employ periodization so you don't just burn out.


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## Perdido (Apr 15, 2010)

All great advice for us old folks. Best advice i can give is to check Builts blog paying attention to movements that you want to avoid so you can stay injury free. IMO that's the biggest hurdle we face as we get older - training hard but remaining injury free.


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## sassy69 (Apr 15, 2010)

And I would HIGHLY recommend good warmup & stretching - I've noticed as I get older (currently looking at 45), the days I DON"T train actually cost me more than overtraining because my joints get tight.

Here's something I do pretty regularly, esp for leg day & back day (for lower back and connections down to IT band / piriformis): DeFranco's "Agile 8" --- scroll down to that section:

DeFranco's Training ..:: The Ultimate Way To Become A Better Athlete ::..


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## World-Pharma.org (Apr 16, 2010)

Welcome to the forum!

best-regards

world-pharma.org


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## El Cid (Apr 16, 2010)

*Check your hormone levels*

Cabby,
Check with your physician about having your testosterone level determined via a blood test. And tell him you intend to begin resistance training to increase muscle mass. Many men begin to have a decrease in testosterone levels around 40-50yrs and further decreases after that. A common hormone replacement therapy involves a simple skin application of a gel such as Androgel each night. There are also HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) therapies being used that will signal testicles to increase output of testosterone to physiological ( normal) levels. Chronic low testosterone will sabotage your efforts to increase muscle mass. Good luck.
Cheer,
 El Cid


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## steve williiams (Apr 17, 2010)

Hi , new member. At 52 I have done one comp and  bulking up for another Though getting lean again does bother me. The staff at the gym say they have noticed I am much bigger in the arms and chest since I started using the mass gain powder. I cycle the stuff. Two weeks on then one week where I drop the carbs.
By the way , Sassy. That is impressive.You look great.


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## adrenaline (Apr 17, 2010)

You're never too old! Welcome to IM.


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## steve williiams (Apr 17, 2010)

Thanks for the welcome.


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## 2tomlinson (Apr 17, 2010)

El Cid said:


> Cabby,
> Check with your physician about having your testosterone level determined via a blood test. And tell him you intend to begin resistance training to increase muscle mass. Many men begin to have a decrease in testosterone levels around 40-50yrs and further decreases after that. A common hormone replacement therapy involves a simple skin application of a gel such as Androgel each night. There are also HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) therapies being used that will signal testicles to increase output of testosterone to physiological ( normal) levels. Chronic low testosterone will sabotage your efforts to increase muscle mass. Good luck.
> Cheer,
> El Cid




I couldn't agree more with El Cid and Rahaas.  Maybe at any age, careful attention to injury-free workouts is imperative, but it is particularly true to those of us over fifty.  The advice about getting your testosterone levels checked is huge, and I urge you to do it.  The conundrum is this:  if you go to even a highly qualified MD she/he will match your testosterone results against the norm for our age group which will be 300-400 ng.  Most likely, you will test normal -- but you will test normal for a fifty-year old.  If you find a more progressive MD he/she might agree that -- let's think about this -- you will feel better, have more energy, and a higher metabolism, more muscle, less fat, if your testosterone level is that of a thirty to forty year old (600 to 1000 ng).  It requires one home injection a week, or the use of testosterone gel but, my god, what a difference!  I started hormone replacement therapy less than six months ago (at age fifty-nine) and I so wish I would have investigated the benefits at fifty.  The change is more than marked, it is life changing.  Ask your MD about your PSA level.  If norm or below, I would press the doc to write a script and give HRT a three or four month trial.


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## El Cid (Apr 17, 2010)

*Physician conundrums*

2tomlinson is right on the money to warn about physician attitudes. For our purposes they can be split into two camps; the WNL's (Within Normal Limits) and the Optimizing Health types. The WNL's will tell you at 50 your exercise regimen should be limited to brisk walks in the park punctuated by an outdoor game of checkers or two if you're feeling competitive. That's because if you statistically look at all the 50 yr olds in the US that's about what they can handle,i.e. that's the norm. These physicians are satisfied to keep you "within normal limits". If your doctor falls in this category and you are over fifty you should change doctors. The more progressive camp understands that the debilitating changes due to aging are a disease that slowly destroys optimum health inevitably leading to death. They recognize that this is (at least initially) a failure of the endocrine system to continue to orchestrate the optimum function of organs , tissues and cells in your body. Hence the largely successful use of HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) to recover optimum health. The definition of optimum health should be an individual choice. It is a free country after all. I don't feel optimum if I can't do three sets of 8 reps of squats with 315lbs. To each his own.


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## 2tomlinson (Apr 18, 2010)

El Cid said:


> 2tomlinson is right on the money to warn about physician attitudes. For our purposes they can be split into two camps; the WNL's (Within Normal Limits) and the Optimizing Health types. The WNL's will tell you at 50 your exercise regimen should be limited to brisk walks in the park punctuated by an outdoor game of checkers or two if you're feeling competitive. That's because if you statistically look at all the 50 yr olds in the US that's about what they can handle,i.e. that's the norm. These physicians are satisfied to keep you "within normal limits". If your doctor falls in this category and you are over fifty you should change doctors. The more progressive camp understands that the debilitating changes due to aging are a disease that slowly destroys optimum health inevitably leading to death. They recognize that this is (at least initially) a failure of the endocrine system to continue to orchestrate the optimum function of organs , tissues and cells in your body. Hence the largely successful use of HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) to recover optimum health. The definition of optimum health should be an individual choice. It is a free country after all. I don't feel optimum if I can't do three sets of 8 reps of squats with 315lbs. To each his own.





Amen, well said.  We will not go gently into the f-ing night -- speaking of which, since I started HRT all I want to do is work, workout and fuck.  Not always in that order.


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## steve williiams (Apr 19, 2010)

Hey , found that information on testosterone levels very interesting. Sure is worth following up. I will try my luck with my doctor this week. I know that here in Auckland NZ. that there is a clinic where one can get treated for low testosterone. So here is hoping.


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