What do I mean by ‘older’? It is one of those subjective terms that could mean anything but in this case I really mean the over 35′s. I’m also aiming this at people who are training for the first time or returning to it after a long lay-off somewhere beyond their mid 30′s, so if you have been training throughout then this probably does not apply to you.

If you have any doubts at all about your general health or fitness then it’s a good idea to see your doctor before you start. There will most likely be no problems at all but it’s better to be safe than sorry. The doc will probably test your blood pressure and such and then actively support your efforts to start taking regular exercise anyway.

Just to give you a bit of background as to where I’m coming from, I trained for 6 years solid between the age of 18 and 24 and then I (stupidly) took a 20 year layoff and got back into a year and a half ago at the age of 45.

The first big difference I noticed is that it takes my body longer to recover from workouts now that it did 20 years ago. As a hard gainer that’s probably no bad thing as it stops me overtraining but I have found that I need at least a day longer for any given muscle group to recover than I used to. I find that using a 3-way split and training each body part once a week (or maybe 3 times in 2 weeks) is enough these days.

For the absolute beginner, the same basic advice applies whatever age you are – do an all-body workout three times a week and learn to do the exercises properly.

If, like me, you’re resuming after a long layoff then one of the things you’ll have to do is set realistic expectations. I could squat 450lbs, deadlift 400lbs and bench press 300lbs 20 years ago but now I struggle to lift half that weight. But I believe there’s no reason why I shouldn’t get close to my old lifts because progress does come, even for the older trainer.

Don’t use your age as an excuse whatever you do. Progress make be a bit slower and recovery may take longer but there’s still a lot that can be achieved.

One thing you may need to watch out for is changes in your metabolism. Some people find that they start to retain weight in their 30′s and 40′s even though they could get away with eating anything in their younger days.

There are advantages of course. When you get a little bit older you’re less likely to be affected by peer pressure and will have a steadier approach to things. You’re unlikely to try lifing weights that are too heavy just for bragging rights and your training will be all the better because of this.

Have fun though – that’s the most important thing. Use caution though if you’re training on youir own – you need to make sure you’re safe and might consider investigating something like the Body Solid Powerline Smith Machine to make sure you don’t get any unnecessary injuries.

Tags: bodybuilder, building, muscle, older
Filed under: Fat Loss